Broccoli and Cheese Casserole Quinoa Style

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My mom gave me a whole bunch of vegetables and told me to not let them go bad, and to not throw them away.  This left for some creative cooking.  She gave me three bags of broccoli.  I am not a huge fan of cooking broccoli, but I knew we would never be able to eat it in time otherwise.

And then Pinterest saved the day.  Again.  Love that!

I found a recipe for broccoli and cheese casserole.  Instead of using the usual rice, though, quinoa had been substituted.  What a great idea!

I had everything on hand, and so decided to go ahead and make it.

My mother in law loved it.  A lot.

I thought it was really bland.  I added a shake of cajun seasoning and that helped it out a lot.

Faye thought it was okay, Keith wouldn't touch it, and Jeffrey didn't like it.  But my mother in law loved it, oh my goodness, she did!

I don't know if I will ever make this again.  It was just rather bland.  However the idea that I have most of the stuff on hand and it has less than 200 calories per serving is enticing, so who knows.

What you need:

1 10 oz can condensed Cream of Broccoli soup (or mushroom)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 TBSP milk

1 1/4 cup shredded cheese

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

dash freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups cooked broccoli

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350* and coat a shallow (8X8" or 5-6 ramekins) casserole dish with vegetable cooking spray.
• IN a large bowl combine the soup, mayo, milk, shredded cheese, sugar, pepper, and nutmeg until well mixed.  Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.
• Spoon mixture into prepared casserole.  Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly on the deges and golden.  Makes 8 genereous 1/2 cup servings.

Per serving: Calories 199; Protein 10g; NET Carbs 14g; Fiber 2g; Sugar 1g; Sodium 297mg

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