Quinoa & Red Rice Stuffing

A few weeks ago I went to a class at William’s Sonoma Cooking Store on how to cook grains. One dish that stuck out to me was the Herbed Quinoa & Red Rice Stuffing. It’s sold out on their website, even at $14 a box, which only makes a 9X13 pan. I knew I could make this on my own for quite a bit less price wise. Even at first try making it, it tastes the same! Here is the recipe as to how I made it. I’m guessing this cost me less than $5 to make. Quinoa (Keen-wa) is a great grain because it is full of all different types of protein. This makes a great dish for vegetarians. Red rice is also a great alternative for stuffing because it’s not starchy and contains a lot of minerals. So this dish is healthy, vegetarian, really good, gluten free, and vegan!

I modified the recipe a little bit from the way Williams Sonoma makes it. I added a carrot, to add another veggie, and to give it more color. I also found instead of baking it, I could just saute the vegetables until they’re soft, and then add it to the quinoa & rice after it’s done cooking. You can certainly also double this recipe.

Red Rice & Quinoa Stuffing

1/2 cup Red Rice

1/2 cup Quinoa

1/4 cup Dried Cranberries

1 Large Celery Stalk

1 Large Carrot

1/2 Small Yellow Onion

1 & 3/4 C. Vegetable Broth or Water

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1. Rinse the rice and quinoa in a mesh strainer .

2. Add vegetable broth and grains in a deep simmering pan and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce to a low simmer, cover. Cook 15 minutes or until water becomes absorbed into grains.

4. Meanwhile, finely chop your onion, carrot, and celery. Saute until tender enough to eat.

*note: Quinoa cooks best when you cook it on low as heat as possible for a longer time

5. Turn off heat after grains are done cooking. Allow to sit with the lid on for a couple of minutes.

6. Mix in spices, cranberries, & vegetables.