Recipe Review from 9/9/2019

Summer left and Fall has arrived with blustery winds and rain. Our poor sunflowers had just bloomed and now they are all drenched and falling over. 

Uneventful week meal wise - coming off of camping in Winona, MN, a 2 1/2 hour YMCA staff meeting on Sunday evening right over dinner, and busy work week for both the Husband and I - I relied on leftovers, "brinner", take-n-bake pizza and more leftovers.

The Meal Plan
Sun (L) leftover BBQ chicken (S) leftover brats
Mon (yoga) leftover BBQ chicken
Tues - "brinner" (breakfast for dinner)
Wed - leftover chicken and wild rice
Thurs (yoga) take-n-bake pizza
Fri - Quinoa with Corn and Tomatoes
Sat (meditation workshop) leftover pizza/leftover quinoa

lunches - leftover Moroccan Stew, veggies, and wild rice casserole

Quinoa with Corn and Tomatoes (Cooking Light, May 2012) vegetarian, gluten free
Not my first time posting about this recipe. I reviewed it in 2014. My original plan was to make this for camping, but I changed my mind. Then I was going to make this for lunches, but I just couldn't seem to fit it in in the evenings until Friday when I got home early.

As I mentioned before, this IS an easy dish to assemble. I "roast" my corn on the stove top rather than heat up the oven, plus it takes a fraction of the time to cook. I assemble everything warm, because if you wait for quinoa to cool down, you'll be waiting a solid hour (you could spread it out in a sheet pan, but then you'd have another dish to wash).

This is good right off the stove, warm, and even cold. I used goat cheese (mmm...it melts so nicely in this warmed) and I doubled it so I'd have some leftovers.

RECOMMENDED

photo from CookingLight.com

Serves 4 as main dish

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 ½ cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
½ cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Cool to room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 375°.

3. Combine corn and 1 tablespoon oil in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Spread corn in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Roast corn at 375° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.

4. Combine juice, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add corn, quinoa, and tomatoes to bowl; toss to coat. Add cheese and basil; toss gently.