Bacon-Fried Quinoa

I love leftovers. Even though they’re already cooked and flavored, they’re so easy to make into something new and flavorful. Some foods even get better on age. I made The Best Quinoa Stuffing to bring to a party on Sunday. First of all, you wouldn’t be able to imagine how much Italian grandmothers loved quinoa, even if they couldn’t spell it for their life. Soft, flavorful and easy to chew? It was bound to be a winner with my family. With the leftovers I wanted to do something a little different; I decided to cook it like I would leftover rice, except add bacon because bacon makes it better. Chinese restaurants should take a hint from me.

Bacon-Fried Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bacon, diced
• 1/2 cup leftover, prepared quinoa(I used The Best Quinoa Stuffing)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Heat a pan over low-medium heat. Add in the diced bacon and cook it until it’s pink and starting to crisp at the edges.

Add in the leftover quinoa, egg, and soy sauce. Constantly move the ingredients around in the pan over the heat until the egg has cooked and the fat has been absorbed. Be careful as the quinoa tends to pop when the pan is dry. Serve hot.

Just like fried rice, this isn’t the prettiest dish but boy does it taste good. Adding the soy sauce and bacon elevates the flavor of the quinoa a lot; I could hardly tell this was the same dish as the leftovers.

I served it with steamed brussel sprouts with a little soy sauce, because I just love brussel sprouts and bacon. You could add more vegetables to cook with the bacon and make this into a stir-fry. Or you could forget vegetables together and add more bacon. I’m not one to judge when it comes to loving bacon.