Baked Quinoa and Chicken Parmesan

It's Monday.  The weekend has come and gone and Christopher is back at work. Annabel is napping and that allows me a few moments to sit and rest.  I figure now is a good time to blog.

I am trying to switch us over to organic meat, but it gets pretty expensive even with shopping at Costco. Since we are trying to stay on a semi-tight food budget, I have been trying to find meals that stretch our meat without leaving us still hungry. While browsing Foodgawker I found this recipe for Baked Quinoa and Chicken Parmesan a few weeks ago.  I am not sure why it took me so long to try it, but I'm glad I did.  Chris absolutely loved it.  I halved the recipe since it was a first time trying the recipe and I didn't want to be overly committed if we didn't like it. It made two meals worth for us.  Next time I might make the whole recipe and try freezing half. I did't follow the recipe exactly, but pretty close to it.  Below is what I did.

Baked Quinoa and Chicken Parmesan

1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
 basil and oregano, to taste
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (cooked and diced or shredded)
2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs (optional)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 and spray a 2 qt. baking dish with cooking oil.

Make the sauce:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add the oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the balsamic vinegar, scraping anything off the bottom of the pan, and cook until it’s almost fully absorbed. (I forgot to do this step so I just added the balsamic vinegar to the sauce after.  It still tasted good, but I will try to follow directions better next time!)

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a low boil, and then simmer while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Make the quinoa:
Place the quinoa in a mesh strainer, and rinse with cold water for about 2 minutes.

Bring water to a boil and add the quinoa.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat (DO NOT remove the lid) and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

Assembly:
In a large bowl, combine the quinoa and chicken with the sauce and mix thoroughly.

Place half the mixture in the baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan. Add the breadcrumbs, if using.

Cover with foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly, about 10 more minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley (and additional Parmesan) before serving, if desired.