I’ve noticed that more and more lately, I like to pin unconventional dishes to my “Yummies” board. I see cauliflower tortillas and my interest is piqued. Or pasta with burrata and kale-roasted garlic sauce – I have no idea what burrata is, but I really want to make this. In fact, the more mysterious-sounding the dish, the more likely I am to add it to my already overflowing board.

Now, parmesan garlic quinoa doesn’t sound all that exotic. But what sold me was the claim that “you’ll never eat mac & cheese again”. This is another criteria for my pinning: will my child eat it? And is it at least a little bit healthy? K wouldn’t touch kale or cauliflower and may like burrata because it’s cheese (I looked it up), but she would happily survive solely on mac & cheese. I’ve been guilty of making this classic kid meal more than two times per week during desperate times.

So naturally, I had to try this recipe, especially if it was a healthier alternative. It was simple, quick, and straightforward. And very un-photogenic.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a resounding success. Actually, it might have been the opposite of resounding success. And I added extra cheese! I was the only one who liked it and it might be because I’ve OD’d on mac & cheese and can’t stand it and love quinoa. K and M politely pushed their bowls of steaming parmesan garlic quinoa away and focused intensely on their salads.

Oh well. I like broadening my horizons. And I share it with you today just in case you too are a quinoa lover and not so much a fan of mac & cheese. I think it’s actually quite tasty. Recipe is here. Next I might try roasted yellow plums with rosemary Popsicles…