“Let’s do something with ground beef. We almost never eat it.”
And he’s right. Recipes using ground beef are few and far between around here.
We almost exclusively use ground beef for burgers. I grew up eating it several times a week so I got my fill for a long while. Jason never tires of it. Besides burgers, he loves a chunky meat sauce (where ingredients other than ground beef are completely optional).
Even the leanest grind is budget friendly. We tossed non-burger and non-meat sauce ideas back and forth before settling on Dirty Quinoa, a twist on Dirty Rice. Jason had sampled quinoa for the first time last week and… well, he didn’t hate it. And anytime I can get him to to utter the phrase, “it wasn’t completely terrible” about a food as healthy as quinoa, I see it as a challenge!
If you’ve never eaten quinoa, I think it has a taste that’s pretty comparable to brown rice. And like brown rice, if I put enough stuff in it, everyone will eat it 🙂 We served Dirty Quinoa (topped with some chopped roasted red peppers for a little color) along side a tangy coleslaw and roasted carrots for Fat Tuesday.
Dirty Quinoa
A healthy twist on dirty rice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium white or yellow onion, diced
- 1 stalk of celery, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, sliced thinly (dark green parts separated from white/light green)
- 2 cups quinoa, uncooked
- 4 cups chicken broth/stock
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cayenne (optional)
- Tobasco sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Brown lean ground beef in a non-stick pan over medium heat until mostly browned.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan and add onion, celery, and bell pepper.
- Stir frequently until the vegetables begin to brown.
- Add garlic and white/light green parts of the green onion. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in quinoa and stir to mix. Add cooked ground beef, chicken broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally) until the liquid has been absorbed.
- Season to taste. Serve topped with green onions along side your trusty bottle of hot sauce.
This recipe was developed for the Texas Beef Council. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I was reimbursed for the ingredients used in this recipe.
Notes
Yields: 6-8 servings