Quinoa Tostadas

This quick and easy recipe was inspired by a fabulous lunch at the Chicago Diner, an award winning vegetarian restaurant that hubby, CD, and I have visited twice now during our visits to Chicago. It's a fun atmosphere with many vegan friendly foods. I'd definitely recommend it if you heart vegetarian fare, but be prepared for a wait if you hit peak dinner times.

Quinoa Toastadas
My own interpretation of the Chicago Diner's meal

1 package corn tostadas or if you want make it more of a fajita salad, use broken-up tortilla chips
1 cup of vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you're not going vegan/vegetarian)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4-1/2 of a lime, freshly squeezed
3/4 cup quinoa
1 tomato, chopped/diced
1/8 of an onion, minutely chopped
guacamole (see recipe below)
sour cream (if you're not going vegan)

1.) In a medium sized saucepan, combine the broth, cumin, granulated garlic, lime juice, and quinoa. Bring to a boil and then let simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is cooked through and its germ has poked out.
2.) Assemble guacamole (see below)
3.) Chop the veggies.
4.) Assemble the toastada: corn toastada followed by quinoa, tomato, onion, guacamole, sour cream, and any other toppings that you'd like.
5.) Enjoy!!


My favorite guacamole

1 avocado
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 of a lemon, juiced

1.) Split the avocado in half, remove the pit, and peel away the skin. Place the creamy flesh in a medium bowl. Add the garlic, salt, and lemon juice. With a fork, smush the avocado, garlic, salt, and lemon juice together until creamy. Use/serve immediately.