Mali's Quinoa with Chicken

I have made an important decision. OKAY so maybe it's not that important. But I have decided to name each of my recipes after something that happened the day I came up with it. It's my way of blogging about little thoughts of mine everyday and sharing my recipes. If you could care less about what I have to say, then by all means just skip to the good stuff (the food!). But I will try to keep my entries short and sweet and to the point. So the main dish recipe that I have come up with, has been named after my run today. There is this amazing varsity runner on my cross country team and she is so nice and fun. We have been running together the past week as a means of getting a head start to the winter track season. We decided to drive up to the face of the mountain today and run along the trails up there. BEAUTIFUL may I say! Oh my! To top off our run, we ran up this crazy hill that is apparently call Mali's. Once we ran up the very tall, steep hill, we just let go of all of our cares looking down on the beauty of the whole valley. We could see everthing and I could just feel the Spirit of the Lord so peacefully. It just amazed me that we weren't even that high up, yet the rustle and bustle of the cities below was silenced. It was an amazing experience to be able to just slow down in life for all of five minutes and enjoy the beauty of nature and the breath-taking view. So hopefully after reading this rather longer entry, drool is not stuck between the keys of your keyboard. Anways, on this wonderful night, I now present to you my newest dish: Mali's Quinoa with Chicken.      : )

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Cooked Quinoa 2/3 C dry (don't let the name scare you, its just a grain cooked similar to rice. Very delcious, full of protein, and gluten free. Can be found in any grocey store)
• 1 1/4 C water
• 1 Cup chopped spinach
•  1 Tomatoe chopped
• 1 Tb olive oil (plus 1 more for the pan to cook the chicken)
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tb whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp black ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of Mrs.Dash original blend spice (if you dont already have this stuff, stop what your doing and go to the store! Salt free and preservative free with an amazing mixture of spices. I use it on EVERYTHING! Point made.)
• 1 Chicken breast sliced length-wise(into 2 pieces)
• fresh thyme for garnishing (optional)
• 2-3 Tb. of parmesan (optional)

In a freezer baggy, combine flour, cayenne, pepper, salt, and Mrs.Dash seasoning. Place your thawed chicken in the baggy and shake. Maybe do a little dance around your kitchen. Or not. But you probably should. Just saying. :) Ok now, heat up your 1 Tb oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place chicken breasts in the pan and continue cooking on medium. While the chicken is cooking, bring 1 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Once it boils, throw in your dry quinoa. Reduce to a simmer for 12 minutes and place a air-tight lid over it. Once your quinoa is done, it's probably best if you drain any of the excess water. Keep your steamy quinoa in the pan for five minutes. While your at it, throw in the spinach and tomatoe. Stir it a little and then quickly cover it with a lid to let the heat cook it all together a little. Once its done, stir in the lemon juice (not too much, or else it will be bitter), and then another Tb of olive oil. Cut up your chicken and throw that in too. Add parmesan or thyme as garnish if you would like and enjoy your dinner. :D