Quinoa Caprese Bake

Quin--what? The question of the day. Quinoa is pronounced (keen-WAH), and it is so good for you. It's most commonly used as rice, couscous, and pasta substitutes. The stuff is great -- packed with amino acids. My go-to brand of quinoa is Nature's Earthly Choice Premium Quinoa. It's organic, 100% whole grain, gluten free, and super nutritious. If you don't know what it actually is, don't worry; you're not the only one.

Until about 6 months ago I had no idea what it was either. I went to a friend's house who recently went vegetarian, and his mom made a dish and had me try it. From there on, I was hooked. There's different kinds of quinoa to buy, but my favorite is the whole grain.

Tonight (Thursday) was a home run dish. Unfortunately the only feedback I got on it was my own, because my family was in a million different directions tonight. I was very impressed with how it came out.

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked quinoa
1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/3 cup heavy cream, or half-n-half for a healthier choice
1/3 cup parmesan cheese (I hand-grated my own)
1 cup of mozzarella cheese (divided in half... 2 half cups)
1/2 to 1 cup of grape tomatoes cut in half
1 large bunch of fresh basil cut into ribbons
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook your quinoa as directed on the package. You want to make sure all of the water is absorbed before you do anything with it.
3. Mix together tomato sauce and tomato paste in a pan on low, and once it is warm, stir in the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in quinoa, half of the mozzarella, and half of the tomatoes. Add about 6 fresh basil leaves.
5. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 (according to the recipe, but I didn't have that sized pan so I used a 9x13) baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, and pour the mixture into the dish.
6. Add the rest of the mozzarella to the top, as well as the rest of the tomatoes.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
8. Turn on the broiler and broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Top with basil ribbons and let cool a few minutes before serving.

I LOVED this meal. It fooled me into thinking I was eating pasta, which I have a weakness for. It made a ton, so I will definitely be eating it for lunch for the next few days. I'm completely fine with it!

I felt like I needed a hearty vegetable to go along with the meal. I had planned on making roasted zucchini. I didn't really have a recipe to follow, so I kind of improvised. They came out very well.

Ingredients:
2 zucchinis
olive oil
red pepper flakes
pepper
onion powder

Again, I completely made this up as I went. I started by cutting off the ends of the zucchini. Then I cut them in half horizontally. From there, I cut them in half vertically, so each zucchini yielded four different "steaks", if you will. From there, I made a criss-cross shaped knife pattern in the flesh of the zucchini so that the spices and olive oil had a chance to get inside. Drizzle some olive oil on a skillet, and turn on the burner so it heats up. After about 2-3 minutes, place the zucchini's face up on the skillet. I drizzled a tiny bit of olive oil on the top sides, and then I seasoned them right there with the red pepper flakes, pepper, and onion powder. After about 3-4 minutes, I flipped them and cooked the other side for about 3-4 minutes. Test them with a fork to make sure they are tender enough to your liking. Mine had a bit of a firmer bite, which is how I prefer them.

Here's the whole thing!

Recipe Credit to: www.halfbakedharvest.com