Recipe #2: Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole

For any of you that know Matt, stop laughing… he will eat quinoa. And even if he didn’t, there was leftover mac and cheese in the fridge. Speaking of, if you want a killer stove top mac and cheese, check out this White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe. One of our favorites and quite possibly better as fondue than mac and cheese. I have eaten more of the cheese sauce by dipping chunks of sourdough into the pot than on macaroni. Mmmmm

Hmm? Where was I? Oh yeah….

Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole

Recipe: Blast from the past…with a new twist

Recipe #2 is a new spin on a casserole that has seen many a church potluck. A couple swap outs and it’s even healthy. Substitute rice with quinoa, use less and light mayo, easy enough. I added some leftover chicken and it was a complete meal! Would I make it again? Probably not… It wasn’t bad by any measure, it was just bland. As Matt said, “It’s okay. . .  but that’s it. Okay.” Making it, it seemed a little on the bland side, so I did a couple things, threw in a bit of garlic powder and used pepper jack cheese. Checking for seasoning before it went into the oven, all I could really taste was the pepper jack. Once it came out, I couldn’t even taste that anymore. I just need more flavor. Were I to make it again, I would add more (any) seasoning.

UPDATE:

When I went to pack my lunch of leftover quinoa-casserole this morning, something in the door caught my eye. A bottle of my Trader Joe’s Deli-Style Spicy Brown Mustard (A habit, I believe, I picked up from my dad. I love mustard! TJ’s just happens to be my favorite. As someone put it once, it is the “special trip to the store when you realize you are out” bottle.) Of course, why did I not think of this last night?! I mixed it in with the leftovers and reheated. So good!!! So, if I were to make this again, in addition to the 1/3 cup of light mayo, I would put in, I’m guessing, about 1/4 cup mustard (did I mention I really love mustard? Did I mention it was really bland before? Your tastes may very). Additional creaminess and flavor. And since mustard is a high flavor/low calorie food, it retains it’s healthy reputation.