Quinoa and Veggie Bake (Daniel Fast Day 3)

Day 3 came and boy, waking up earlier and earlier is great!  I hope to continue this even after the fast.

As I do love the barley soup, I was getting tired of it and spent a few minutes looking for a recipe.
I didn't want anything super complicated and I didn't want to have to shop for anything. Here's what I found in Susan Gregory's book: The Daniel Plan, and here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
3 to 4 quart covered casserole dish
1 cup Quinoa (organic is best, I pay $3.49/pound at Wegman's bulk section.. I've seen it for $7.99/lb so this is a steal)
1/4 cup raisins - I used yellow raisins and while not a lover of raisins, they made the dish quite tasty.
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (if you can't handle seeds, you can leave these out)
2 bay leaves
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I like "California" brand of EVOO best, you can also use Coconut oil. If you don't like the scent of coconut, you can purchase it deodorized so it has no smell - it doesn't have to be organic, just make sure it is not refined.)
1 Cup celery
2 medium carrots, diced
2 small zucchini, diced (I used 1 medium squash because I had it and didn't have zucchini)
1 tsp ground coriander
A pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup minced parsley or cilantro for garnish

1. Soak the quinoa for an hour in a bowl, then rinse until the water runs clear using a fine mesh strainer. 

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (I didn't preheat the oven till about 7 or 8 minutes on the timer for the quinoa)
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the celery and saute until it starts to become transparent ; add the carrots and cook for 5 more minutes; add the zucchini and cook for about one minute more.
4. Add the coriander, cayenne pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper, adjusting the seasoning to your liking. Add the quinoa, raisins, sunflower seeds, and bay leaves; stir until integrated and continue cooking until vegetables are tender, about 3 more minutes.  

5. Pour the vegetable and quinoa mixture into a 3 to 4 quart casserole dish with lid; add the boiling water or broth; cover.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
7. Remove Bay Leaves.  Garnish dish with fresh minced parsley or cilantro before serving. 

I tried to make the font as small as possible for this one since the recipe took up most of the post.  This was really a delicious recipe and I will be making this again.  You can really swap out any of the recipes that maybe are not a favorite of your kids, spouse, or even yourself.  I didn't have celery, so I used a small yellow onion and the zucchini I used was actually a yellow squash. I also added mushrooms because I needed to used them up and I love button mushrooms.

Please let me know in the comments if you liked or didn't like this recipe.  Again, this one came from Susan Gregory's book, so the credit is not mine.  I'm not sure if she created it or got it elsewhere but I would guess it was her creation.

Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments below! And don't forget to subscribe!

Be blessed!

 

Teri