I first hear of quinoa on You Are What You Eat, a British diet show. Even though I found Gillian McKeith a little extreme, I found the whole show fascinating.  It was like watching a train wreck - you couldn’t look away.  So I bought a bag.  And then never used it.  Then I ran across the Weight Watchers recipe Quinoa Mexi 6-Layer Casserole on Recipezaar. And I thought I would give it a try.  I liked it.  I think I would like it more if the quinoa was mixed into the rest of the ingredients and not layered.  The quinoa didn’t have much of a taste - a little nutty from the dry roasting.  And the texture reminded me of couscous.  I would like to try it in a breakfast cereal recipe.

Quinoa Mexi-Casserole

8 servings

1 cup quinoa
1 lb extra lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tsp salt
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
4 oz low fat mozzarella cheese

Prepare Quinoa: Rinse in a sieve under running water. Dry roast the quinoa; heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the quinoa - leave the skillet dry - no oil or spray,  for approximately 7 minutes until a crackling sound is heard. Boil 1 1/2 cups of water in a small pot, add the dry roasted quinoa. Turn down the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  While quinoa is simmering, brown the ground turkey and the garlic. Add the spices and simmer5 minutes.  Mix in the corn, beans tomatoes and salsa.  Spread quinoa in a large baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Spread the turkey mixture over the quinoa.
Bake at 450°F for 20 minutes.  Add the cheese and bake another 5 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 472
Fat: 5 g
Carbs: 73.3 g
Fiber: 15.4 g
Protein: 37.6 g

9 Weight Watcher points

1 serving of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 egg
1 egg white
2 Tbs skim milk
thinly sliced tomato (I used a Roma tomato)
1 oz of reduced fat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a ramekin that holds about 15 oz and spray with non-stick spray. Layer the hash browns in the bottom of the ramekin. Beat the egg, egg white, milk and salt and pepper in a small bowl with a fork. Pour over the potatoes. Lay thinly sliced tomato on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until almost set. There will still be some liquid in the middle of the dish. sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.

This dish can easily be doubled, tripled, etc either baking each serving in separate dishes or in one big casserole, although you will definitely need to bake it longer, more like 45 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 237
Fat: 7 g
Carbs: 25 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 20.5 g

4.5 WW points

I am not sure where this recipe originated from. It is very versatile. Basically just throw in what you like. I have posted the recipe as is and I put my changed in parenthesis. You can keep it vegetarian or I think it would be good with some ground beef or ground turkey mixed in. I would say 1/2 lb would be enough and it would still be a cheap recipe. Serve this with a salad for a filling and low fat meal.
 

Fiesta Casserole

4 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked pinto beans-including a small amount of the liquid (I used black beans)
2 bunches diced green onions (I left out)
1 diced tomato
1 can of kernel corn
1 batch of biscuit or cornbread batter or sprinkle some cheese on top (I sprinkled with 4 oz low fat cheese)
(I also added 1 8oz can tomato sauce)
(I also added 1 tsp cumin)
(I also added 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

Layer in order given, adding any seasonings you like. (I mixed all the ingredients together). Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Serves 6

The possibilities are endless. You could add in a can of green chilies, diced jalapenos, green pepper, use brown rice instead of white, pasta instead of rice, use any sort of bean you like, etc.

Nutritional Info for my version (doesn’t include sour cream or salsa served on the side):
Calories: 324
Fat: 3.5 g
Carbs: 59 g
Fiber: 7.5
Protein: 15 g

WW Points - 6 per serving