Original Recipe - Toasted Pumpkin Seed Quinoa Pilaf

This is something that I have made a couple of time, and am quite proud of.  It was a recipe that I first put together because I didn't have much to eat at home, and these were all ingredient that were in my pantry.  It is a pretty awesome side dish or main meal, it does have protein from both the quinoa and the lentils but does work well with fish or chicken. I probably got 4 or so servings out of the recipe, and it is pretty flexible with whatever you have in your pantry.  I also like this recipe for cooking quinoa, because I find it a lot easier to eat with the brown rice and lentils, because it sticks to those instead of your plate!

Toasted Pumpkin Seed Quinoa Pilaf

I cooked this originally in a rice cooker, but this can be done on the stove top.  I use a rice cooker cup for the measurements, so these measurements might need a bit of adjustment.  If cooking in a rice cooker, use rice cooker cup to measure and use 1 rice cooker cup of brown rice, and 1/2 rice cooker cup of quinoa and lentils.

Pilaf Ingredients

3/4 cup Brown Rice

1/3 cup Quinoa (pre-washed kind)

1/3 cup Lentil (I just used brown, but any kind can be used)

1 tsp spices (I used Mural of Flavor from Penzeys, but any salt free spice mix would work)

2 - 2 1/2 cups stock (I have used chicken and beef stock with this, but vegetable stock work good too) (liquid may vary, if cooking on stovetop)

Cook all pilaf ingredients together how you would normally cook rice (heavy sauce pan, bring to a boil, lower temp to med-low to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes).  All liquid should be absorbed when finished cooking.  

Pumpkin Seeds

1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas, found at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc.)

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat, add pumpkin seeds.  Toss around in pan till nice and toasty, but not burnt.  About 3-5 minutes.  Set aside once done.  This will be tossed with the cooked pilaf.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1 TBPS Lemon Juice (fresh or from concentrate)

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 TBPS Olive Oil

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Wisk ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside until pilaf is done.  Toss cooked pilaf with vinaigrette, then add in toaster pumpkin seeds, serve warm or can be cooled and served cold.