Quinoa Lasagna - Guest Blogger Kate

My favorite guest blogger, Miss Kate is sharing another recipe with us. Kate a few weeks ago shared a recipe for a Spinach Torta in a Potato Crust! We are so excited

This is a yummy dish packed with veggies, red sauce and a little cheese for good measure. 

I had some bolognese sauce in my freezer that I made this winter and wanted to use it up, and I've been obsessed with quinoa recently, I was late to the party with that one, but now I use it in everything. I figured I could make a sort of lazy lasagna, casserole type dish with the bolognese and some fresh veggies and the quinoa. If you don't have any leftover sauce hanging around you can certainly use a jarred version. 

I made the whole dish in my cast iron skillet, one of my favorite things in my kitchen. You can saute the veggies, make the sauce, assemble the dish and put it right in the oven, easy! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 C Quinoa
• 3-4 C Tomato Sauce
• 1 Small Zucchini, diced
• 1 Small Yellow Squash, diced
• 8oz Mushrooms, quartered
• 1 Bell Pepper, diced
• 1-2 C Shredded Mozzarella or Italian Blend cheese

Makes about 6 servings. 

While chopping your veggies cook the quinoa according to the package instructions, and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 350. 

Heat drizzle of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet, toss in all your chopped veggies and season with salt & pepper. Saute until just cooked, you don't want them to turn to mush when you assemble the dish, and they'll cook a little more when everything goes in the oven. 

Wipe out the skillet and return it to the stove. Over medium heat, warm or make your tomato sauce. I combined my leftover bolognese with an 8oz can of tomato sauce and a 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes in sauce. Let it simmer for a few minutes, and make sure to check for seasoning, add oregeno or basil, salt & pepper as needed. 

Once the sauce is warmed through turn off the burner, or remove the skillet from the heat. (If you aren't using a cast iron skillet you can assemble everything in a casserole dish) Toss in the cooked veggies with the sauce, then add in the quinoa. Add in some shredded cheese, I used about a handful of an Italian Blend and handful of mozzarella, use more or less if you desire, mix well so the cheese is distributed evenly. Then top with another sprinkle of cheese. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until everything is warmed through and starting to bubble, then turn on the broiler for 2-3 min to get the top nice and melty! 

Thank you so much Kate for sharing!!
By Kate Lindsey