Easy Lemon Chicken and Quinoa with Bacon-seared Brussel Sprouts

This is a new favorite in our house! The recipe doesn't call for quinoa but I made some in our rice cooker and used stock instead of water. The pan sauce you make after the chicken is done cooking (substitute flour for cornstarch) goes well over the quinoa.

You can find the recipe and detailed instructions here. Again, I substituted the flour for cornstarch and it turned out just great.

I bought a two pound bag of Brussels Sprouts at Costco for 2.99. I didn't look too closely to see that maybe they were so cheap because they were going bad. Oops! I was able to salvage about a pound of them. I didn't follow a recipe to make this, I just made it up because it sounded good. I can't think of a thing that bacon doesn't make better.

1 pound Brussels Sprouts, washed and ends trimmed.
2 slices of bacon, uncooked
1/4 cup chicken stocl
Salt and pepper to taste

After cleaning your sprouts, place the bacon in a pan over medium heat and let the fat render out. Cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and leave bacon grease in the pan. Add sprouts and let brown for 1-2 minutes. After the sprouts have a nice color on them, add the stock (just enough to wet the pan a little) and cover the pan. Let them steam until they turn a bright green and are fork-tender.

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Sweet Quinoa Breakfast

I'm sure I may sound like a broken record, but I was so sad to not be able to eat my favorite cereals after learning I had Celiac. Rice Chex is GF and great, but variety is essential.

Do you remember how last week I recommended you cook more quinoa when you make the chili recipe? This recipe is the reason why. I used to love Cream of Wheat, but alas it isn't GF. I also enjoy oatmeal, but truly GF oats seem like a rarity. The quinoa breakfast reminds me of the two breakfast favorites, but without the worry of consuming gluten.

Tips, tricks, suggestions and thoughts:

1. This is very delicious with vanilla almond milk. I buy the kind that is only 30 calories a cup and doesn't have a ton of sugar.
2. Cinnamon and nutmeg, two spices that are fabulous with this.
3. I don't recommend red quinoa with this. It has a different, tougher texture to me. Just your general brown quinoa works fabulous with this.
4. Worried about sugar consumption? I used nectresse and it was sweet but not overpowering. Along with a tart fruit like blueberries or raspberries, perfect!

Cooking the quinoa in big batches allows you to make this breakfast relatively quickly. I enjoy this for mornings I don't have the time to cook my usual eggs. Enjoy!

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