Caprese Quinoa Bake



I like making casseroles because they're easy to make and usually hold up to freezing pretty well, which helps to make them an even more convenient meal. Although I didn't get to test freezing and then baking this casserole, I was pretty happy with how easy it was to make.

Recipe from Domesticate Me

Ingredients:
-1¼ cups uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
-2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 
-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
-Kosher salt
-Fresh ground pepper
-2 small shallots, minced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-¼ cup packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
-4 ounces fresh part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 cup of grated cheese)
-8 ounces fresh part-skim mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4–inch rounds
-2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced into ¼-inch rounds

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. I'm going to be honest, my grocery store sells a frozen, steamable quinoa and I cheated by using that instead of using dried quinoa.

Drizzle the cherry tomato halves with olive oil, season them with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes (leave your oven on 400 when you're done).

While the cherry tomatoes bake, saute the shallot and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until fragrant.

Combine the quinoa, cherry tomatoes, shallot and garlic mixture, basil and shredded mozzarella. Stir to combine.

Pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Top with mozzarella slices and tomato slices. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 20 more. If you want that nice brown and bubbly mozzarella, broil for a few minutes once the casserole is done baking.


  



This was super easy to make, you could probably get away with leaving out all of the extra cooking steps. The casserole is in the oven long enough that the shallots, garlic and tomatoes would all be heated through. This was a nice dinner and enjoyable. 

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