Quinoastrone!

Quinoastrone! (Must be said with an Italian accent to get full effect)

Serves 4-6

This isn't really a recipe so much as most of the contents of my fridge, freezer, and pantry in a pot, but it turned out delicious so I figured I would share. On a side note, I really need to go grocery shopping...after a several day illness I was craving soup so I created this delicious take on minestrone but instead of pasta I used drum roll please...quinoa! What?!? It's healtherrific! (healthy + terrific) and vegan too! Enjoy! If your not convinced, take a look at some of the extreme closeup shots I took of it below!

Ingredients:

1 quart "no-chicken" broth (or your favorite broth, or water if you hate flavor)

14oz can tomato sauce

2 cups water (I just refilled the tomato sauce can, yay less dishes!)

3/4 c. quinoa

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)

1/2 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

3/4 c. frozen chopped broccoli

3/4 c. frozen corn

3/4 c. frozen peas (or like me, realize they are freezer burned, then throw away, booooo)

pinch thyme

pinch oregano

handful chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Whatever other random crap you need to use up in the house...green beans, potatoes, celery, pasta, rice, other beans, apples (ok, not the last one, that sounds gross)

Directions:

Saute onion in oil in a heavy bottomed pot until tender, add carrots, saute for a few minutes. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, water, herbs, and quinoa. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add beans and frozen veggies, cover and cook for about 5 more minutes, stir in fresh parsley. That was easy, right? And if you are keeping track of that sort of thing, 1/4 of the recipe comes out to around 360 calories, 6 grams fat, 11 grams fiber, and 15 grams healthy protein!