As you might know, I love a good ‘dump dinner’, where you can just throw all of the ingredients into a pot and forget about it (take a look at some of my favourite dump dinners here!)

This is the first time I have tried quinoa in this type of dish and it’s ideal- it provides a filling bulk that cooks nicely but doesn’t go mushy or squishy, and actually quinoa itself is packed full of protein and high in fibre. If you feel a bit unsure about the quinoa I urge you to try it- it’s a common enough ingredient that you can buy it almost anywhere these days and it is such a useful ingredient! It’s great for bulking out a meal like this, but also as an alternative to breadcrumbs or pasta. (Have a look at my Pork and quinoa meatballs and my tasty Spicy pizza pops!)

You may think it odd that I have used cup measures here when I usually use grams for my recipes, but this one is ideal for the easy of using a cup- if you don’t have an ‘official’ measuring cup, a regular sized teacup or coffee cup will do- one of the joys of this recipe is that there is no need to be precise- it’ll taste great even if you end up with a bit extra of one ingredient.

I use 2 chicken breasts in this (which feeds 4 people)- there is extra protein in both the black beans and the quinoa and once shredded this is plenty of chicken. It really does make a difference buying free-range fillets- they are more expensive (hence using less), but at least you know that they aren’t factory farmed, and they have the consistency and taste that chicken should have.

If you end up with leftovers of this, you can use it to fill wraps, cook into a quesadilla… it’s a great easy lunch to reheat too!