Red Pepper Quinoa with Italian “Sausage”

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by on January 15, 2012

January is always a busy time around here and I can’t help but get a little excited by all the activity. Traffic spikes pretty dramatically thanks to everyone trying to start the New Year off with healthy eating. If you are new around here, I’d like to give you a heartfelt welcome. Please take the time to join in the conversation on Facebook as well as to follow me on Twitter. And, if you’ve been around a while I would like to thank you for your continued support.

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Now, on to today’s recipe! This is an easy to make and very versatile. I actually used the leftovers from this, chopped the turkey up smaller and made without a doubt the best veggie burger I’ve ever put in my mouth. Of course, I was just playing and didn’t write a thing down. SIGH..

Red Pepper Quinoa with Italian Sausage

  • Olive oil spray
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 medium bell peppers (any color)
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • Salt and Ground Pepper
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
  • 5 ounces baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon parsley
  • 14 ounces Italian Sausage (I used Tofurky Vegan Sausage)
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

  1. Heat a pot to medium and spray with olive oil. Add celery, bell peppers and onion. Add crushed red pepper and oregano and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and quinoa and cook for one more minute.
  2. Add 1 1/3 cups water. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 30 minutes, adding in spinach during the last two minutes of cooking. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes covered. Fluff with and stir in parsley.
  3. Meanwhile, spray a small skillet with olive oil spray. Add sausages and cook until browned. (About 10 minutes – according to package directions.) Remove from heat and . When cool enough to handle cut crosswise.
  4. Toss sausages with quinoa and drizzle with red wine vinegar.  Serve warm.

Number of servings (yield): 6

Calories: 360

Fat: 11.4

Protein: 26.2

Carbohydrates: 38.7

Fiber: 9.8

Sugars: 4.4

5 : ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Recipe by Cooking Quinoa.

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