Quinoa Zucchini Parmesan

Have you tried quinoa [KEEN-wah] yet? I hear so much about its health benefits, etc. But it looks...blah. But I'm all for trying to eat healthy so I thought I would make it with something I love: anything marinara and parmesan cheesey.

There's not too many ingredients and it is quite easy. The link to the printable recipe is below.

Quinoa is a bit pricey. I ordered mine from Amazon but you can shop around.

Quinoa is very easy to make. I heated 2 cups of water in a saucepan to boiling. I put in 1 cup of quinoa and brought it back to a boil. Then I turned the burner down to medium, covered the pan with a tight lid, and let it simmer for about 12 minutes or until the water was absorbed. Then remove the saucepan from heat, put the cover back on, and let it sit for 15 minutes while you prepare the Zucchini Parmesan in a skillet. After 15 minutes, fluff the quinoa with a fork.

Drizzle a little olive oil into your skillet which is warming up on medium heat.

Add one chopped Bell pepper and one chopped onion and stir it around now and then for 5 minutes.

Add 4 small thinly sliced zucchini and cook while stirring for 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 and 1/2 cups of marinara sauce. Cover, cook, and occasionally stir for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender enough for your liking.

Not quite there yet.

There!

Drum roll please...

ADD THE MOZZARELLA AND PARMESAN CHEESE! 

(Okay, no reason to get all carried away here, Debi...)

Cover the skillet until the mozzarella cheese melts.

Perfecto.

Take your quinoa out of its 15 minute time-out and scoop it onto a platter. I guess I was just too excited at this point to click a picture of that step. Cover the quinoa with the Zucchini Parmesan sauce.

And because I love cheese so much, I grated a little extra Parmesan and sprinkled it on the platter as well as my very own serving.

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Debi

 Quinoa Zucchini Parmesan

• print recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quinoa, Uncooked
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1  Bell Pepper, Chopped
• 1  Medium Onion, Chopped
• 4  Small Zucchini, Thinly Sliced
• 1-½ cup Marinara Sauce
• ¾ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• ¾ cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Preparation

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add 1 cup quinoa and return to a boil. Cover with a tight lid and turn the heat down to medium. Simmer about 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Replace the cover and let it stand for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, pour the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Stir peppers and onions for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and stir another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir. Cover and let it cook for about 8 minutes or until vegetables are at desired tenderness, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle cheeses over top and cover the skillet until the mozzarella cheese has melted, about 1 minute.
Fluff the quinoa one more time with a fork, then scoop it onto a platter. Cover the quinoa with the vegetable sauce . Sprinkle on a little more shredded Parmesan cheese if desired.