Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa (Alison's Recipe)

This delish dish is brought to you by request of Alison, my beautiful (and brand new mom) sister in law!  She asked if I knew any yummy quinoa recipes.  Yes, actually I do!  You can't get much yummier than this one.  Seriously.  This is a version of a classic casserole that everyone has seen at one gathering or another.  Think movie worthy,old school, church meeting.  But better.  And with quinoa.  It's very simple and has all of the comfort and nostalgia that you expect when you hear the word casserole.  It's vegetarian by design but can easily be "beefed" up with a protein like chicken, ham, or even tofu to keep the veggie friendly aspect.  It's super versatile like that!  Plus, the great part is that you probably already have all of these ingredients.  It's cooking from your pantry 101.

So enjoy Alison's Recipe.  She won't mind if you steal it.  Plus, she'll never know.  Shhhhhh!

Ingredients

• 1 can- Cream of broccoli soup
• If you are feeling adventurous, make your own 10 oz "cream of anything" soup
• 2 cups steamed broccoli
• Diced chicken if you don't want this meatless
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (prepare as directed on your package)
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar & jack mix)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Dash nutmeg (I am heavy handed and used about 1/4 tsp!)
• Fresh Parmesan for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Get your quinoa on to cook.  Follow the instructions on your package and don't forget to rinse in water.
3. Steam the broccoli
4. Prep your baking dish (8x8 or 8x11 work well) with a coat of cooking spray or butter.
5. In a large bowl, mix the soup, mayo, milk, cheese, sugar, pepper, & nutmeg.
6. Stir in the cooked quinoa and broccoli
7. Stir in chicken for a more protein rich, meat lover version
8. Pour into baking dish
9. Sprinkle Parmesan on top (I didn't have any and just used more cheddar/jack) 
10. Bake for 35 minutes until it's golden and bubbly.

I added his chicken to about 2/3 of the "batter" after having already poured my 1/3 into the dish.  I like to pretend there is a magic barrier which keeps his chicken from contaminating my side.  I should have used His & Hers ramekins...

The little toothpicks act as a barrier to keep the chicken on HIS side!

 We served this with some Parmesan toast. Cause, well... everyone loves toast! And it was delicious, creamy, super easy, and a comforting version of a classic casserole.  This will be added to the rotation for sure.  It would be great to serve with a nice salad but I was lazy and decided the broccoli counted for a vegetable.  I mean it IS one!  So it counts.  Totally counts.  I'm not gonna argue this point.