Cheesy Quinoa Bake

I tried this Quinoa Mac n' Cheese recipe last night, and it was.so.good!  WAY better than I even expected.  So good, in fact, that I didn't even have a chance to take a picture of it before it was gone!

(Photo credit: Loving Food Around the Table in RI and Beyond)

Here's my variation:

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
• Chicken broth (for cooking quinoa)
• 3 tbs butter
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup diced summer sausage 
• a few grinds of seasoning salt
• 2 1/4 cups of panko crumbs (bread crumbs would be fine too)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup soy milk or non-fat milk
• 3 cups grated extra old Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13x9 inch dish with cooking spray.
2. Cook quinoa to packaged instructions in chicken broth, until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes)
3. Lightly saute the onion, pepper and garlic in the butter, for about 5 mins over medium heat.
4. Just as the veggies are finishing up, throw in the summer sausage for about 2 mins.  Remove from heat.
5. Mix together panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese and season salt.
6. Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl.  Add 2 cups of cheese.  Slowly add slightly cooled sauted veggies to milk/egg/cheese mixture.  Add quinoa.
7. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt.  Transfer to prepared baking dish and sprinkle with panko crumbs mixture.
8. Bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned. For extra crispy topping, broil on high for 3-4 mins.  (Be sure to watch it...it will burn quickly. 

Enjoy!