Quinoa Stew

I found this recipe at Whole Food Mommies.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. quinoa (can use 1 c. as well, for a chunkier stew)
• 1 c. water (2 c. if using 1 c. quinoa)
• 2 c. chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tb. olive oil or less
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch think slices
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 c. cubed zucchini
• 2 c. undrained chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
• 1 c. water or vegetable stock
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
  
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• Pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp. fresh oregano (1 tsp. dried)
• Salt to taste
• Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Using a fine sieve, rinse the quinoa well. Place it in a pot with the water and cook, coverd, on medium low heat for about 15 minutes, until soft. Set aside.

While the quinoa cooks, saute the onions and garlic in a deep pot in oil for 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add celery and carrots. Cook another 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and stock.

Stir in the cumin, chili powder, ground coriander, cayenne, oregano, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Stir cooked quinoa into the stew and add salt to taste.

Notes about this recipe:

1. The picture posted with this recipe shows that avocado was also added. I tried adding some to mine when I made it and I thought that was an excellent choice. Oh how I love avocados!

2. I served this with tortilla chips.

Potato Cheese Soup

This recipe comes from Vanessa H. She got it in her high school Home Economics class and still uses it. She says it's easy to make and delicious and her husband is always asking her to make it.

Ingredients and Directions:

Soup:

• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 Tbsp minced onion
• white sauce*
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  

Combine broth, potatoes, and onion. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft.

*While the potatoes are cooking, make the white sauce:

• 2 Tbsp butter/margarine
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
  

Melt butter and flour together in saucepan over medium heat. When mixed well and bubbling, pour in milk. Stir until thickened and liquid comes to a boil. (This takes a while, be patient!) Boil for about 10 seconds and remove from heat.

Combine the potato broth and white sauce. Mix well. Stir in the cheese (At this point, I don't measure. I always put more than 1 cup because we love cheese around here. I just do a couple of big handfuls.) Season with salt and pepper. (I add a LOT of salt. Potatoes soak up salt like crazy, so anytime you cook with potatoes you usually have to over-salt.) If it's too thick for your liking, add more milk to get it to the consistency you want.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I like to eat it with saltine crackers or bread. It's also really fun in bread bowls! I'm sure you can add anything you want into it, too. One of these days I want to experiment and make this a Broccoli-Potato Cheese Soup!

Spicy Bean Burritos

Photo from Pink Parsley.

I found this recipe on Annie's Eats. She adapted it from Pink Parsley, who adapted it from Cooking Light. So it's been through some changes since the original recipe was found! You basically make your own re-fried beans, but they are much more tasty!

Ingredients:

For the bean filling:

• 2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 tbsp. fresh salsa

For serving:

• 6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• Shredded cheese
• Diced tomatoes
• Shredded romaine lettuce
• Chopped green onions
• Low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt

Directions:

To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, salt and cayenne; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add the beans and the water or broth to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and mash the mixture with a spoon or fork.

Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top each serving with a pinch of shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and sour cream. Roll the tortilla up tightly, burrito style, and serve immediately.

Yields about 6 servings.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I didn't use the cayanne pepper and only used 3 Tb. of our medium salsa and it was still a tad bit spicy. If you aren't one for spice I would put less of the chipotle in adobo or chili powder.

2. I added olives to mine and it was delish.

Quinoa with Basalmic Roasted Mushrooms

This recipe was referred to me by Maghann B. She found it at Whole Foods Market, but hadn't had a chance to try it out. I finally got to make it and it was yummy! The almonds gave it a delicious crunch.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out
• 1 cup red or white quinoa
• 3 cups tightly packed fresh spinach, chopped
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475°F.

Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the pear balsamic dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more pear balsamic dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used regular mushrooms instead of portobellos. I only had 8 oz, but wished I had used 16 oz because they were tasty!
2. My pear wasn't incredibly ripe so the pear flavor was really faint. For stronger flavor use a fairly ripe pear.
3. If you serve it as a main dish I would suggest something like yams and a yummy wheat bread to go with it, plus some fruit.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

My husband and I tested out using peanut butter in our smoothies a while back and found a pretty delicious combination. I decided to try it out with a green smoothie twist and it was fabulous!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz liquid, 1/2 orange juice 1/2 water
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• 2-4 Tb. milled flax seed
• 1/4 c.-1/2 c. oats
• 1 banana
• 8 strawberries
• about 1/8 c. peanut butter

Directions:

Blend the liquid and spinach for about 20-30 seconds. Add the flax seed, oats, and banana and blend for another 30 seconds. Add strawberries and peanut butter, blend till smooth and enjoy!

Veggie Fried Rice

This is a super recipe for using veggies that are about to go bad.

Ingredients:

• A little bit of olive oil
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes, diced (as best you can....they are a bit mushy)
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• 5 green onions, sliced
• About 3 cups cooked brown rice (or any rice)
• 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 1/2 c. frozen corn
  
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 Tb. soy sauce

Directions:

First put a tiny bit of olive oil in a large frying pan and scramble the egg. Once cooked, remove it and set aside in a small bowl.

Then saute the sweet potato and carrot in a little more olive oil, about 5-7 min. Then add mushrooms, green onions and cook till just soft. Add rice, ginger, soy sauce, a little more olive oil, frozen peas and corn. Add the egg back into the pan.

Fry until the rice starts to brown and get a bit crispy.

Notes about this recipe:

1. All of the ingredients are up to you. Use what you have, add more if you like it, don't add it if you don't like it.

2. If you prefer you can fry it until the rice is warm. That's if you don't like it a bit crispy.

Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Shells

This recipe was submitted by Vanessa H. She found it over at Rachael Ray's website. She says "Spinach and artichoke. The. perfect. combination."

Ingredients:

• Salt
• 20 large pasta shells
• 1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 7 to 8 leaves basil, torn
• Ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1 10-ounce box chopped frozen spinach, defrosted or 3/4 pound fresh baby spinach, chopped
• A few grates fresh nutmeg
• 1 10-ounce box frozen baby or regular artichoke hearts, defrosted and chopped
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil the pasta. When the water reaches a bubble, salt it well, drop the shells in and cook them to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked shells and shock them under cold water to stop them from cooking. Reserve.

While the shells are cooking, mash up the tomatoes in the bottom of a casserole dish. Stir in the butter, basil, some salt and pepper into the dish, and set aside.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until aromatic and light golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the spinach, and nutmeg to the pan, and cook to heat through.

Transfer the spinach to a large bowl and stir in the artichokes, ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon zest, thyme, egg yolk, parsley, some salt and pepper. Fill the reserved pasta shells with the mixture, arranging them on top of the sauce in the casserole dish as you complete them.

Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and turn the oven up to 425˚F. Continue cooking until the filling is golden brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes more.

Makes 4 servings with 4 shells to each person topped with some of the sauce.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I have tried it with fresh basil leaves and with dried basil leaves. I didn't really notice a difference. So if you don't want to buy the expensive fresh basil, just use the dried stuff you have in your pantry :) Same goes for the parsley...
2. I have tried using the frozen chopped spinach and the fresh baby spinach. I hated working with the frozen chopped stuff, so it's fresh from now on.
3. I have yet to find frozen artichokes at the store, so I just use artichoke hearts out of a can.