I recently joined a “What’s for Dinner?” group. In it, people post their weekly menu. It reminded me that dinner doesn’t need to be complicated. It also gave me some new ideas including this quinoa bake. Stella made it for dinner last night and it was a huge hit. It will definitely be added to our weekly rotation. Next time I think I’ll add some Italian sausage and/or mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 good sized zucchini or 2 small ones sliced into 1/4″ half moons
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced (or any color)
- 1-3 minced garlic cloves dependent on your preference
- Oil to sauté vegetables
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese + more to top the casserole
- ~ 32 pepperoni cut into fourths
- ~ 10 pepperoni not cut to top the casserole
- Grated Parmesan to garnish after baked
For the Sauce:
- 1 6-oz can of tomato paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Shake or two of black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 11×7 baking dish or similar size. (This does not make a full 13×9 pan.)
- Follow the directions on package to prepare the quinoa and let sit.
- Place a large and deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and sauté onions and peppers until soft. Add zucchini and garlic. Continue to stir and cook until tender.
- Combine the ingredients for the sauce. Stir until well combined.
- Add quinoa, sauce, pepperoni and 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese to the veggies in the deep skillet. Combine.
- Transfer to the baking dish. Sprinkle with at least another 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining uncut pepperoni.
- YOU CAN FREEZE OR REFRIGERATE THE CASSEROLE AT THIS POINT AND BAKE IT LATER!
- Bake 15 minutes or until all melted together and hot in the middle. (If it was thawed from the freezer or was in the refrigerator and it is still really cold, it will take longer to heat through the middle.)
- Garnish with grated Parmesan.
{My blog posts normally don’t contain external links. However, this recipe was found at https://therealfoodrds.com/pepperoni-pizza-quinoa-bake/?fbclid=IwAR0q6p5UbwVKbjVxSPiEqxLhGjLohx5l9xfCzyFXRF2rstKndLYqBWSE2vg I modified it as shown above in my post. This post is also not connected to any company or affiliation program unless stated. Basically, I received nothing for posting…I just had to share! Thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for visiting!}
