Dairy Free Quinoa Chicken Casserole

I never started eating quinoa until about a year ago. I feel like it almost came and went as a fad. For awhile I thought if my stomach ever exploded, quinoa would just pour out. Needless to say, I haven't eaten quinoa for awhile so I thought I would try it hot, as I usually eat it in salads. I thought that with this dish it would taste great using no dairy and that way it would be something people with allergies could easily make. If you love dairy so much that you can't eat without it, you could always spice it up a little at the end with some shredded cheese for a little extra pizazz. But in the ingredients listed below you will see I didn't use any and it still tasted great. Serve this up with my Bun in the Oven and a fresh salad.

 In a frying pan cook up some chopped chicken

In a saucepan cook 1 1/2 cups quinoa, as directed on package

Chop up a handful of parsley, 2 carrots, and 1 tbsp fresh thyme. Put aside 1 cup frozen peas.

Once your chicken is cooked, remove. Add 2 tbsp oil in pan and 2 tbsp water, add 1 minced garlic clove. Cook for 1 minute

Add 3 heaping tbsp flour, season with pepper

Pour 3 cups chicken broth into your flour mixture. Using a whisk, mix until smooth and thickened. 

Add chicken back into pan

Add the parsley and thyme to sauce. Season with 1/2 tsp onion powder and enough pepper and salt to taste. (remember your chicken broth has a quite a lot of salt in it, so don't overdo the salt)

Place your cooked quinoa into a casserole dish. Take 1 cup of your sauce mixture and pour over quinoa, mix it in or spread it around on top. 

Distribute your carrots and pea evenly over top.

Cover with the rest of sauce and spread evenly over casserole. (if you were going to use some cheese this is where you would put it)

Sprinkle 1/2 cup bread crumbs over the top of your casserole 

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are browned and the casserole is hot!