We honestly had no idea we'd be blogging this recipe today. Our day started off chilly, and while we were warming up with some coffee we took a look at our huge check list of things to do. Mainly, we're trying to get a bunch of things done before Friday, which is when our first book signing takes place. The signing is about an hour and a half or so away from us...out in Easton, PA. We are super excited to go, though we truly don't expect many folks to actually show up just for us. But we're happy that there are some other fun things planned for that night, which is called Discovery Friday. So even if we just get to meet some crafty peeps who are there for the other stuff and we get to chat about mixed media and art journaling, we know it'll be a great time.
Lately it has been quite dark by the dinner cooking hours. So dark that it has been pretty impossible to take pics. So this is why we haven't blogged many recipes lately. Well today we opted for an early dinner...which worked as a great break in the day before we start our night shift...and getting to blog the recipe is a real bonus...because oh boy was this a good dinner!
We are such big fans of sweet potato, and we use quinoa often...so as soon as we saw this recipe we knew we just had to try it. And it was crazy good! Quick, simple, flavorful, fresh. It all came together in about 35 mins. We didn't change much from the original recipe, just a few tiny things. We loved it and will be making it again soon. This is a great last minute go-to meal.
You will need:
2-3 medium sweet potatoes (washed, dried, and cubed)
2 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup red quinoa rinsed and drained (we used Ancient Harvest brand)
1 avocado sliced or cubed (for topping)
For Chimichurri Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Cups Italian parsley roughly chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon honey
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees
In a large bowl, toss your cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Turn them out on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for about 20-25 mins till tender.
While your sweet potatoes roast, prepare your quinoa. For this recipe we used Ancient Harvest brand red quinoa. It cooks up perfectly. You just bring it to a boil, then lower it to a simmer and put a lid on it for 15 minutes. When it gets close to 15 minutes take a peek and move the quinoa with a fork. Make sure it's not sticking to the bottom and also make sure that there isn't any water in the bottom of the pot. If there is any water then it needs a little more time. If it's sticking to the bottom at all then remove it from the heat. Also, when it's ready you'll notice that these little corkscrew rings have separated from the grains of quinoa. It's really simple and once you've done it right one time then it will become second nature.
For your chimichurri sauce, add your parsley, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, and honey to your food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped. Now warm your olive oil in a small sauce pan. Once it's warm then pour it into the processor and pulse until well combined.
We served ours in a bowl. Half of the bowl sweet potatoes, half of the bowl quinoa, then top with chopped avocado, and spooned some chimichurri sauce on top. We also drizzled ours with a bit of sriracha. That's it! A deeeelicious, easy, and heathy meal. Perfect for busy days and busy lives.
Enjoy!!
xo, Jenny...and Aaron