Tag Archives: easy recipes

Quinoa Is The New Noodle

Posted on by

4

For months I have been hearing about how wonderful quinoa (keen-wah) is.  So far, everything I’ve been hearing has been positive.  It’s versatile, just as easy to make as rice, and extremely healthy.   It looks like couscous, but is incredibly different.  It is a whole food product – not processed glutanous flour-  like couscous is.  And it’s actually not a grain, it’s a seed.  

Here’s quinoa nutrition 101:

NUTRITION:
QUINOA, 1 cup
calories: 222
fat: 4 grams
carbs: 39 grams
protein: 8 grams
fiber: 5 grams
vitamin A: 0
vitamin E: 6% RDA
vitamin C: 0
manganese: 58%RDA
calcium: 3% RDA
iron: 15% RDA
magnesium: 30% RDA
phosphorus: 28% RDA

Yet, despite all these amazing facts about quinoa, I felt intimidated to make it because I didn’t know what exactly to do with it.  So the lonesome bag of quinoa – that I bought nearly two months ago - sat quietly in my pantry as I reached past it daily for the cereals, the pasta, the canned soups and the beans. 

However, last week I did something that I think I should have started doing a long time ago.  Rather than waiting until 8pm 10pm to think about what kind of lunch I should throw together for me and Jon the following day, I decided to make a large batch of rice, veggies and chicken on Sunday afternoon that I could store in meal-sized glass tupperware and eat for lunches throughout the week.  So this week, seeing as I didn’t want to make the same thing for lunch two weeks in a row, I started scouring my cupboards, hopeful to find something that would inspire me to make a masterpiece.

I found quinoa. 

Then, after a few minutes on Google, I found a worthwhile recipe. 

kjd

Recipe: Quinoa and Black Beans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 14 ½ oz can of petite cut diced tomatoes
  • 2 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 9 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 jalapeños, chopped (for an extra kick save the seeds)
  • 2 ½ cups black beans (I added some salt, pepper and cayenne pepper for an extra kick)
  • 2 tsp cumin 
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp mineral sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ¼ cup fresh oregano
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro
  • ½ cup queso fresco (optional)
  • 1 avocado, diced

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water and quinoa to boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain in a fine metal colander.
  2. Bring 2-3 inches of water to boil. Place quinoa in colander over the water. Place a clean kitchen cloth over the pot and cover with a lid. (Make sure the cloth is not so large as to cause a fire hazard) Steam for 10 minutes.
  3. Drain tomatoes, retaining juices. Add enough water to juices so that you have one cup of liquid.
  4. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and jalapeno, cook for 30 seconds. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Add black beans, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 30 seconds and add in tomato liquid. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano, cilantro and quinoa and cook for 7 minutes.
  5. Serve with diced avocados and queso fresco

I ended up making the recipe without cumin, cilantro and queso freso simply because I didn’t have any on hand.  However, I did add some baked chicken slices on top so that Jon would approve of this dish as an actual meal.  And it turned out great!  Honestly, I was really surprised with how much I liked this flavorful dish!  And now lunch for the week is done!  Happy, happy, happy!

Now that I broke the ice with quinoa I’m excited to try out a few more recipes.  Anyone have any quinoa favorites?

Best Tuna Casserole Recipe

Posted on by

0

I made tuna casserole for the first time in my life last week and it was SO EASY!  I know it’s one of those basic, nothing exciting about it recipes, but at the same time tuna casserole IS exciting!

I am on a mission to become the Casserole Queen since my husband is already the Master of the Grill and chef of fine Italian cooking.  I don’t really want to learn how to make everything he knows how to make…well, because he can already make it!  So I’m trying to find my own special niche.

For now, I’m working on casseroles and crock pot recipes since they tend to be easy and because there is something really fun about pouring ten different things in a bowl, mixing it all together and baking/cooking it.  It’s kind of like fingerpainting or abstract art – the beauty is in the chaos of the ingredients.  So far, I’m pretty good at chaos.

Ingredients

  •                     1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles
  •                     1/4 cup chopped onion
  •                     2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  •                     1 cup frozen green peas
  •                     2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
  •                     2 (10.75 ounce) cans  condensed cream of mushroom soup
  •                     1/2 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
  •                     1 cup crushed potato chips
***If you don’t have time or extra ingredients, just use the noodles, tuna and cream of mushroom soup for a simple casserole.
…
Directions
1.  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente drain.
2.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

3.  In a large bowl, thoroughly mix noodles, onion, 1 cup cheese, peas, tuna, soup and mushrooms. Transfer to a                  9×13 inch baking dish, and top with potato chip crumbs and remaining 1 cup cheese.

4.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!

*This is just one of many tuna casserole recipes.  I found this version on allrecipes.com, but if you have a different favorite, please share the link!

Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

Posted on by

1

I have a confession:  Today I did something just so I could blog about it later.  Just like sometimes I think Jon takes out the trash just so he can say, “Look honey, I took out the trash!”  So today, knowing I’d get to write about it, gave me the motivation I needed to drag my butt into the kitchen during my 4 o’clock slump to make some Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce.

I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart website a few months back and I made it once before on a Saturday night for Jon and I.  He raved about it.  So this weekend since Jon’s sister Renee and her boyfriend Jake came to visit all the way from Iowa for a few days I decided to pull out the big guns.

It’s a really great, easy recipe and I like the unique factor of having the pumpkin in it.

So my only alteration to the recipe is that it calls for 1/2 of the leftover Thyme-Roasted Chicken with Potatoes.  Well, I’ve never made that recipe so instead I boiled some potatoes, chopped them up into smaller chunks and threw them into a 9×13 pyrex dish along with some chunks of thawed out boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Dashed it with a bit of rosemary and put it in the oven until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is cooked.  Lastly, I pulled the chicken apart into shreds and cut up the potatoes into half inch chunks.  Then proceed with the recipe.  Oh, and I also chopped up some cilantro to sprinkle on the top for those who wanted it.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 1/2 leftover Thyme-Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, skin removed, meat shredded
  • 6 scallions, thinly sliced
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 jalapeno chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 8 corn tortillas (6-inch)
  • 1 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (6 ounces)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine chicken and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
  2. In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2 1/2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold top firmly as blender will be quite full). Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish.
  3. Lay tortillas on work surface; mound chicken mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in baking dish.
  4. Pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.