I made quinoa and they liked it!

Almost a month to the day and I'm finally writing a new post with a new recipe!

I'm officially living between two cities and two kitchens, and my pathophysiology reading has, sadly, forced me to shove the cooking and baking way to the back burner. Before my life as a stay-at-home fiancee ended I didn't fully appreciate how much time I was spending scouring cooking blogs, hunting through cookbooks and sifting through my recipe pile of torn out magazine pages and recipe cards to put together a meal. Now I totally understand why people don't end up cooking dinner every night or buy an ice cream cake from Cold Stone before spending three days pulling a frozen pan in and out of the freezer.

But, I also love cooking.I love taking raw ingredients and ending up with a cohesive meal. It's like really perishable art.

So I caved and made some dinner the other night. It's a challenging bunch over here in Bellevue. Lots of picky eaters. I bought a little bag of quinoa at Whole Foods the other day in preparation of the beautiful stew I was thinking up. My mom walked over to it as it sat on the counter and examined it like it was a foreign being from a newly discovered planet. She poked at it from afar like it would explode or eat her alive while she asked, "what is it?!"

Jay read the bag over and over again trying to pronounce it..."Qui-No-A, Qween-on-a..."

When I explained it was a grain packed with iron and protein, mom replied, "I don't want to eat a grain."

So funny! (She's more of a cheddar cheese-eating, on white french bread type, I guess.)

Anyway, as I poured fresh (and pricey) Whole Foods ingredients into a large stockpot my mom and Jay hovered around smelling the air as if waiting to find something to object to. But, of course, they couldn't find a single thing. We sat down with steaming bowls of stew and crunchy herbed parmesan bread and I made them take the first bite. And....

THEY LIKED IT!

So, here it is, adapted from a blog called "Cookin Canuck."

Butternut Squash and Chicken Stew with Quinoa

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 rotisserie chicken, breast meat shredded
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped(I used shallots)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• A couple shakes of red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup (or more!) minced fresh curly parsley

Instructions

1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
2. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan heat olive oil.
4. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
6. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
7. Stir in chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
8. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
9. Stir the chicken, red pepper flakes and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
10. Stir in parsley and serve.