Let's Talk Dinners: Sauteed Kale with Quinoa

One of the first new recipes I tried last year that I really liked was sautéed kale with quinoa. I'd never even had either of these foods before and now they're two of my favorites! I've tweaked it over time to be very tasty to me, so I thought I'd share it with you here.

Sauteed Kale & Quinoa

- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp minced onion
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 small tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 lemon to juice
- salt & pepper to taste
- dash cayenne

Preparing the quinoa:
- Cook the quinoa first, or even ahead of time, and set aside to add in at the end.
- Cooking quinoa is much like cooking rice on the stove top... one part grain to two part liquid (I've called for enough here to have a batch in your fridge to use in various things for the week, but for this meal you'll only need 1/2 cup end-product... I just find it cooks up better in larger batches), bring it to a boil, then put the lid on and take it down to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. If you leave the heat too high, it is very easy to scorch and dry out. I stir it around a couple times to be sure the liquid is dispersing throughout the pan.
- You're looking for the white dot in the middle of the grain to shrink down to a speck - that's how I know the grain has soaked up enough liquid to be a pleasant texture and not crunchy.
- I cook my quinoa in broth because I think it goes a long way in making it taste good. Plain quinoa is just that... very plain. But cooking it in vegetable or chicken broth is tasty and really doesn't add anything significant to the calories. (I think two cups of homemade chicken broth is 50 calories, so the half cup you eat with this meal will be about 12 calories more... not enough to fret over.)

Sauteeing the veggies:
- Although I call for a tablespoon of olive oil, you could probably use less. I use about a tablespoon when I double this recipe because my oldest likes to eat it with me. Either way, pour it in the bottom of your pan and turn the heat to medium-high and let it warm while you chop the onion and garlic.
- Throw in the onion, garlic & kale and stir them around until the kale has really broken down and turned shiny. Kale takes on a whole different taste when it has been broken down and cooked - it is savory instead of plant-like, in my opinion.
- When you think the kale is soft enough, throw in your diced tomatoes and give the lemon a good squeeze over the whole pan.
- Mix it around just long enough for the tomatoes to get warm but not fall apart and turn to mush.
- Add some salt & pepper to taste and cayenne if you wish.
- Here is where I scoop 1/2 cup of the prepared quinoa and add it to the dish before putting it on my plate. (If I were making this for more than one, I would put the quinoa on my plate first to make sure I'm getting a full serving, then top it with a couple cups of the veggies from the pan.)

This makes a whole plate serving that is a complete 322 calorie meal in itself. The first time I made this for myself I thought, oh man, this is all I get to eat for dinner?! But then I was surprised it was a whole plate of food (as you can see above) and really filling. And super tasty. I like it a lot. I hope you do, too.