Quinoa Fail.

For dinner tonight, I wanted to use the leftover quinoa that's been sitting in my fridge since Tuesday. It's hard to get rid of when you make over four servings and live in a family of non-quinoa eaters. I'd made a mental note of Ashley's post quinoa + eggs earlier in the week, and it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to try her Quinoa Egg Veggie Bake.

I essentially halved her recipe, and used:
1/2 c. pre-cooked quinoa
1 egg
1/2 c. diced tomatoes
1/2 c. frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 oz. fresh goat cheese
salt & pepper, to taste

I am only just realizing that I doubled the amount of veggies originally called for!
I followed her directions precisely:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and thoroughly grease an small baking dish. I used olive oil.


2. In a small bowl, crack + whisk the egg.



3. Mix in quinoa.


4. Stir in salt, pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and broccoli until just combined.



Are you loving the Buzz Lighyear bowl as much as I am?

Yeah...I used too many veggies.

5. Pour into baking dish and smooth down with fork/spoon/spatula.


6. Bake, uncovered for 22-26min, until lightly golden + set. [test with your finger for being set]


7. Remove from oven, turn your broiler on + sprinkle cheese on top.


8. Broil 1-3min, watching closely, until the cheese is bubbly.


I guess goat cheese doesn't get bubbly? I broiled it for over 4 minutes, and it was still white as can be. After letting the bake cool for a few minutes, I tried to scoop it out and plate it...not the best idea. The quinoa mixture had stuck to the sides quite a bit and it was impossible to lift the bake out of the baking dish! Despite my best efforts to grease the dish with olive oil, a lot of the bake simply stuck to the sides. I actually had to fill the dish with soap and boiling water twice to fully clean it.

As for the bake itself, it tasted okay. I was pretty disappointed that it didn't stay together, and ended up being a mess on my plate. I think that the amount of veggies I used (much more than called for) greatly contributed to the fact that it fell apart. I ended up dousing the bake in some tomato and hot sauce, with was also a bad idea. I mean, I ate it, but it could've been a lot better. Next time, I would obviously reduce the amount of vegetables used, and I'd probably also sprinkle some cheese into the mix, and then broil the rest at the end. Also, I wouldn't do goat cheese again. It didn't shred well. While I would give this recipe another try, I would be sure to line my pyrex dish with tin foil! I hope anyone else who has tried this recipe has reaped better results!