Quinoa & Spinach Mac -n- Cheese

With my trip to Jersey and Christmas right around the corner, I’m starting to get super excited! My hubby and I are flying out to the East coast on Saturday, so food-wise, I’m at that usual point – when you’re about to leave the house for awhile and will need to clean out the fridge, so you eat random combinations of food in order to not waste things. Today I wound up eating quinoa twice. For lunch, I had a big salad with quinoa, feta, carrots, avocado and lettuce:

For dinner, I used a recipe I had ripped out from Shape magazine awhile ago for quinoa mac & cheese, and adapted it based on what I had open in my fridge to use up:

Quinoa & Spinach Mac -n- Cheese

Foodie Loves Fitness, Adapted from Shape magazine

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Servings 4

Calories 375 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2/3 cup [whole-grain] quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 medium leek white and light green parts only
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 10- oz package frozen chopped spinach thawed
• 1/2 TSP Italian seasoning
• 1/4 TSP salt
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup light garlic and herb cream cheese
• 2 TBSP milk
• 2 TBSP Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375.
• In a medium pot, combine quinoa and vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until broth is absorbed. Remove from heat and let it rest for a few minutes.
• Meanwhile, roughly chop the leek. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.
• Drain the spinach and use your hands to squeeze excess water out from it. Add the chopped leek to the pan and saute for 2 minutes, then add the spinach and saute for 3 minutes more.
• Remove spinach mix from heat and stir in Italian seasoning and salt. Fluff the resting quinoa with a fork, then add to the spinach mixture.
• Heat the cream cheese and milk in the microwave in a bowl. Whisk together, then stir into the quinoa mixture. Stir in the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, and combine everything well.
• Coat a 8x11 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the quinoa mixture evenly into the dish, then sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
• Bake in the oven until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 375kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 18gFat: 15g

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