Quinoa Turkey Veggie "Surprise"

There's really no "surprise" in this meal, but anytime I don't know what to call something here, I wind up calling it "ingredient ingredient ingredient SURPRISE!" and the kids smile. I like when my kids smile, especially when it makes up for the fact that they didn't like the dinner, lol.

At least with this recipe, this is not the case. Everyone ate it, even the picky 3 year old.

It was very easy to make. As usual, I cook by instinct and taste, so measurements are approximate.

1 lb ground turkey
2 cups quinoa (I used this and it was the whole bag)
2 1-lb bags of asian style veggies (I used our store brand "Mandarin style")
enough water to make the quinoa as indicated on the package
1+ lime(s)
garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Brown the ground turkey in the bottom of a large stock pot.  When browned, add enough water to cook the quinoa as indicated on the package directions, then add the quinoa.  Stir and add the bags of frozen veggies or  fresh cut vegetables if you are a purist. :)  Cover and bring to a boil; boil until veggies are tender and the quinoa is soft and cooked.  This took us 20-30 minutes.

At this point I added the juice of one lime, stirring the lumpy, sticky quinoa mess as I was doing so.  Because this was my children's first time trying this, I went easy on the spices. I think I personally would have enjoyed much more lime flavor. Your mileage may vary.   I did the same with the garlic powder (probably 2 tsp?) and salt and pepper.    Add as much as you like. :)

We seem to need a lot of protein in our meals, next time I make this I will probably add more ground turkey. It seemed to get lost with so much quinoa.

This amount fed the 7 of us for two full meals with a salad on the side.   On a good day we have 3 "adult portion" eaters, 1 in-betweener, and 3 kid-size portion eaters.