Quinoa Rice Bowl

We actually just call it Quinoa Rice, but it's much more than that.  I love this dish because I can have a filling warm meal in about 15 minutes.  Another thing to love is that my ten year old also enjoys it!

I started making this after having Panera's Baja Bowl and finding copy-cat recipes.  Initially, I always added chunks of avocado, halved grape tomatoes, and feta cheese.  More recently, I have it without those extras and add some Mexican cheese.

The ingredients are

brown rice

quinoa

a jar of black bean corn salsa

a can of rinsed black beans

a tablespoon of salsa verde (optional because sometimes I forget)

My 15 minute prep:

First choose a medium sized glass bowl and fill with one cup of water and one cup of par-boiled brown rice.  Cook in the microwave for 5-6 minutes depending on the strength of the microwave.

In a small saucepan, add one cup of water and 1/2 cup of quinoa, bring to boil, then cook for 12 minutes on low.

While things are cooking, open a can of black beans and drain and and rinse.  Open the jar of salsa and salsa verde.

Once the rice is done, dump in the whole can of black beans, the whole jar of salsa and one tablespoon of salsa verde if you like the added zip.

When the quinoa is done, I add it right into the rice, salsa, bean mixture and eat it right away!  The quinoa instructions usually recommend letting it sit, but I don't find it necessary.  I don't rinse my quinoa either!

With room temperature beans and salsa, the mixture is a little on the lukewarm side, but it's
not terrible.  A quick zap of the microwave can bring it up to nice and warm.

I often eat this in a bowl topped with Mexican cheese and sometimes some corn chips.  The ten year old likes it in a flour tortilla.  This recipe yields 4+ meals.