Week 47: Quinoa Cakes with Spinach and Goat Cheese

I found this recipe on the "Barefoot Kitchen" blog as a good way to use leftover quinoa. I didn't have any leftover, but still really wanted to try this recipe. Quinoa, spinach, and goat cheese are all things I really enjoy anyway, but the idea of frying them all three together just about blew my mind.

We ate them on a bed of fresh spinach, and we concocted a yogurt dipping sauce to go with them. Abby and I pretty much just threw random spices into plain Greek yogurt until we were satisfied with the flavor.

Overall, these were good, but it was hard for me to justify making already-delicious quinoa, and making it greasy and unhealthy. I would probably try it again, but as a special treat only!

Year of Yum Rating: 3 STARS

INGREDIENTS

2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked quinoa
4 ounces goat cheese
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash and chop the spinach, pat dry. Mince the garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet. Cook the garlic until lightly browned, about a minute, then add the spinach. Cover, and cook until wilted. Set aside and let cool.

2. In a small saucepan, mix the quinoa and the goat cheese over low heat (to help melt the cheese). Remove from heat when well combined.




3. Chop the cooked spinach finely, mix with the quinoa and goat cheese. Beat the egg and mix in until everything is combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Heat a layer of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Form the quinoa into 2″ patties about 1/2 inch thick. Drop into the oil and cook until well browned on one side, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, then set on paper towels to drain.







Abby's leftovers, in a neatly-crafted duck container...

Week 46: Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza

Another one of Pioneer Woman's great recipes.

We made a few adjustments. We substituted some Provel cheese for a little of the Mozzarella, and we used a premade pizza crust from the refrigerated section.

The flavors of this pizza were really yummy. The sweet caramelized onions with the salty cheese and prosciutto. My only complaint was that the toppings kept falling off of the pizza when I took a bite.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 whole pizza crust
Olive oil, for drizzling
1 whole large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
¼ cups brown sugar
Kosher salt to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated
10 ounces, weight fresh Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
8 slices Prosciutto (more to taste)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and brown sugar and toss/stir for several minutes, or until onions are brown and cooked. Set aside.

Roll out pizza dough to a rectangular shape. Drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle on a little salt, followed by a little Parmesan.

Lay slices of mozzarella evenly over the top of the crust. Arrange caramelized onions over the top of the mozzarella. Randomly lay slices of prosciutto over the onions.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the lower half of the oven, or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into squares. Serve immediately.

Week 45: Macaroni Grill Copycats

This week we made two recipes that are "copycats" of those found at Romano's Macaroni Grill. My mom had made the Rosemary Bread before, and I love it, but I was nervous about it because of the pickiness of yeast. I was afraid I would end up with Rosemary Hockey Pucks. It was also the first time using my mixer with the dough hooks.

Romano's Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly.

2. Mix in 1 T butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour.

3. Add one tablespoon of the fresh chopped rosemary.

4. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or in food processor about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

5. Add more flour if necessary.

6. Oil a bowl, put dough in it and cover with a towel.

7. Let dough rise in a warm place for one hour until doubled.

8. Punch down dough and divide in half.

9. Let dough rest about 5 minutes.

10. Spray baking pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.

11. Shape the dough into 2 small rounded oval loaves.

12. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tablespoon of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface.

13. Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.

14. Preheat oven to 375°F.

15. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

16. Carefully remove from oven, brush with remaining butter (and salt if desired.)


Romano's Macaroni Grill Roasted Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette

Year of Yum Rating: 3 STARS

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 ounce roasted garlic
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juice of

DIRECTIONS

Place vinegar, honey, salt and roasted garlic in a food processor. Puree until the garlic is chopped very fine. With the food processor still running, add olive oil and lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Week 45 (Part 2): Roasted Parmesan Parsnips

Abby and I have been trying new foods together lately (Meyer lemons, blood oranges, artichokes...). Tonight she helped us add parsnips to the list.

In case you are unfamiliar with parsnips, they are a root vegetable. They look similar to carrots, but are a little bigger, and they are white. They also smell like carrots, but they have a stronger flavor.



I enjoyed these, but am convinced that you can cover almost anything in cheese, make it crispy, and dip it in marinara, and I'll be a believer. Next, I should probably try these in a more natural state.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
8 parsnips, cleaned and peeled
2 large egg whites
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425.

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and either spray or give it a rub of butter.

2. Cut the parsnips into wedges or halves depending on the thickness. Try to get them as evenly sized as possible.

3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites til frothy with 2 tsp dried oregano.

4. Working with about half of the parsnips at a time, toss in the egg white and then gently roll in the Parmesan cheese. Place each parsnip on the baking sheet, with space in between. Sprinkle the fresh rosemary and generous amounts of fresh pepper and salt. You may even want to give one more sprinkling of Parmesan, you want them pretty well doused.

5. Bake the wedges about 20-25 minutes until crispy and cooked through. Rotate and test them after 15 minutes baking as the size of parsnips will vary.

6. While baking, either prepare your own dipping sauce, or use your own favorite marinara

Week 45 (Part 1): PW's Salsa

Two things I enjoy:

Pioneer Woman

Salsa

What a great combination.

Luke thought it was funny that I made this recipe "just days after swearing off all salsa that wasn't Margarita's Hot Salsa." I can see the irony, but I have to say that this recipe is good competition.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
½ whole Lime Juice

DIRECTIONS

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor.

Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses.

Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.