2nd Attempt

On my second attempt to making Quinoa Stuffing I eliminated the parsley since it was only for decoration and my new ingredients will give the quinoa color. I added 1/2 cup of fresh chopped spinach and 1 cup of boiled chopped broccoli. This made a pretty substantial change in the flavor for the better. Not only did it have more flavor, this recipe now includes two more superfoods for those looking to keep their diets more organic and fresh. I'm not sure I really want to change this recipe now because it was that good. I'm trying to think of what to do to make it better, any suggestions?

1st Attempt

I made the quinoa stuffing for my family and they were very leary about even trying it since my past attempts at cooking this grain were epic failures. My mother who has dimentia and my 9 month old baby were the most open to trying this new creation and both really liked it. My 18 year old son wouldn't even try the stuffing even after much begging, it appears that my previous failures have ruined quinoa for him. My husband and daughters all said it wasn't bad which in my house means, we'll eat it, but it's not at the top of the list. I actually liked it a lot. The stuffing reminded me more of chinese rice than actual stuffing. When I was preparing the stuffing I thought the amount of onions and celery listed seemed like a lot so I only used 4 celery stalks instead of six and I did not garnish with parsley so I wouldn't purchase the parsley again. After eating the finished dish I can understand why the 6 stalks of celery was listed. The celery and onion are what really gave the dish the flavor. I'm looking forward to making this again only I would like to add some more vegetables.

Ingredients and Directions:

Ingredients: - 1 cup vegetable stock - 1 cup quinoa - 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or nonhydrogenated margarine - 1 onion, chopped - 6 stalks celery, diced - 1 tablespoon fresh sage - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley. Directions: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the stock and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the quinoa and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. Meanwhile, melt the butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove the onion mixture from the heat and add the quinoa to the pan. Stir in the sage and salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Transfer the stuffing to an 8-inch square pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Quinoa Stuffing

After much thought and lots of time looking at recipes I decided to cook quinoa stuffing from epicurious.com. My decision was partially based on the fact that I had a huge bag of quinoa that I purchased from cosco that needs to be used up and I hadn't found a good recipe for it thus far. When I've tried preparing quinoa with other recipes it came it very dry or with little taste. Another reason that I wanted to try a recipe with quinoa is because quinoa is supposed to be really good for you. It is sometimes referred to as the "supergrain of the future". Check out this website for more information about the nutritional value of quinoa. http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4994/7-Benefits-of-Quinoa-The-Supergrain-of-the-Future.html