Quinoa Salad

If you have never had quinoa before, you are missing out! I first tried this recipe at a neighborhood party. I was hesitant at first because I had never eaten quinoa, but I must say, It is divine!! The recipe actually comes from here. I thought it could use a little more dressing, so I changed it up just a little with some help from my cousin (who is an amazing chef). It is great warm or cold. Make it! I am so addicted!

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 3/4 cup water ( I used chicken stock instead)
  
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, chopped into chunks
• handful cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used much more)
  
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
• small handful cilantro, diced (once again, I used much more)
  
• 1 limes, juiced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• salt, to taste

** I added a splash of rice vinegar and chopped English cucumbers. It was Heavenly!**

Directions

1. Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes until it starts smelling nutty and lovely. Add water, stir once, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients. Prepare the dressing by combining the lime juice, oil, cumin, salt, and rice vinegar. Whisk it aggressively. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
3. When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through.
4. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients, including the dressing, and mix. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
   
   

Shrimp Enchiladas

I modified this recipe from a great cooking blog, Cooking With Sara. I like the idea of shrimp enchiladas, but I had tons of tomatillos on hand so I wanted to make my own Green Sauce to pour over them.

Shrimp Enchiladas

12 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 pound cooked medium shrimp, chopped
1 4 oz. can chopped green chile's
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
Prepared Green Tomatillos Sauce

Wrap tortillas in foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until softened.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add shrimp, green chilies, chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin. Cook for 2-3minutes until combined. Stir in cream cheese, then 1/2 cup of Mexican cheese until melted.

Unwrap tortillas. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, then spoon 1/4 cup of filling down middle of one tortilla. Roll and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Cover enchiladas with tomatillo sauce, then with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

Tomatillo Sauce

1 T. Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. Green Tomatillos, cut in halves or quartered
¼ C. Snipped Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan saute onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add tomatillos, cover and simmer until softened. Transfer vegetables to blender and pulse until blended without chunks. Add cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chive Sauce

I can't take credit for coming up with the delicious meal (I found it here ) but I can say it is amazing! All of my family ate it up without complaining ( a miracle in and of itself) but my 3 year old twins even asked if I would make it for lunch the next day! That's a sure sign of a winner to me, and if that doesn't put it over the top for you, I found it while looking up "healthy" meal ideas, which means you can easily have 3-4 helpings and still not gain weight right? :)

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 1 pound), trimmed of fat
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I didn't have any and just used more broth instead)
  
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup chopped chives, (about 1 bunch)

Preparation

1. Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow glass baking dish and dredge the chicken in it. Discard the excess flour.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm.
3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour; stir to coat. Add wine, broth and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil, stirring often.
4. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until heated through and no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes. Stir in sour cream and mustard until smooth; turn the chicken to coat with the sauce. Stir in chives and serve immediately.

Thai Pork

*excuse me while I go off on a tangent for a minute* (its what I do best)

My friend called me a few days ago. She had gotten a flat tire on the freeway. Luckily the timing was right and we could go help her fix it asap. In a span of about 15 minutes we had the car ready to go. We got back in our truck, closed the door and a second later a huge truck flew right past us, barely missing us all the way safely off on the shoulder of the road. We then watched as this vehicle drove about 20 more seconds before crashing off the freeway into the guard rails at full speed. It was a dreadful sight (the driver was okay, his truck was not).
This driver was drunk.
If we hadn't have been parked behind my friend or come to help her with her flat, he would have easily hit right into her and her blond hair, blue eyed babies napping in the back seat.

We were all a bit frazzled of course.

The next night she had us over for dinner as a thank you. And the main course was fabulous.

She called it, the You saved our lives Pork.
I called it, fantastic!

Thai Pork

2 lb boneless pork loin, trimmed
2 large red bell peppers, cut into strips
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less for heat)
2 cloves of garlic minced

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low for 5-7 hours.
At the end, shred the pork and add 1/4 cup peanut butter.
Serve over Jasmine rice. Top with sliced green onions, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges.

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

English muffins, split, toasted and buttered
Thick slices ham or Canadian bacon, warmed
Poached eggs
Hollandaise Sauce
Shredded Cheese (Optional) Paprika (Optional) Toast and butter a 1/2 of an English Muffin, place a slice of warmed Canadian bacon on top of the butter English Muffin, then place a poached egg. Top with about a 1/2 cup of Hollandaise Sauce. Our friends then just Paprika the top, but we like to put a little shredded cheese. So, which ever you like! My husband and I each eat 2 of the above servings (so we each use 1 full English Muffin, 2 pieces of Canadian Bacon and 2 poached eggs). So, that can help you figure out how much you will need to make for your little family.


Also, I just buy the packet of McCormick Hollandaise Sauce, but you can make it by hand too. Here is a recipe I found:


Hollandaise Sauce:
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup warm clarified butter
1 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Dash hot red pepper sauce (optional)
Salt and ground white pepper to taste

Place in the top of a double boiler or in a large stainless-steel bowl set up as a double boiler. Off the heat, whisk the egg mixture until it becomes light and frothy. Place the top of the double boiler or the bowl over, not in, barely simmering water and continue to whisk until the eggs are thickened, 2 to 4 minutes, being careful not to let the eggs get too hot. Remove the pan or bowl from over the water and whisk to slightly cool the mixture. Whisking constantly, very slowly add butter, then whisk in lemon juice, pepper sauce and salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water. Serve immediately or keep the sauce warm for up to 30 minutes by placing the bowl in water (not hot) water.

Mini Cheesecakes

Got this recipe from Bakerella! It was seriously BEYOND easy! I didn't have the smaller cupcake liners though, so I just used the regular size. Then for the crust I just crumbed the Nilla Wafers and added some butter and smashed it down into the bottom. Worked out fine!

2 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Mix.

Vanilla wafers
2″ aluminum mini baking cups
Cherry Pie Filling

Place a vanilla wafer in each mini baking cup.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Let cool and top with cherry pie filling. Refrigerate.

Sweet Potato Muffins

1/2 c butter

1 1/4 c sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 c cooked sweet potatoes, mashed

1 1/2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 c milk

1/4 c chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease muffin tins. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Blend in sweet potatoes. Sift flour with baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add alternately with milk. Fold in nuts if desired. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

**I have made these twice with sweet potatoes from Bountiful Baskets. I just stick the sweet potatoes in the oven at about 350 for 20-30 minutes, until they are soft and fall easily from their jackets. They are easy to mash with a potato masher. Both times they have been eaten up within a day. Really yummy!