tried and true.

Last night's dinner was a total shot in the dark, but it turned out pretty good. Matt gave it a 4 again. Probably because tomatoes aren't his favorite, but they were easy to pick out. I thought it was good, easy to make, and had a nice kick to it.

Creamy Caprese Quinoa Bake

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

grape tomatoes cut in halves

1 large bunch of basil, cut into ribbons

1/2 tsp. crushed red peppers

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350*. Heat tomato sauce and tomato paste over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream, parmesan, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in the quinoa. Fold in half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the tomatoes, then chop up some basil leaves and add them in too. Once combined, spray an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and pour the entire quinoa mixture into dish. Top with rest of mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn on the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil ribbons. Allow to sit for five minutes and then serve.

* MY NOTES: I wish I would have gotten some fresh motz to put on the top. Since we are not huge tomato fans, next time I may just put tomatoes on top and not inside. They were a bit mushy and I am not a fan of cooked tomatoes.