Southwest Quinoa Bowl

I did a lot of cooking this week, and found myself, as I do during such weeks, with odds and ends in the fridge, in small quantities, and no real plan. At such a time, pizza delivery may sound perfect, but these delicious ingredients were all calling to me. Perhaps you recognize some of them from recent posts: garlic, onions, cooked quinoa, avocado, kale, black beans, cilantro … add a few other stragglers, like the last tablespoon of pico, a quarter can of corn, and a few tortillas, and my friends, that is what we call “dinner.”

Ingredients:

– extra virgin olive oil
– kale or other greens (1 cup, chopped)
– 1/2 sweet onion, diced
– 2 cloves garlic (left over from garlic post – minced or sliced)
– 1 c cooked quinoa
– 1/2 c black beans, rinsed and drained
– 1/4 c canned corn, drained
– 2 T cilantro
– avocado, for garnish
– pico or salsa, for garnish
– tortilla chips made from 2 corn tortillas

How do I make it?

• Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 1 T olive oil. Add the greens and half the garlic, and cook until the greens start to wilt and turn bright green. Remove the greens from the pan and set aside.
• Return the skillet to the range and add 1 T olive oil. Add the onion and remaining garlic. Cook until the onion browns (about 5 minutes), then add the cooked quinoa, the black beans, and the corn. Stir until it is heated through. Add the cilantro and the cooked reserved greens, and combine to heat through.
• Transfer to a bowl, and top with avocado, pico, and more cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.
• I am not a gratuitous cheese person, but if you are, this seems like a wonderful vehicle for a little chunk of cheese you were saving for a rainy day. Likewise, aren’t you glad you made extra shish taouk for a time like this?