South of the Border Quinoa Bowl

Last night we had our dear friend and brother James over. James has been a close friend of ours for quite a while now, it is a gift that he is friends with both of us equally and does his best to invest in our entire family. He loves our kids and takes the time to interact with them regularly and it almost means more to my heart to watch someone love on my children than pursuing me directly. i don't know..it just says a lot about a person, you know? he is a blessing to us. We have him over quite a bit for shared meals, he is super encouraging of my cooking, so of course he is fun to cook for.  Last night him and Nathan were gonna have a guys night which coincided with an event I had to be at also, so it was a win win. James came over earlier, and my kitchen was a mess, so I wasn't looking to make an elaborate meal. Just something delicious and simple to make. So I decided to put together a quinoa dish with some fun add ins. It turned out really well (so i've heard graciously from hubby and brother James) and it was not heavy at all, but filling since quinoa is a complete protein and all the other ingredients helped out.  This is a what i like to call a vegan-by-accident-[if you sub out chx stock] dish and also by default, [meaning i wasn't intentional] it is also gluten free, dairy free, and also vegetarian. I hope you can put it to good use!

you'll need:

1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water, or vegetable or chicken broth [if you don't care about the vegan factor]
2 large russet potatoes, rinsed and chopped into small cubes
1 can of black beans, rinsed
2 ears of corn, shucked and kernels chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon of squeezed lime juice
1 small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped


in a rice cooker, combine quinoa and stock [or whichever liquid option you choose] cook according to directions: i brought it to a boil, then lowered to simmer and covered for 15 minutes. set aside.

in a large pan, combine a little vegetable oil and pan cook potatoes until firm and browned around edges. [about 15-18 minutes.]
add black beans and corn kernels and continue to stir and toss and cook.
add cumin.
add salt and pepper to taste.
when potatoes are cooked and beans and corn have been thoroughly heated, remove from pan and place in a large glass dish.

add cooked quinoa and mix.
add cilantro and lime juice for finishing touch.
serve immediately. enjoy.

also, for a little bit of heat if you so wish, James suggested a little sriracha squirt as needed. I added it to mine and it tasted awesome. I would strongly suggest it to give it that extra kick.