Quick Fix Meals: Quinoa Jambalaya

The other night I put this dish together with random ingredients I had in my house.  I had no set "plan" but this dish came together in the same amount of time it took to make the quinoa.  Which is no time at all!  I was pleasantly surprised at how EASY this was to put together, but also how much flavor this dish had... with no added seasoning.  I used a spicy chicken sausage and I cooked the Quinoa in chicken broth which flavored this entire dish without the need to add anything additional.  So if you're in the mood for something unique that takes less than 20 minutes to make from start to eating, you gotta try this dish. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Quinoa Jambalaya

Ingredients:

2 cups of Quinoa (I used half cup of red, half cup of regular)

4 cups of Chicken Broth (Sometimes I add a little extra- basically an entire box)

4 Spicy Chicken Sausage Links, sliced and sautéed

1 cup of Cooked Shrimp, sautéed

1 package of frozen vegetables- I used 1 bag of Trader Joe's Organic Soycutash (a mixture of corn, edamame and red peppers)

Instructions:

Add 2 cups of Quinoa to a stock pot.  Add the four cups of broth.  Cook on medium low heat for twenty minutes or until the quinoa is cooked.  You may need to add a bit more broth depending on how hot your stove is.  While the quinoa is cooking, add your sliced chicken sausage to a hot skillet with olive oil.  Saute for 10ish minutes until the sausage is cooked on all sides.  Add your cooked shrimp and saute for a few more minutes.  While you are doing that, remove your soycutash from it's packaging and place in a microwavable bowl.  Microwave for 5 minutes or until it's no longer frozen.  Add to your cooked quinoa along with the shrimp and sausage.  Mix well and serve!

You could easily make this dish vegetarian by using Vegetable Broth and Soy Chirozo and removing the shrimp. I think Soy Chirozo would add the same type of flavor the spicy chicken sausage did.

So because I made so much of this dish, I had enough for 6 large servings.  Having leftovers is a favorite in our household.  Especially now with Baby Dylan, it's great to look in the fridge and know there is food for a few days.  And it's even better to have lunch already made now that I'm back at work!

Yep, I started work last week and it's going well... I'm happy to report that I've been able to bring lunch everyday with meals like this one : )