Quino-what?

I hadn't even HEARD of quinoa until I'd stumbled upon a gluten free crocker's website (that's not where this recipe came from though). Then, actually finding the stuff turned out to be nearly impossible. I try not to shop at Safeway all of the time because we have three (yes, 3) closer grocery stores, but as a former employee of Safeway, I still end up shopping there most of the time. I like knowing EXACTLY where everything is. I stopped by those 3 other stores anyway and, as predicted, ended up leaving each one completely quinoa-less. When I stopped by my trusty Safeway, I saw that they now have an entire section dedicated to the those who are gluten-free and that includes 2 different flavors of quinoa. Gotta love Safeway.

"Southwestern Quinoa" (6 quart pot)

~1 T vegetable oil
~2 c onion, chopped
~1 1/2 c uncooked quinoa
~1/2 t salt
~1/2 t dried oregano
~1 t dried cilantro
~3 c vegetable broth
~1 can (15 oz) spicy chili beans, undrained
~1 jat (7oz) roasted red bell peppers

Heat oil in skillet.
Add onion and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.
Mix onions, quinoa, salt, oregano, cilantro, broth, and beans.
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
Stir in peppers with a fork.
Cover and cook on low for 10 more minutes.

Quinoa is weird. Weird, but delicious. I'll definitely be using it more often. Especially now that I know exactly where I can get some. Next time, I'm going to add tomatoes, because my other half thought that tomatoes would make this dish even better.

And with that, "Vegetarian Week II" is over. I'm pretty confident that there will be a third installment just as soon as I find a handful of new vegetarian dishes I'd like to try.