Quinoa Mac n' Cheese
Em here, so if kitchens could talk, my last house would have a novel. Not only did it survive a hilarious kitchen fire incident (a story for another time) it also survived what has been lovingly named"The Great Quinoa Incident of '11". This is pre-pinterest yes, but seeing a trend of Quinoa replacements in cooking on Pinterest, I thought this little tid bit would save some poor innocent cook some BIG kitchen troubles.
The Original
The Pinstrosity (Per say...)
+
So no, I don't have the actual picture(lame-sauce I know, but it really was THAT bad), however, it really was just quinoa and cheese! Don't get me wrong, I love me some Quinoa, but this really wasn't up to par. It just tasted like quinoa, there was cheese present, but not in a good way. We even tried spices, which didn't seem to help, we didn't add veggies, which may have helped, and the recipe we tried didn't call for eggs, this ended up not being flavorful at ALL and it wasn't very filling either. This ended as a dud, sadly. If anyone has a killer recipe, and I mean this has to be more than excellent, the last was a HUGE turn off for the Quinoa department...The Mr.Chips still shudders when I ask if we can do a second take, we would be MORE than willing to give it a shot. I for one am still convinced that nothing comes between me and Beautiful Blue Box of Kraft, but we are always open for new additions!
-Emilee
I am so glad to hear I am not the only one that thought that was just gross!
ReplyDeleteI actually just found another quinoa and cheese recipe that I really liked. It's the first time I ever tried quinoa, and it was excellent. It doesn't replace mac 'n cheese, but it's sure good. Here's the link to where I found it: http://aroundthetableri.blogspot.com/2012/02/cheesy-quinoa-mac-cheese.html
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog through a friend and must say I love it! It's such a great idea. Especially since you provide solutions to the mayhem. Thanks!
We didn't like this either! I was really hoping it would taste more like ACTUAL mac n cheese . . . not so much. :(
ReplyDeleteI make cheesy quinoa all the time and it actually gets requested by the kids. All I do is rinse the quinoa, cook it in chicken brother instead of water and add a bit of salt. Before it's soaked up all the liquid, but you can see the little white swirlies in the grains, I add some monterey jack cheese until it's nice and creamy. I dont have exact measurements because I just toss it together. It's not mac and cheese, it's more like cheesy rice.
ReplyDeleteI made this. It was awesome. If you actually thought it would taste like pasta noodles made from wheat, well...duh. Different foods taste different. My whole family loves it.
ReplyDeleteI love quinoa, but this recipe was straight up gross. Embarassed I got sucked in!
ReplyDeleteWe make Cheese-y Quinoa a fair bit but quite differently. It involves veggies, a meat (we use pork), grated cheese, milk, egg, and we add a bit of cheese whiz as well. Then into the oven. My family loves it! (like this one - http://aroundthetableri.blogspot.ca/2012/02/cheesy-quinoa-mac-cheese.html , except without the cloves)
ReplyDeleteAnd when we want the simpler version, we just use cheese whiz and a bit of plain greek yogurt. So good.
I make this almost all the time. I found the best way is to make some quinoa, but take it out before it's fully cooked. Make an easy bechamel (make a roux, then I do a mix of cream and 1% milk, add a lot of cheese, not just cheddar. Smoked gruyere is an amazing add). The bechamel should be stringy and full of cheesy goodness. Put the non rinsed, but drained quinoa into the mix, and add whatever veggies sound good, we usually add chicken and broccoli on top. Pour mix into a baking dish, cover with bread crumbs, and bake at 350 for around 15 minutes. It's amazing. It tastes like perfect mac and cheese but much healthier.
ReplyDelete