Pork or Chicken & Pears with Quiona

I wish I had a picture of this excellent dish that only takes about 30 minutes to prepare.  Keys to making it a healthy meal is to remember to use ONLY Pasture raised Pork. This would work equally well with chicken!   I adapted this dish from a recipe I found in Good Housekeeping.

Serves 2

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1.5 cups chopped fresh butternut squash (3/4-inch cubes) (can use frozen)
1 cup chopped Swiss Chard (can use spinach or Kale)
1/2 pound Pastured Pork tenderloin (I used two small chops), This would work equally well with chicken!
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
1 ripe pear, cored and cut into eighths
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 tablespoon pure apple cider vinegar



1.  Heat 2 cups of water to boiling in a 2 quart saucepan.  Stir in quinoa, squash, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add, greens and cook another 5 minutes. Drain in a large fine-mesh strainer, then set strainer over same saucepan.  Cover with lid and let stand 10 minutes.
2.  Meanwhile, sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
3.  In 12-in skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on med-high until hot but not smoking.  Add meat in single layer.  Cook, covered 3-4 minutes or until well browned.  Turn meat over and cook 3-4 more minutes until browned and cooked through.  With tongs, transfer to plate.
4.  To same skillet, add green onion whites and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring.  Add pears, 1/4 teaspoon coriander, and 2 tablespoons water.  Cook 5 minutes or until pears are just tender and water evaporates, stirring occasionally.  Add vinegar and cook 2 minutes or until pan is almost dry, stirring occasionally.
5.  While pears cook, transfer quinoa mixture to bowl.  Stir in green onion parts, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon coriander and 1/8 teaspoon salt.  Serve with meat and pears.

Nutritional Information:  about 431 calories, 50 g carbs, 13g fat, 31g protein, 431g sodium, 12g sugar

***We drank 12 ounces of fresh, raw goat milk which contains 16g carbs.

This meal is on the high end of carbs so I would need to watch carbs the day I ate this dish to keep me in my 100-150 carb per day range.