Beef and Quinoa Taco Bake

This is adapted from my chicken quinoa taco bake. It was originally from therealfooddieticians.com. It is a great make ahead meal for a busy weeknight. It takes an hour to bake so I typically bake it during the day and then we reheat leftovers in the microwave on late nights. If I am going to be home for an hour before dinner, then I would prefer to bake it in the evening, but reheating works great too. It makes for an easy clean-up and a delicious and satisfying from scratch meal.

Ingredients

• Olive oil for spraying pan
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup dry sprouted quinoa (or home soaked quinoa)
• 1 16-ounce jar of salsa or 2 cups homemade salsa
• 2 cups water
• 1 can sweet corn, drained or 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can black beans, drained; or for better digestion : 1 cup dry black beans that have been soaked and cooked
• 1 4 ounce can mild green chilies
• 1 small zucchini, squash, or bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons course Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoons cumin
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• Optional toppings: Sour cream, cilantro, avocado

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a 9X13 glass pyrex type dish with oil.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet on medium heat.

Add drained corn and drained beans to the meat mixture.

Add lime juice and seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and cumin) to the meat mixture and combine.

Turn off heat and add squash or zucchini, green chilis and salsa. Mix to combine.

Pour meat mixture into greased 9X13 dish.

Add quinoa and 2 cups water and stir until well mixed.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes.

Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake for 5 more minutes uncovered until cheese is nice and bubbly.

Serve warm with sour cream, cilantro and avocado.