Last week, I mentioned wanting to push myself and actually cook again. I'm embarrassed to say that my definition of "cooking" is throwing plain chicken in the oven, and making vegetables in the skillet. No recipes, no fancy ingredients, and definitely no spices. I'm also embarrassed to say I can count on one hand how many intricate meals I've made since we've been married (meaning, following a recipe)...so I decided it was time to dive deep into my Pinterest boards and find me a winner!
{insert most amazing dinner ever from my favorite new food blog and who I give full credit for this recipe; Half Baked Harvest}
You will need;
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup mozzarella, divided (we used fresh rounds)
1/3 parmesan cheese
1/2-1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 large bunch of basil, cut into ribbons
1/2 teaspoon crush red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
First, you'll want to preheat your oven to 350 (do that first -- don't be a crazy like me and forget until after your meal is ready to go in the oven to do that!). Then, you'll want to hit up both the tomato sauce and tomato paste over low heat in a large pan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream, parmesan, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.
Once blended, remove from heat and add in the cooked quinoa. After, fold in half of the mozzarella and half of the tomatoes. Then chop up 6 leaves of basil and add those bad boys in too! Once its all combined, spray an 8x8 (you can also use 9x9) baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire mixture into the dish. Top with fresh mozzarella rounds (or shredded mozzarella) and the remaining tomatoes. Bake for 10-15 minutes, and then turn on the broiler for 1-2 minutes (or until cheese is golden). Once its done, add a few basil ribbons on top, then ENJOY!
I'm so excited to say it turned out amazing, like...I was actually so proud of myself!! I freaking used my BROILER! I didn't even know our oven could do that.
Please do yourself a favor and make this TONIGHT...oh and while you're at it, make every recipe from this blog, where I found this incredible recipe :) enjoy!
I'm going to try this for supper on Friday! I think I may be able to convince everyone in my family to try it. :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks DELICIOUS and I bet it's WW friendly... AND I bet my husband would eat it! I have been looking for some recipes that I can add into my rotation which, sadly, has been non-existent lately!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to try it
ReplyDeleteYumm yumm yumm!! :) I'm forwarding this to Sarah! I made my favorite quinoa recipe for my lunches this week and actually took pictures to do a post about it! It'll be up tomorrow :)
ReplyDeleteI'm requesting this for our next CC night! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing!!!! Girl that last picture if I were to try and show it like that you know I would have dropped that whole pan of amazingness already made! Your cooking pics are great what camera and lens do you use?
ReplyDeleteI made this recipe a few days ago and I fell in love as well! So tasty!!! And made plenty for leftovers the next day!!
ReplyDeleteIf we didn't invite my entire family over, there would've been tons leftover. Sadly I only had enough for one lunch worth! But still, soo tasty!! Glad you liked it :)
DeleteYum...this looks great! I've made a lot of quinoa, but haven't baked it it.
ReplyDeleteI totally cracked up at "I freaking used my BROILER!" Love it! This looks really good. I'm totally following that blog now. I'm looking at the black bean taco quinoa bake, which also looks delish.
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