Local Cooking, Dinner Edition

When it's midterm, paper, or final season (or, most any other time), it can be really easy to find yourself in the infamous Mac&Cheese rut (don't worry, we've all been there). This dinner favourite of mine is super easy to make, and after making it once you'll be making it as often as you used to make that orange box stuff. Plus, almost every ingredient can be found locally (at markets, at local grocery stores, or from the farms themselves) and that feels a lot better than buying 2 weeks worth of KD for $1.99 (and that feels pretty good on a student budget). Bon appétit!

Chicken (or Tofu) Quinoa Stir-Fry
Makes 2 servings (or 1 and some left overs)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Cooking utensils you'll need:

• A wok or large frying pan
• A small pot
• A sharp kitchen knife for chicken
• Cutting board
• A knife to cut veggies
• Measuring cups

Ingredients you'll need:

• 1 large chicken breast, cut into cubes for stir fry (farm fresh from Terra Nossa Farms)
• OR substitute chicken for 1 package of extra firm tofu, cut into strips
• 1 1/2 cup of quinoa (can be bought in bulk from most grocery stores, like Market on Yates)
• 3/4 cup of diced mushrooms (try wild mushrooms from Untamed Feast)
• 3/4 cup of sliced carrots (from Galey Farms)
• 3/4 cup of diced  bell peppers (the more colours the better, get them from Sun Wing Greenhouse)
• 1 head of broccoli  cut into florets (from Madrona Farms)
• 1 cup of bean sprouts (from Sun Trio Farm)
• 3/4 cup of peas (try them from Haliburton Farm)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce

Directions:
For quinoa:

1. In the small pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil
2. Place quinoa in pot, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for about 10 min (fluff with fork occasionally)
3. When all water has absorbed (like cooking rice), remove from heat and keep warm until ready to put into wok

For stir-fry:

1. Heat wok on a medium-high setting. Lightly oil and wait to warm up
2. Place pieces of chicken breast into pan. Cook chicken throughly
3. When chicken is just about cooked, place carrots, broccoli, peas into wok
4. Add mushrooms and bean sprouts and reduce heat to medium-low 
5. After veggies look tender add quinoa into wok
6. Pour teriyaki sauce into wok and stir together
7. Remove from heat after chicken has finished cooking and veggies are tender or browned 

TIP: Instead of boiling the quinoa in water, you can boil it in the same amount of either veggie or chicken broth to get a fuller flavour.