Slow Cooker Quinoa and Vegetables

Budget Eats: How low can you go? Can you make a meal for less than $3 per serving? Whatever your budget, show us your healthy entree recipe to help keep food spending in check in 2017.

A couple years back, I wrote a post about how I spend $50/month for food. It’s probably still my most popular post. :O

In recent months and especially while I was back home, I haven’t been adhering to the $50/month thing because I wanted to be able to enjoy life with my friends/family and there were quite a number of people that I needed to treat to meals, but I’m still trying to keep pretty tight controls on my budget because student loans are calling (sigh).

My slow cooker is currently my best friend (as is my rice cooker) and as luck would have it, you can actually make this using either one!

I’m coming up on my last week of my ICU rotation, and I’ve been having this pretty much every day for lunch because I’m pretty pressed for time. (As it stands, I still have another 11 weeks to go of my whole “work 6 days a week for 12 hours a day” stint.)

Needless to say, I didn’t have much time to go grocery shopping or to cook (aside from my one day off per week), but I’ve been managing to survive because I had the foresight to make 100 dumplings not too long ago and also because Costco is a beautiful place. (Can you tell I’m overjoyed to be living again in a state that has one?)

For this recipe, you’ll mainly need:

• Kirkland Signature Organic Quinoa 4.5 lb – $9.99
• Kirkland Organic Normandy Vegetables 5.5 lb – $8.99

If you want to further cheap it out, brown rice is cheaper than quinoa. I just chose quinoa because it has more protein. :P

Slow Cooker Quinoa and Vegetables

Slow Cooker Quinoa and Vegetables

From fairyburger at https://www.fairyburger.com/slow-cooker-quinoa-vegetables/

http://www.fairyburger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/slowcookerquinoaveggies.jpg

Prep: 5-10m

Yield: 6

Total: 0h 5m

You'll Need...

• 2 cups quinoa
• 4 cups water (with 2-3 chicken or mushroom bouillon cubes)*
• 2 cups frozen vegetables
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• your choice of sauces/spices/herbs

Directions

1. Rinse quinoa and add to crockpot. Stir in water + bouillon cubes, veggies, garlic and spices/herbs.
2. Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
3. Top with your choice of sauce if desired.

Additional Notes

*You can also use chicken or vegetable broth!

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What I love about this recipe is that it’s super super easy with almost no prep time and it’s also very versatile (aka perfect as a “kitchen cleanse” type of recipe).

I added in an egg that I fried up with a bit of maple balsamic vinegar (pictured), but you can also add in a can of beans or chicken if you want some other type of protein in here!

You can top it off with whatever sauce you want, or eat it plain. Thus far, I’ve tried it with sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and sriracha, and all the versions have turned out well.

• How much do you spend each month on groceries?
• What’s one of your favorite budget-friendly recipes?