Gluten-Free Quinoa Mac 'n Cheese

Dinner tonight is one of my favorite meals of all time -- gluten-free quinoa mac 'n cheese. This simple faux mac 'n cheese is comforting and oozy, but is deliciously gluten free.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, grated
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
2 eggs
Crushed potato chips

Start by sauteing the onion in olive oil/canola oil over medium high heat. Salt and pepper until the onions begin to sweat, and add the garlic. Saute for about a minute, then add the quinoa. The oil should coat the quinoa and toast it for a minute. Add the broth, mix, then cover and lower the heat until the quinoa is simmering. Once the spirals begin to unravel, the quinoa is ready. Take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Preheat oven to 425. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs and milk. Add one scoop of the quinoa at a time and mix after each scoop, essentially tempering the custard mix so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Add most of the cheese in (the amount of cheese and type you use is really up to you and your tastes -- mix it up and try some chunks of bleu cheese in there, or some parmesan), pepper to taste, and mix it up. Pour mixture into a greased baking pan, and then top with the remainder of the cheese. Add crushed potato chips on top. I like to use BBQ or something along those lines -- tonight, we're trying it with Lays Classic BLT chips.

Pop that into the oven, and bake 25 minutes, or until mac 'n cheese sets and browns a little on the side. Cut into chunks and serve!

Tonight, it's being served alongside a thyme-rosemary pork tenderloin and wilted baby spinach. The egg custard does a great job of acting like glue and keeping the mac 'n cheese super creamy without making a flour-based roux.

I'm going to have a few big entries coming up -- heading to Disney's Food and Wine Festival in two weeks, AND we have a bunch of big restaurant reservations. Can't wait to write about it!