Chicken Quinoa Enchiladas

Someone in our family, who shall remain anonymous, isn't too keen on quinoa. And ok, I can see why... it does have a different flavour and the texture needs a little getting used to, but the rest of us don't have a problem with it. So, when I made my last batch of chicken enchiladas, I wanted to try a little experiment...

They look like normal enchiladas, yeah?

And I think it worked! He ate it! And liked it! I thought it was hard to get the boys to eat some days, but getting that man to eat quinoa... Woooooo! I never thought it would happen!

Here's the successful sneaky quinoa recipe...

 Ingredients :

• 500 g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into easy to eat strips
• 1 tbsp oil
• 400 g whole peeled plum tomatoes in juice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp thyme
• a pinch of chili flakes, or more depending on your heat tolerance
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water or stock
• 8 tortillas
• 1 cup grated cheese
• yogurt and jalapenos to serve

Method :

1. Preheat to your oven 180C.
2. In a small frying pan, heat up the oil and add the chicken. Fry it off until it just starts to brown. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, cumin, thyme and chili into a saucepan and bring to a bubble and back to a simmer. Salt and pepper to taste. 
3. Once the chicken is done, drain on a paper towel to get rid of the extra chicken grease. Put the chicken into the sauce and continue simmering for a good 15-20 minutes. 
4. While this is going, cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions. I use my handy dandy rice cooker to do this. (It's in the Top 5 of the most used kitchen appliances. Not bad for a $20 purchase from Priceline back in the day!)
5. Once all these elements are ready, and slightly cooked, just not piping hot, layout your tortillas. Add the chicken (keeping some sauce in the pan), quinoa, and cheese (and anything else you want) to each tortilla and roll. Remember to keep the seam down in the baking dish. 
6. Top with the remaining sauce and cheese; and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the tortilla are slightly browned.

I try and let them rest for a few minutes before I serve, less messy. Serve with a little yogurt and jalapenos.
Enjoy!
x