Post-Show Recipe

You’ve just finished a performance and you’re fatigued, sore, and most of all hungry. As hungry as I am post-show, I'm also really lazy and have no interest in making a nice well rounded meal. No, cooking at 1030 pm is not really my thing, but eating post-show is extremely important.

Your post-show recovery is mostly dependent upon the food you consume. Exactly like a post work out meal, post-show meals replenish your body of its lost nutrients. Without it, your body can't recover or rebuild for the next day. This will leave you feeling more sore, more tired and with an insatiable appetite. None of that sounds like fun to me so I'm sharing this delicious recipe to help fill you up and refuel for tomorrow’s day of dancing!

Chicken Quinoa Chili

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (14 oz, Rotel recommended)

2 cans black bean (16 oz each)

1 can corn, drained (15 oz)

2 1/2-3 cups chicken stock

2 large chicken breasts

1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 teaspoon minced onion

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder (taco seasoning is good too)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.             Place everything in a 6 qt slow cooker and cook for 5-7 hours on low.

2.             Remove chicken, shred it and return to slow cooker.

3.             Keep warm until ready to serve. Garnish with cheese or sour cream.

Recipe courtesy of Sweet Treats and More

This Chicken Quinoa Chili is the best.  It's full of protein: chicken, quinoa AND black beans! Awesome! In addition to being a complete protein source, quinoa is a complex carbohydrate, which is great for energy, a good source of dietary fiber, calcium and, even iron. Quinoa makes it simple to get a lot of the nutrients you need in one bite as opposed to making lots of different dishes.

The best part of this recipe though is that it’s made in a slow cooker. Dump all the ingredients in the cooker in the morning and you’ll have a warm, well-rounded meal that's ready when you walk in the door at night. Knowing I don’t have to think about dinner after a show is quite possibly the greatest feeling. Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but this recipe really does make it easy to get all the nutrients that I need to recover in one big bowl of chili with hardly any thought or effort. Enjoy!