by Alison Landolt
Eating healthy is hard. ICYMI, 2020 is a really stressful year, and I am 100 percent a stress eater. Food for me lately is mostly trying to find a gluten free pizza I don’t hate, recreating baked goods to be gluten free, and binging on Dr Pepper. It’s bad, and not at all the endo-friendly diet I preach or aspire to. My boyfriend knows when I’ve overdone it on the bad food choices because I always ask him to make his Allspice Chicken and Quinoa. The mix of protein and complex carbs always helps me feel less terrible after all the trigger foods. Conveniently, it’s his easy, go-to, one pot weeknight dinner recipe.
1.5 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (if breasts, cut into roughly 2" pieces; if thighs, use as is)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2-3 tbsp ground allspice
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup dry quinoa
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of water
Before beginning, rinse quinoa. (Optional but preferred)
1. Season one side of chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp allspice.
2. Put oil in Dutch oven (or a large, heavy bottomed pot) and heat to medium-high. Add chicken spice-side down to sear (2-3 minutes, avoid any burning).
3. Salt and spice the other side of the chicken while the first side is searing.
4. Flip the chicken and sear the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Add quinoa to the dutch oven and stir to combine.
6. Add water to dutch oven. Stir in final tbsp of allspice (optional) and cinnamon. Bring to a boil.
7. After the water boils, cover and reduce heat to low for about 20 minutes. Check (and stir) periodically, roughly every 5 minutes, during the 20 minutes to make sure it doesn't cook down too quickly. You're done cooking the chicken-quinoa pot when the water has mostly cooked down and there's just a little bit of water at the bottom of the dutch oven.
9. Once cooked, use a spoon or fork to pull the chicken apart. Adjust seasoning, then serve.
Although the picture is shown with a side of green beans, you could add in frozen peas during the last 5 minutes of cooking to make this a complete one-pot meal.
Alison Landolt is an EFHou cofounder.