Chicken parmesan quinoa

Are you sick of me yet? Sick of that Q word yet? Sorry folks...I'm here to enlighten the world and force this upon you like one of those people who takes up the whole armrest on an airplane, I'm getting right up in your grill with this shizz, and it might be a little uncomfortable for a bit, until you break and open the doors to the new wonderous world of this superfood. I know of one convert (shout out to Desiree!) who tried quinoa for the first time this week after apprehension much like my own before I embarked on this journey. My mission is to see how many more I can get to see the light...don't worry, next week I am out of quinoa recipes...for now. You will get a break. The end is near. Thanks for your patience :)

Like I said yesterday...subbing quinoa for pastas is my jam lately. I had some pasta sauce in the fridge with no intended purpose (I think I originally opened it like a heathen to dip bread in one day when I was starving) so my mind was at work trying to find the sauce a home when the quinoa jumped up and bit me in the face...again. I'm not sure if I ever need pasta in my life again. That's a bold faced lie, by the way. Pasta will always have a large guest bedroom in my heart...our relationship ain't goin' nowhere.

2 chicken breasts, seasoned and baked
1 jar your fave pasta sauce
fresh shaved parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic
2 cups quinoa
4 cups chicken broth
1 can mushrooms
1/2 bag spinach
crushed red pepper to taste
1 T olive oil
1 T Italian seasoning

This will be prepared much like the other recipes this week, the spinach artichoke chicken quinoa and the caribbean shrimp and asparagus quinoa, in case you haven't been attending class. Boil the rinsed quinoa in the chicken broth until the liquid is absorbed. While this is happening, work your magic in another skillet sauteing the mushrooms, spinach, and garlic cloves in the olive oil until they are softened. Add the pasta sauce, crushed red pepper, and italian seasoning and let the sauce simmer. Add the cooked, diced chicken (I just seasoned and baked it at 400 degrees until it was no longer pink inside) to the sauce, and add the quinoa to the whole mix. Sprinkle it with fresh shaved parmesan cheese to make it all perdy like...

You can either serve now or do as the ultimate food hoarder did this week and freeze it in a 13x9 pan to bake later. Thaw to bake it at 400 degrees until warmed throughout, you may have to add chicken broth to it to allow the quinoa to soak some of it up and avoid drying out, but it will be just as yumtastical the second time around. This was one that I plan on serving my girlfriends (who are quinoa virgins) sometime to break them into it...it's a simple one for the picky ones that I just know they'll enjoy (if a person doesn't enjoy chicken parm, they don't deserve to breathe in my world)! Hope you do too :)