Description
This comfort food dish will give you all the warmth you need. It is packed with healthy ingredients to balance out the smoked sausage and heavy cream. Creamy, dreamy, smoky, spicy, cajun spinach quinoa has it all!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 7 ounces, weight Smoked Sausage, Sliced Into 1/4-inch Thick Slices
- 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Diced
- 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Diced
- 1 whole Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
- 2 teaspoons Salt, Divided
- 1 cup Dry Quinoa
- 2 cups Water
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Basil
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 whole Chipotle Pepper, From Can, Diced
- 2 Tablespoons Adobo Sauce, From Pepper Can
- 1-½ cup Heavy Cream
- 5 ounces, weight Frozen Chopped Spinach
Preparation
Place large pot or pan over medium high heat. Add oil to pan and let oil heat until it crackles when water is added.
Add sausage to pot and sear 1–2 minutes until browned. Remove sausage to a plate with a spoon.
Add bell peppers, onions, and 1 teaspoon of salt to pot. Sauté 2–3 minutes until cooked but still crisp. Remove vegetables to plate.
Add quinoa, water, remaining salt, spices, chipotle pepper, and adobo sauce to pot. Stir to combine. Make sure all quinoa is submerged under the water. Quinoa left on sides of pot will not cook.
Cover quinoa. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Simmer quinoa for 12–15 minutes until all water is absorbed.
Remove lid and add cream to the quinoa. Raise heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all cream is absorbed 5–10 minutes.
Stir in peppers, onion, sausage, and spinach. Stir about 1 minute until spinach is warmed.
Season to taste with salt and chipotle sauce. Serve hot with your favorite vegetable.
