Hello there. (I hope you’re still there!)
To say it has been a while is certainly an understatement! It’s been just over two months.
I (think) I have a good enough excuse though…
It’s very exciting news! And, while I’m feeling great now (in my 16th week), I was feeling exhausted and also a little icky those first few months. I seriously took a two month break from cooking (not just blogging)! Just the thought of cooking made my nauseous. (I wasn’t even pinning recipes during those two months! It was serious!)
The good news is I am back in the kitchen and back on the blog (and back on Pinterest as well)! My comeback recipe is a hearty BBQ Chicken Quinoa Casserole. It’s filling (yet very healthy) and will warm you up! The casserole is packed with veggies and topped with ooey-gooey, melted cheese. It also was really easy to make and didn’t take much time at all, making it the perfect recipe for getting my feet wet in the kitchen once again. I loved it!
Start with the quinoa…
- Bring 1½ cups water to a boil.
- Add ¾ cup roasted garlic quinoa.
- Stir, reduce the heat, and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400°.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Drizzle in some EVOO.
- Add 1 package of ground chicken.
- Break the meat up with a wooden spoon.
- Season with a little s&p.
- Cook until browned, about 8 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks, chop up 1 red onion, 1 red pepper, and 1 green pepper.
- Seed and mince 1 jalapeno.
- Mince 4 cloves of garlic.
- Halve 1 cup grape tomatoes.
- Add the veggies to the browned chicken.
- Season with a little more s&p, to taste.
- Stir to combine.
- Cook until the veggies are tender-crisp, about 6 minutes.
- Pour in ¼ cup BBQ sauce.
- Stir again, then remove from the heat.
- Pour the chicken and veggie mixture into a baking dish.
- Top with the quinoa.
- Stir to distribute the quinoa.
- Pour ½ cup BBQ sauce on top of the casserole.
- Stir again.
- Top with a lot of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!
P.S. – If you liked this post, be sure to stayed tuned for my next which has even more exciting news!!
- 1½ cups water
- ¾ cup roasted garlic quinoa
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 package ground chicken
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup BBQ sauce, divided
- 1¼ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- Preheat your oven to 400°.
- Bring the water to boil.
- Add the quinoa.
- Stir, reduce the heat, and cover.
- Let the quinoa simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chicken.
- Break the chicken up with a wooden spoon.
- Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Sauté, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Add the onion, peppers, tomatoes and garlic.
- Add a little more salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir to combine.
- Cook for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
- Pour in ¼ cup of the BBQ sauce.
- Stir and remove from the heat.
- Pour the chicken and vegetables into a baking dish.
- Add the cooked quinoa.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour the remaining ½ cup of BBQ sauce on top.
- Stir again to evenly distribute the sauce.
- Top with the cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
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