In California, I was able to visit Trader Joe’s for my first time. It’s a small grocery store that sells organic and health foods (along with other items) at low prices. It was super fun to cruise down the aisles to see what they sell on their store shelves. One of the items I found was a box of organic quinoa, pronounced KEEN-WAH. Quinoa is a 100% whole grain and an excellent source of protein. Technically, it’s not a grain but the seed of a leafy plant related to spinach. I used it to make a shrimp quinoa which turned out delightful.
Shrimp Quinoa
A simple recipe for shrimp quinoa.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced (or pressed)
- 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I used tiny portabellas)
- 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
Method:
- In a large pot, bring the water to a boil, and stir in the quinoa. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside 10 minutes, or until all liquid has been absorbed.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, garlic and green bell pepper until tender. Mix in the mushrooms, spinach, raisins, and ginger, and continue cooking until spinach has cooked down. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the shrimp, and cook 5 minutes, or until opaque.
- In a large bowl, mix the quinoa with the lime juice and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss with the skillet mixture and parsley to serve.
©Copyright, A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa
I hope you enjoy it too.
how do you get your kids to try new foods? Brian and Saetia are very picky.
So funny Shannon! Nehemiah is picky but as long as he has 2 bites, we’re okay. If he doesn’t, it’s straight to bed. Seems harsh, huh! He’s gotten used to trying new things.
Same here. We tell Naomi she can’t eat anything else unless she eats her meal first. If she asks for anything else, we tell her she needs to finish her meal, then she can have whatever she wanted. Sometimes she goes to bed without eating or finishing her meal. She made that choice :o)
Mare, sounds like our household, lol!!
I was thinking about trying that with Saetia. I’m afraid of caving when she’s crying about being hungry…
Brian on the other hand refuses to try anything new. He’d gladly go right to bed if he could avoid new meals. haha.
Shannon, so funny about Brian! Let me tell you though, the kids get it! Once they go to bed hungry they don’t “usually” want to do it again 😉
Have you tried quinoa & squash? It's SO yummy & Jenna really loves it. I can share the recipe if you're game…
Bethany, No I havn’t!! Please do share!!!
This recipe sounds delicious! I enjoy quinoa (however, my sons don’t) and am always on the lookout for new ways to use it. One word of advice for using quinoa – rinse it prior to cooking. The quinoa, unless well rinsed, will have a bitter, unpleasant flavor to it. I dump my pre-measured quinoa into a large glass measuring cup. I cover the quinoa with cold water, swoosh it around a bit, the drain it through a fine-mesh strainer. Do this several times, or until the water is not cloudy. It is then ready to be cooked.