Quinoa "Tortilla" Taco Soup with Beef, Black Beans, and Tomatoes

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Fall makes me so nostalgic. From soup to tall boots to Halloween costumes, there is something in it for everyone that reminds us of years past. 

And so, naturally, I'm making the most of it. Bring on the crock pot, my friend.

After the last batch of chili, I've been on a soup kick. It's the easiest way to have a large volume of healthy eats available at a moment's notice.

One of my favorite soups is tortilla soup... minus the tortilla. Basically, I just want a taco in a bowl. Only, the day I was making this, I only had frozen chicken, and a few pounds of lean ground beef were burning a hole in my fridge. So, beef it was! Feel free to sub shredded chicken, if need be!

I also decided to add quinoa to this recipe, to give it some "staying power" and add some fiber. If you can't handle the QUEEN, feel free to sub for couscous or rice. But, really... try the quinoa!

Quinoa Taco Soup with Beef, Black Beans, and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1.5 cups dry quinoa
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 can roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup black beans
• 1lb lean ground beef

Directions:

1. Boil 4 cups chicken stock. Add quinoa, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
2. Brown ground beef in a pan.
3. Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, black beans, and cooked ground beef to the pot of chicken stock and quinoa.
4. Cook on low for 3 hours.
5. Add remaining chicken stock and cook for another hour.

Summertime Quinoa Veggie Salad

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This dish is delightfully refreshing, hydrating, and delicious. Chopped tomatoes add moisture while cucumbers and carrots add a yummy crunch, all while playing along nicely with cilantro for a meal that tastes delicious on its own, without needing the butter and oil all the other dishes need. 

It's healthy time, people! That's right, time to load up on your... protein, fiber, nutrients, blah blah blah. You get it, right? The good things. Let's get them into your tummy.

Today's recipe is actually not of my own creation. It was my lovely mother's idea. Kind of like my favorite salad (which I call the kitchen sink salad - you throw in everything that you have in your fridge that could possibly go into a salad - everything but the kitchen sink!), this recipe has a base of delicious, healthy Quinoa, and then includes tons and tons of chopped up veggies.

It's the perfect summer snack. Or the perfect summer side. Because it gives you the hydration and nutrition you need without being too much work or too many calories. Feel free to add nuts, such as pine nuts or sunflower seeds, or some cut up peppers to the mix!

P.S. Looking for other recipes with Quinoa in them? Read these (I warn you, there are many).

Summertime Quinoa Veggie Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 2 cups Water
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 long carrot, chopped
• 1/4 cucumber, chopped
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup, black beans, cooked and drained
• 1 Lemon, juiced

Directions:

1. Cook Quinoa by combining Quinoa and water and heating until boiling, then reducing to a simmer and continuing to cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff.
2. Add chopped ingredients and lemon juice and toss.
3. Serve as a lunch snack or a side for your favorite dinner dish!

Recipe | Insalata Mista (Mixed Salad)

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Do you love this salad, jam-packed with protein and fiber? Lend me some sugar...
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I HAVE A DREAM... that, one day, this country will rise up and rise up and live out the true meaning of this creed: "We hold that this truth should be made more evident: That NOT ALL SALADS ARE CREATED EQUAL!"

• Your regular restaurant-ordered salad has a bed of huge, dry, leafy greens that are too big to fit in your mouth without successfully smothering your cheeks in dressing.
• Your regular restaurant-ordered salad has a few festive bits and pieces thrown over that bed of leafy greens.
• Your regular restaurant-ordered salad's "festive bits and pieces" are comprised of baked, battered, and/or fried crud like croutons, fried tortilla strips, or breaded chicken, which add heaps of calories and saturated fat for your net intake for the day.

The solution? This salad.

• This salad has no bed of huge, leafy, too-big-for-your-mouth greens. Instead, you've got bite size pieces of nutrition-packed spinach.
• This salad has far more than "a few" festive bits and pieces. Instead, you've got a bowl full of delicious festivity, interspersed by the occasional spinach loveliness.
• This salad's festivity is neither baked, battered, nor fried. Instead, the festivity includes chick peas and black beans, which are full of protein and fiber, and tomatoes, which add important nutrients (like phosphorous, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C) to your diet.

Nutritional Information for Main Course*

Nutritional Information for Side Dish*

Last week, Justin and I were thinking about dinner. We were hungry - hungry enough for more than just a leafy salad - but not willing to throw lifestyle to the wind and pig out. We came (to Jewel). We saw (the veggies). We conquered (...the world?). Here's the recipe...