I never need an excuse to eat Mexican food, but since Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow I thought I would whip something up in the spirit of the holiday.
Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican army’s victory over the french on May 5, 1862. I’m not sure why we get so excited about this holiday in the United States, but I have the sneaking suspicion it has something to do with margaritas.
Cilantro lime rice is always a good choice because it is very quick and easy, and can be eaten as a side, or used in other dishes like burritos.I love one-pot meals, especially when said pot is my rice cooker and I don’t even have to watch it.
Except that when I went to make it, I didn’t have any rice on hand. I DID have quinoa, so I figured that was close enough, and it would have to do.
I make my quinoa and rice in my rice cooker, but you could just as easily make this on the stovetop. To make it on a stovetop put everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and stir frequently until the quinoa is soft and has soaked up the broth. You really have to watch it on the stovetop to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Thus, I don’t make it on the stovetop.
This makes a great side dish, or you can use it in place of rice as an ingredient in other dishes. Mine was repurposed into burritos!
For the vegetable broth I used a great broth based powder that my grocery store recently started carrying. It is chicken flavored, but totally vegan! And for the lime I used Young Living Vitality Lime essential oil. I LOVE cooking with this oil because of the bright, vibrant flavor. You can replace it with the juice of 3 limes.
- 1 Cup dry quinoa
- 3 cups vegetable broth or vegan chicken broth
- 2 well-minced garlic cloves, or 1 t garlic powder
- 5 drops Young Living Vitality Lime essential oil
- 1 T salt
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Add all ingredients to rice cooker or saucepan. In cooker, cook on white rice setting. On stovetop, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and stir frequently until quinoa is soft and all broth has been soaked up. Remove from heat, then mix in fresh chopped cilantro.
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