This easy lunch idea is perfect when you need something quickly. Healthy Quinoa Nachos come together with just a few basic ingredients in under 30 minutes.
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How to Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet:
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I do this thing, that is probably slightly annoying to my poor family, where I get on kicks.
For a while it was meatloaf, potatoes and broccoli. Then, I went through a pretty serious potato soup phase. Back in the fall of ’16 I bought 30 spaghetti squash for $1 a pop. (Ask my kids what its like for squash to be the main course four nights in a row.)
Don’t put it past me to make some kind of sourdough skillet every night of the week.
One qualification for a dish to make it to “kick” status is it must be easy as all get out to make. It either has to be something I can make suuuper far ahead of time (like 9:00 am for a noon lunch) or super last minute. There is no in between.
If it is 60 degrees, and the sun is shining, we aren’t coming in for lunch until the absolute last minute.
Well, right now the kick is quinoa nachos. The “nachos” should technically be in quotes because there are no chips at all in this dish. In an effort to make this meal healthier (and cheaper) than regular nachos, I subbed quinoa for the chips.
It follows the same formula as regular nachos.
Grain + meat + veggies + cheese + toppings= nachos
Except, in this case, the grain is quinoa.
I love that I can make the quinoa and meat ahead of time and then throw this in the oven 10 minutes before we want to eat.
Truth is, you can throw in any fresh ingredients you have on hand. Herbs, onions, peppers, etc.
My favorite combo is cilantro, red onion, fresh lime juice and topped with sliced avocado.
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium white onion
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro divided (half for the beef and half for the topping)
1.5 cups dried quinoa
3 cups water
3 small key limes (1 large regular lime will also work)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
10 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium avocado, sliced
Instructions
Brown the ground beef in a large cast iron skillet with the diced white onion. Add the juice of one key lime, 1 teaspoon of the salt, garlic powder, onion powder and half of the cilantro.
Meanwhile, cook quinoa in the water.
Preheat the oven to 350 degree.
Spread the cooked quinoa in a 9 by 13 pan. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and the juice of 1 lime. Layer on the cooked meat and shredded cheese.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Top with the remaining cilantro, juice from 1 key lime, finely diced red onion and sliced avocado. Sprinkle the avocado with a little salt.
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