monterey jack quinoa bake

By á-36929

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces (optional – cut this out and you've got an amazing vegetarian dish, but then you'll need to add some canola oil to sweat the veggies)
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 8 About 8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 2 corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Generous handful of tortilla chips crumbled up for topping

Details

Adapted from reelflavor.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350
Add bacon to a medium pot and and cook on medium heat
Once fat from bacon starts to coat the bottom of your pot add in you red onion, red pepper and jalapeno and let sweat for a few minutes
Toss in garlic, stir and sweat for about 30 seconds and then pour in the quinoa and let that toast for about 30-45 seconds
Pour in your water, stir and let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes
Add milk and let everything cook for another 5 minutes or so – you don't want your quinoa to be overcooked and mushy – should be soft but still have a bit of a bite to it
Season with salt and pepper to taste – start slow and add more after you add cheese if you think you need it
Combine Greek yogurt and paprika in a bowl then add to pot and stir
Throw in the most of the Monterey Jack cheese (leave a little bit behind for topping), stir and remove from heat
Add in cilantro and about 1/2 of your green onions and stir
Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray – I found that a square 9×9 dish worked great for this
Tear up your corn tortillas and place at the bottom of casserole dish
Add the cheesy quinoa deliciousness over top and fill the dish
Top with rest of cheese and tortilla chip crumbles
Bake for 30 minutes
Serve garnished with a little extra green onions on top