The Meatless Kitchen: Tex Mex Quinoa Three Ways!

 I needed a quick lunch the other day, so I made a big batch of Tex Mex Quinoa. Basically, a bunch of veggies and beans tossed with seasoned quinoa. This is meatless so would be great if you are omitting meat. I cooked a cup of quinoa in chicken broth with some seasoning. I used Adobo seasoning in this. Then I threw the veggies in a casserole dish to heat up in the oven. I used a can of drained black beans, a can or Rotel, green chiles, and black olives all drained and topped with some gouda cheese. For lunch that day I just had it in a bowl. 

Today though I'm going to show you three ways you can use that mixture in different meals. 

Meal 1: Tex Mex Quinoa Tacos

Just add the mixture to a soft shell or hard shell taco. Add any toppings you'd like (cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, sour cream). I added some salsa to the mixture and topped with some pepperjack cheese. Be prepared this is a bit of a messy taco. 

Meal 2: Tex Mex Quinoa Nachos

Just lay a bed of tortilla chips on the plate and top with the quinoa mixture. Top with any additional topping you would like (lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc). Use the tortilla chips to scoop up the quinoa mixture. I used quinoa chia seed tortilla chips. 

Meal 3: Tex Mex Quinoa Enchiladas

This was by far my favorite of the three. The enchilada sauce really added some flavor. So, for this I took the base quinoa mixture and added a couple tablespoons of the enchilada sauce. Then built the enchiladas. 

               

I used low carb tortillas and put in 2 TBSP of the quinoa mixture and rolled the enchiladas and placed them in a greased casserole dish. fold side down. Some of the mixture will fall out the sides that's ok just push it back in if you can. Once all the enchiladas are in the pan, pour the rest of the can of enchilada sauce over all the enchiladas. I made 6 enchiladas if you are making more you will need a 2nd can of sauce. I then shredded some pepperjack cheese and covered the enchiladas. I baked in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Cheddar cheese or Monterrey jack would be good in this as well. I would like to try this again with corn tortillas and green enchilada sauce, but this was very good. 

A great option for a meatless yet filling meal. You can do a trio meal like I did, or you can try a single meal option.