Showing posts with label swiss chard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swiss chard. Show all posts

November 11, 2012

Quinoa with Swiss Chard and Mushrooms

As you can see from my past few posts, I've been doing a lot of dining out and not so much cooking. Although I love a good restaurant, I don't always choose the healthiest options. I'm starting this week off with this super healthy protein-packed creation.


Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed, roughly chopped
2 C sliced mushrooms
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper
4 t parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 C quinoa
1 C water

Directions:
cook quinoa according to package directions.
while quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in a large pan.
add onions and sauté until they start to change color (about 5 minutes).
add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are tender (about 5 minutes).
add chard and mix until it wilts.
season with salt & pepper to taste.
turn off heat.
add quinoa to pan and stir.
sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

found rainbow chard - so beautiful

remove the thick red stems
trim the stem down the middle of each leaf
remove stem
stems & stems 
saute onions in olive oil 
add mushrooms
it wilts to almost nothing!

tips & extras

Quinoa - You can use other grains here. Pasta, rice, or barley would all work.

Garlic - You can omit the garlic if you aren't dining alone.


Mushrooms - I used baby bellas, but whatever is available will work.


Swiss chard - Although the stems look really nice, they don't really get tender (especially the thicker parts). You need to remove the center stem and use just the leaves. You can substitute spinach for the chard if it isn't available at your grocer. It might seem like you are using a lot of chard, but it wilts away to almost nothing.