My Quinoa Cooking Adventure

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 head garlic, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup sofrito (such as Goya®)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• ½ cup sofrito (such as Goya®), or to taste

Step 1

Soak the quinoa in a bowl of water for about 20 minutes, then drain it well. While that’s soaking, heat a tablespoon of canola oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion, red bell pepper, and garlic until they’re nice and soft—this usually takes around 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 2

Grab a saucepan and combine the chicken broth, drained quinoa, a quarter cup of the onion mixture you just cooked, a quarter cup of sofrito, cumin, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then cover the pan, lower the heat, and let it simmer gently until the quinoa is tender and has soaked up all the liquid—about 20 minutes. Once that’s done, stir in the corn and cook for another 5 minutes until it’s warmed through.

Step 3

While the quinoa is cooking, heat another tablespoon of canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken along with adobo seasoning, garlic powder, half a teaspoon of cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink, which should take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 4

Finally, mix the quinoa mixture with the rest of the onion mixture, black beans, and half a cup of sofrito into the cooked chicken. Give everything a good stir and cook it all together for a couple more minutes until it’s heated through and ready to serve.