Throw-it-in-the-Pot Dinner

Have you had a crazy day lately? A crazy week perhaps?

Home late in the evenings? Brain completely drained, and your cooking creativity out the window?

It's weeks like this that I dream of collapsing on the couch with sweatpants, banana soft serve, and my Glee re-runs on Hulu. Unfortunately, by the time I made it to this point last night, I was fast asleep before the first Gwyneth Paltrow song had been sung.

*Sigh*

But wait! There's good to come of it all...

During these times, I'm uber-grateful for throw-it-all-in-the-soup-pot dinners. Adam cleaned our cabinets of quinoa, jarred tomatoes, veggie broth, and some frozen veggies. He seasoned the pot with curry and fresh ginger, and placed a steaming bowl in front of my bags-under-my-eyes face.

Boy, do I love that man.

Eat up friends. Maybe tonight I'll make it to the first Glee ballad.

Throw-it-in-the-Pot Curried Quinoa Dinner
(an Adam original)

Since this was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of recipe, I urge you to get creative and use whatever YOU have in YOUR cabinets. Stick with the quinoa-curry base though...it's oh so very good.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, toasted
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 inch ginger, minced
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 TBSP mustard seed
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen edamame or peas

Directions:

1) In a small saucepan, combine quinoa and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce head to low and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed.

2) Meanwhile, saute the onion, garlic, and ginger with a dash of olive oil--over medium heat--until softened.

3) In a large soup pot, combine the cooked quinoa, the onion mixture, and all of the remaining ingredients. Allow to simmer until the liquid has been cooked down and absorbed--about 20 minutes.