Catch-up and Quinoa!

Let me tell you somethin': I have been one busy girl! I've been traveling, celebrating birthdays, holidays, been sickly here and there, and working two jobs ALL while being a wife. I've been exhausted! Here's a teensy preview of my going-ons!

So I think once again Ill say WHEEEEEEW!!!! 

But of course, this has not stopped me from making dinner. :)

With no further a due... 

My husband and I love having breakfast for dinner. No, I don't mean cereal. I saw this recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it, but of course I changed it around quite a bit. By the by, quinoa is pronounced like "KEEN-wa". ;)
This is what you'll need:

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 cup quinoa, thoroughly rinsed
• 2 cups very hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 medium bananas, diagonally sliced
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup walnuts (I didn't make mine with these, but I think it would taste great!)

1. Warm 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa and stir well to coat the grains. After 3 minutes, add the hot water and salt. Raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.

WHILE YOU'RE DOING STEP ONE...

2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in an oven safe nonstick pan. A cast-iron skillet would be a great option as well. Add the bananas and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, turning to brown on both sides. It may be necessary to do this in batches if this for a bigger dish. For Garret and I, I only needed two bananas. 

3.After the quinoa has cooked for 10 minutes, add coconut, sautéed bananas, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Stir well and remove the pan from the heat. Pour the quinoa mixture into the oven-safe skillet and spread evenly.

4. Combine the walnuts and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and stir to blend. Scatter the mixture over the quinoa and spread evenly to cover. Arrange any remaining cooked bananas atop the nut mixture, as well as the sliced strawberries  Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and fragrant. 

I added extra cinnamon on the top of ours so that our strawberries would be nice and cinnamon-y. Wish I would've had the walnuts to include. Oh well. Next time! This dish is also good with a little Maple syrup. I put a few healthy pancakes on my husbands plate to but the quinoa on. Of course this dish has my husbands approval!

P.S.: Healthy pancakes: 2 eggs, 1 banana, 1/2c oats, 1/4 c flour (gluten free for me!), 1/4c apple sauce, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Mix oats (electric mixer or blender) until ground, then add other ingredients. Cook on buttered pan. 

I put some grapes on my plate too. :) Wish I had a better picture, but my computer messed up and I literally had to call apple and reset it last night. Everything I had is gone and luckily I had already uploaded this crumby picture to the blog or else there'd be nothing!




Happy breakfast-ing!