- Cook the quinoa
- Prepare the bread and cheese and preheat oven
- Make tomato olive mixture
- Put bread in oven
- Assemble grilled cheese
- Assemble quinoa
Spicy grilled cheese with Quinoa salad
This is a much lighter, more colorful and more flavorful version of the grilled cheese you might be used to! I love this dinner because it is two for the price of one with the same amount of work!
If you don’t like spicy food at all you can substitute the spicy peppers with thinly sliced regular bell peppers!
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Ingredients:
- 3 cups quinoa
- 1 whole wheat french baguette
- 10 slices Gouda cheese
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 onions thinly sliced
- 8 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 green spicy pepper sliced, seeds removed for less heat
- 2 red chili pepper sliced, seeds removed for less heat
- 2 teaspoons salt pink Himalayan
- 2 cups sliced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted
- 1/2 cup fresh basil stems removed, chopped
- 2 lemons juiced
- 1 cup brie cheese (optional) sliced
Directions:
- Rinse the quinoa well and add it to a medium sized pot. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover pot. Cook for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy. Place in serving bowl.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Add the bread slices and place cheese evenly on top of them. Put them in the oven for 7 minutes but only 7 minutes before you are ready to eat!
- Prepare a large skillet on high heat. Add ¼ cup of olive oil and get hot. Add the onion, garlic, peppers and tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes, mixing often. Turn off the flame and add the olives and fresh basil.
- Add half the mixture to the grilled cheese and half the mixture to the cooked quinoa.
- Add the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste to the quinoa. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.
Notes & Tips:
If you don’t like olives you can for sure leave them out and if you want to put your favorite sliced cheese instead of gouda, be my guest!
Have a question about these recipes? Need a substitution for an ingredient? Chef Zissie is here to answer!
Simply use the comments box at the bottom of this page or click the button below. Please try and ask on Sunday to ensure you get your answer on time!
Leftover tips for tomorrow’s lunch:
Add lettuce to your quinoa salad to expand it. Chop the leftover pieces of grilled cheese into small squares and use them as croutons for the salad!
