FSquared: Food: Comfort Quinoa with chicken & spinach

I was first introduced to this itty bitty faux grain (its actually a seed but widely considered a super grain) back when I was making Liam's homemade baby food. He, of course, didn't care for it, then or now, but that doesn't stop me from serving it to him. I try and keep it stocked in the pantry because its super versatile.
This recipe is my favorite use of quinoa for a couple of reasons. First, it makes awesome leftovers. I'm always looking for new 'one dish' recipes that I can make an obscene amount of. Having something easy to just heat up when I'm hungry keeps me from surviving solely on crackers and peanut butter. Secondly, its flavoring is so similar to chicken noodle soup, its instantly comforting. An' who don't like that?

Here is what you will need:

½ whole Onion, Diced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1.5 cup Quinoa
2.5 cups Organic Low-sodium Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme
2 whole Medium-sized Carrots, Chopped
1 cup Fresh Baby Spinach
Shredded Chicken Breast

Serves 4. Or two generously with leftovers!

(Does anyone else find it odd that Rachel Ray puts her mug on her stock boxes? I mean, it shouldn't annoy me, Paul Newman has his face all over his products and I never gave him a second thought.)

To start toss your chicken in the oven and bake at 375 for 2o minutes. Next rinse the quinoa. The seeds are coated with saponins, naturally-occurring plant chemicals that can be bitter. They keep insects from eating the plant but if you don't rinse the seeds properly you wont want to eat it either! While most quinoa is rinsed prior to packaging, I always rinse it again to be sure. Simply put it in a bowl and swirl it around in water, drain in a very fine mesh strainer, and repeat until the water is clear. Now, while the chicken is cooking prepare the main part of the dish.

Dice the carrot and onion and mince the garlic.

Spray a large saute pan with nonstick cooking spray or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil if you don’t need to keep the recipe low-fat. I like a combo of both. Heat pan over medium heat and cook onion, garlic carrot and quinoa for about five minutes.

This picture is blurry. I'm sorry. I never took a photography class in school and am just now learning about F-stop/aperture values, shutter speed and depth of field. As you can see even armed with this info I still have no idea how to take a decent picture. ANYWAY. You want the onions to become translucent and tender and the quinoa to slightly toast.

Add the chicken broth...

...and spices, bring mixture to a boil. I only had a pinch of thyme left so I tossed in some rubbed sage as well.
Cover skillet and turn heat to low. Let everything simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed- about 10 minutes.