I’m not sure what got into me, but last Friday I decided to cook food for our family.

Not this, for once. (Photo via Grubhub)

I regularly read the Twin Cities-based blog Fit Foodie Finds (tagline: Where Healthy Meets Delicious), and last week featured casseroles.

Friday’s recipe – the wordy Naked Spinach Quinoa Lasagna Casserole – looked good. Like, really good.

The directions and steps also seemed feasible for someone with limited kitchen skills.

Sprouted quinoa anchored this vegetarian dish, and it didn’t require pre-cooking anything. (It’s also gluten-free, which meant everyone in our family could eat it).

I basically followed the above recipe to the letter, minus the onions because I hate them. Dry quinoa and raw veggies went directly into a glass baking dish:

A simple sauce with marina and cheeses (ricotta, low-fat cottage) was poured over everything and baking commenced.

Halfway through the baking

Cheese and tomato slices were added at the end:

I served it with one of my favorite reds:

This was so delicious! Spouse liked it and the kids both ate a reasonable amount, which is an all-around WIN in my book.

I’m not going to re-type the recipe since I linked to it above, but I highly recommend it and also checking out Fit Foodie Finds for lots of healthy kitchen inspiration. This Friday night experiment was so successful that I’ll do it again.

Look out, Family! A new chef’s in town.