I make a ridiculous amount of quinoa.  Poor Kyle, he doesn’t even like quinoa but I force him to eat it because I like it so much.  It’s delicious and you’re eating it, I say!!

This particular recipe is my favorite way to prepare quinoa.  Simple, easy, and full of flavorful ingredients.  I love it so much I even made it for the bridal shower I co-hosted.

For this recipe, keep in mind that I completely eyeball all ingredient measurements so the list is meant only as a guide.  You can use more or less of any ingredient – totally up to you.  Quinoa is so easy and accommodating.  You can pretty much mix anything with it and it will still taste good.  Thanks for being so great, quinoa.

Quinoa with Cranberries and Pinenuts:
Serves 4-5 

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or water)
• 1/2 medium-sized cucumber, chopped fine
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 of a red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup pinenuts, toasted
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon-infused olive oil (or lemon vinaigrette)

To make quinoa, combine 1 cup uncooked quinoa with 2 cups chicken stock (or water) in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once boiled, turn the heat down and let it simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pinenuts in a pan until they are golden brown and smell nutty and delicious.  Chop the cucumber, parsley, and onion (I usually just toss them in a food processor and pulse it a few times – way easier!).  Combine the chopped veggies with the cooked quinoa in a mixing bowl.  Add the cranberries, toasted pinenuts, and salt & pepper.  Swirl in lemon-infused olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time.  If you like it a little more dressed, add another tablespoon.

If you don’t have lemon-infused olive oil, don’t fret my pet!  A few squeezes of lemon juice and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil will yield the same results.  Also, if you don’t have pinenuts (because dang those things are expensive), any kind of toasted nut will do just fine.

The longer the quinoa sits in the dressing, the more flavorful it becomes.  Store it in the fridge and it will last a few days.  Or don’t store it and eat it all at once.  That’s what I usually do.