quinoa...southwestern style

Our new fridge arrived yesterday (yahoo!).  With it came all of our food piled into the refrigerator in the garage.  I couldn't find much of anything let alone complete a dinner.  This is where a little imagination and basic staples came in handy.  I whipped up a 20 minute meal - from start to finish.  Here is what I did but feel free to improvise with spices and vegetables/proteins as I don't think you could go wrong.  Just remember that quinoa is a  2 to 1 ratio (water to grain) cooking for about 10-15 minutes.

Southwestern Quinoa

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Chicken broth
1 tsp cumin + more for dusting chicken
chili powder
olive oil
1/4 onion finely diced
1-2 tsp of lemon or lime juice
chopped cilantro (I used about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn
1 can black beans
1 to 1.5 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3)
salt and pepper

In medium saucepan heat 2 tsp of olive oil.  Stir in cumin and onion.  Cook until fragrant and onions are soft.  Add quinoa, stir and cook about 5 minutes until it starts to pop.  Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover with tight fitting lid.  Turn down heat and soft boil for about 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed but quinoa is still moist.

While quinoa is cooking pour about 1-2 tsp of olive oil (or use a non-stick spray) in skillet and heat.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder on both sides of chicken breasts then place in hot skillet.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side or until done.  About half way through I added a bit of chicken broth then covered the pan to "poach" the chicken keeping it moist.

When quinoa is soft (but still offers a little "bite") stir in cilantro, corn, beans, lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with chicken sliced over top.  I added a fresh salad for the side.