The Quinoa Experiments

I recently decided to be more adventurous and try new things in the kitchen. I'm usually a really picky eater, but in the last couple of years, I've really tried to branch out. My friend's mom used to make this amazing mashed cauliflower, and since cauliflower is low carb and good for you, I figured, why not try it myself? I tried these baked cauliflower cakes that I found on Pinterest, in hopes of finding something new and healthful I could make for myself more often. 
They were disgusting. Back to the Pinterest boards I went. My next experiment? Quinoa. 
If you've never seen it or heard of it, quinoa is a grain, similar to rice. It's full of protein and fiber, and is supposed to be really good for you. I've seen it all over Pinterest and other cooking sites, so I decided it was worth a try. Couldn't possibly be any worse than my cauliflower cakes, right?

via The Kitchn

I picked up the cheapest bag of quinoa Lowes Food had to offer. The organic label automatically jacks up the price a little; spending $5.99 on a bag of grain isn't something I see myself doing often. Fortunately, about 1/2 cup of dry quinoa makes a cup of cooked quinoa, so it'll probably last me a while. 
So far, I've used my quinoa three times. The first time, I made a pizza crust and got myself a somewhat healthier pizza for dinner. It wasn't bad; with a few additional spices and flavors, it'd be pretty delicious. 

One day last week, I thought I'd try quinoa for breakfast. I'd seen it before and figured it had to be similar to eating oatmeal for breakfast (which I eat pretty often). Worth a try, I thought.
Turns out, you can't exactly make "quick" quinoa in the microwave. Or maybe you can, and I just did it wrong. But it didn't work, so I resorted to the stove. Fortunately I wasn't in a hurry that morning, because quinoa is a bit time-consuming to prepare. Regardless, I ended up with brown sugar cinnamon quinoa, which I topped with some banana slices. I toasted the grains in coconut oil instead of olive oil, since I didn't want a particularly savory breakfast. And it definitely kept me full until lunchtime. 

This past weekend, I was in the mood for a quesadilla, so I whipped up some Mexican-ish quinoa for filling and a side item instead of rice. I cooked it like normal, but added a little taco seasoning and a pinch of cayenne for some flavor. Definitely not bad. I feel like it would need more to it if it were to be a bigger part of a meal, though. 
Overall, I like quinoa more than I thought I would. I had the impression that it was just one of those "trendy" health foods that wasn't as great as everyone said it was. It's versatile, and I feel like I can do a lot with it as I use it more. It is a little high maintenance in that it takes a while to cook a serving, and it's pricy, but I'm more open to cooking with it now. If you have any good quinoa recipes, please share them... I would love some recipes to play with! 

 Do you cook with quinoa? What's your favorite way to serve it?