Quinoa Cooking...TAKE ONE!

What better to rouse a sleeping blogger than a midnight snack? I agree, NOTHING! I just had this delicious concoction for the second time today because I couldn't imagine going to sleep without another bite. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with BACON

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 cups chicken stock (or water/veg stock)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste!)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup cooked bacon, crumbled (or more if you want! "real" bacon bits work for this too) 
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional, depending on allergies)
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 425˚. Peel and dice sweet potato into 1/2" cubes. Toss sweet potato with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-20 minutes until sweet potatoes and tender and just beginning to brown. While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, rinse quinoa and place in a pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 12-15 minutes (or until the liquid is absorbed). Once the sweet potato is roasted and quinoa is done, put the quinoa, red pepper, bacon, and sweet potatoes in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Toss everything together and stir in the dressing. Garnish with feta cheese when served. Can be eaten hot or cold! Adjust Cayenne pepper to taste (I used a tad more than some people might prefer to give the recipe a kick).

This recipe was a marriage of a few different recipes I was inspired by: http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/salads/sweet-potato-and-quinoa-salad and http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/spicyquinoa.htm, along with my great imagination. In other words, I added BACON.

I had it for lunch. Then again for a midnight snack. Great hot or cold. YUM. My first experience cooking with quinoa was a complete success!! Anybody have any recent favorite recipes?? I'm inspired as of late and am ready to dig in. In other new news...I have a job interview on Tuesday. I'm REALLY excited and hopeful. woo.