Roasted Garlic and Herb Quinoa “Fried Rice”

It has been a gloomy and stressful week.  I found myself making one of my comfort foods, quinoa and made “fried rice”.   With all that stress, I wanted to be good to my heart, so I decided to add garlic; plenty of them.  But rather than the typical minced garlic, I settled to roast the garlic cloves whole in olive oil.   I added rosemary to make it more flavorful.

Easy Quinoa Vegetable Fried Rice

I created this recipe last month but completely forgot about it.  It’s been sitting on my Dashboard.  So, here it is.

Okay, Mr. M. couldn’t wait for dinner, so he settled for a take out.  However, he requested to have fried rice with the food he brought home.  Granted.  However, I really didn’t want to eat rice anymore.  I had quinoa on the stove and that’s when it hit me. Quinoa Fried Rice was created.

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You probably notice adding an egg in the ingredients is optional.  I opted not to add it, so little J & A can have some.  I used the  remaining vegetables from making the quinoa breakfast casserole.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked red and white quinoa
• 4 oz. organic tofu, sliced in tiny bite pieces
• 1 egg (optional)
• 2 tablespoons Sesame oil
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped onions
• 1 stalk of green onions, thinly cut
• 1/8 cup red bell peppers, cubed in small pieces
• 1/2 zucchini, sliced in small pieces
• a handful of broccoli florets, cut in small pieces
• 1/2 cup dry Shiitake mushrooms, soak in hot water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (to taste) and black pepper or you may use salt
• 1 teaspoon flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon Chia seeds
• lemon wedge

I opted for salt instead of soy sauce.  It’s really delicious and healthy for you.  This fried rice is packed with nutrients such as protein, Vitamin C, potassium, iron, omega fatty acids and more.

Directions:

1. Remove Shiitake mushrooms from the water.  Squeeze to remove excess liquid.  You can save the liquid and use for stocks and soup. Cut off the stems. Slice the mushrooms; set aside.
2. Heat a skillet or saute pan over medium heat and add the oil when hot.  Fry the egg and break it off with a spatula as it cooks or you can scramble the egg and cook it.
3. Add the garlic and onions and saute until translucent.  Add the Shiitake mushrooms.  Stir-fry until the mushrooms are tender.  Add the rest of the vegetables.  Stir and cover.
4. Turn down heat to medium-low at this point and let it cook until the vegetables are half cooked about 3 to 5 minutes depending on your stove.  Adjust accordingly.
5. Add the tofu, quinoa, Flax seeds and Chia seeds.  Stir-fry for one minute or until heated through shaking the pan or skillet from time to time.
6. Season with salt or soy sauce and black pepper to taste.  Stir until well-combined.
7. Serve warm in a bowl and squeeze with lemon.

Enjoy!

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