Mexican Style Quinoa Casserole

 So I've been scouring Pinterest trying to find meatless dishes that the entire family can enjoy - and of course, Pinterest didn't disappoint. I came across a few different recipes for quinoa casserole and decided I was going to blend a few of them together to come up with this: Mexican Style Quinoa Casserole.

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
• 2 medium bell peppers, chopped (I used yellow and red)
• half an onion, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1-2 jalapeños, seeded and minced
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
• a handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup tex mex shredded cheese (or more if you really like cheese)
• salt & pepper

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish. 

Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.

 Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat and toss in garlic and onion.  Cook until onions are fragrant and start to turn a golden brown. Toss in tomatoes, tomato puree, jalapeños, salt and pepper and let simmer for 7 minutes or so. Once simmering is done throw in your peppers, black beans and corn and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes. Turn the heat off, add the chopped cilantro and mix.

Toss the cooked quinoa with cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder and the taco seasoning. Combine with black bean and corn mixture and toss well.

Add a layer of the quinoa mix to the casserole dish and cover with a thin layer of shredded cheese. Add the remaining mixture with another layer of cheese to finish it off. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake for an additional 10 minutes (with the last minute or two on low broil if you like your cheese somewhat browned like the above picture).

This was a definite hit. Even Andrew who hates cheese (I know right?!?) liked this. At the last minute I decided to make naan pita chips and it was the perfect addition.  

Enjoy