Pepperoni Quinoa
Mike recently discovered quinoa at the farmer’s market. There was a booth there where a lady was selling a package of uncooked quinoa with seasoning in it. All you have to do is put it in a pot, add water, salt and butter or olive oil and you would have a nice side dish ready in about 20 minutes. This very intelligent lady also had samples of the items she was selling. Mike was hesitant to try it, but when I told him it was delicious after trying a sample, he agreed to try some too. He loved it, and is now on the quinoa band wagon.
Mike also loves mini pepperonis. I bought them once from the grocery store when he wanted to make pepperoni pizza at home because I couldn’t find the “regular” sized pepperoni. It was love at first bite. I really don’t know why he loves them so much more than regular pepperoni, but whenever he wants to make a pizza, I have to buy the mini pepperonis.
Normally, I wouldn’t mind buying mini pepperonis, because they are just so cute! However, they come in this huge package (it’s really only about 5 ounces). I’m not really sure how many mini pepperonis are in a package, but it seems like hundreds. As a result, I am constantly looking for ways to use up those pepperonis.
I decided to try to make a dish that included both quinoa and the mini pepperonis. Mike loves each of these items individually, why not put them together? The result was deliciousness!
- 1 cup prewashed quinoa
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- ½ cup marinara sauce*
- ¼ cup mini pepperonis
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- In a medium pot over high heat, add the quinoa and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked.
- Add the diced tomatoes, mini pepperonis, and garlic and continue to cook until the tomatoes and pepperoni are heated through.
- Add the mozzarella, salt, onion powder and black pepper and stir until the mozzarella is melted and fully combined.
- Serve immediately.
*I used Awesome Sauce
Adapted from High Heels to Hot Wheels
