Week 11: Quinoa Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds

Last week while we were cooking, Abby and I had a discussion about how much we love quinoa. I mean, really, what's not to love about it? It's high in protein as far as grains go (and is a complete source of protein, which isn't always the case for plants), is a good source of fiber and other minerals, and it is gluten-free! As much as I love quinoa, I have never attempted to make it myself. I have always gotten it as a special treat at the salad bar at Whole Foods. They make so many yummy concoctions with [what I consider to be] exotic grains, but they are too expensive for me to get very often.

So Abby found a couple of awesome-looking recipes using quinoa, and we decided to make this one that had the flavor-balanced combination that I already: red onions and dried cranberries. It was really good warm, ,but I also enjoyed the leftovers cold. I see a lot more experimenting with quinoa (and maybe other fun grains like wheatberry) in my future!


INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
2/3 cup toasted sliced almonds


DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add quinoa to pan and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Sprinkle in cranberries; continue to cook, covered, until quinoa is tender, 8 to 9 minutes more. Toss with almonds and serve.

Week 10: Homemade Salsa and Tortilla Chips

Let it be known that I love chips and salsa, probably more than is healthy. This week I was thinking that some fresh salsa sounded good, and it makes me feel really healthy because of all the big chunks of vegetables, and the lack of any chemicals or preservatives that may be potentially toxic to my body. There are a ton of salsa recipes out there, so I narrowed it down by looking for specific ingredients. I knew that I wanted black beans, and I was also looking for a salsa that called for lime juice, because I thought that just might give the kick of freshness and tang that I was looking for. I ended up really liking this recipe. I'd still like to try others for comparison's sake, but this might be a good, faithful standby.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium tomatoes (we used more because this didn't sound like very much, and we felt that tomatoes should be a pretty prominent ingredient in salsa)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (3 ears fresh corn)
1/4 cup finely chopped purple onion
1 serrano chile pepper, seeded and minced (we used jalapenos)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

DIRECTIONS
Chop tomatoes and bell peppers.
Stir together tomato mixture, corn, and remaining ingredients. Cover and chill 8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips


While we were making salsa, it just made sense to make homemade tortilla chips also. I was slightly less impressed with the chips, and was left with the feeling that I might as well just buy some pre-made baked tortilla chips. I DID like that they were nice and thin, and that I could control the seasoning on them. And perhaps if I made some out of flour tortillas they would seem more novel.


INGREDIENTS
1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cut each tortilla into chip-sized wedges and arrange the wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet. In a mister, combine the oil and lime juice. Mix well and spray each tortilla wedge until slightly moist. Combine the cumin, chili powder and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle on the chips. Bake for about 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 8 minutes or until the chips are crisp, but not too brown. Serve with salsas, garnishes or guacamole.

** We cooked our chips for way less time. They ended up being in the oven for closer to about 7 minutes total. But we might have gotten exceptionally thin corn tortillas...**

Week 9: Grandma Rose's Natcherly Good Cookies

This week's recipe was passed down to Abby from her grandmother. It was so yummy...good work, Grandma Rose.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups oats

1 cup coconut

1 cup "chopped" almonds

1 cup wheatgerm

12 oz semisweet mini chocolate chips (we used chopped bittersweet)

DIRECTIONS

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and sift. Beat butter, sugar and add honey, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and remaining ingredients. Bake 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees. Makes a lot of yummy cookies!

Week 8: Easy (Crock Pot) Chicken Recipe

This week I had to pick something semi-easy because Abby and I couldn't find a good time to cook together. Let's not kid ourselves: she's the brains behind all of our work in the kitchen.

I've been kind of interested in trying something in the slow cooker recently. Easy, fast, right up my alley. I found a recipe and modified it a little bit to include onions. Because mmmmmmm...

It turned out pretty well. I would definitely eat it again. (In fact I WILL eat it again as it produced plenty of leftovers.) It just reminded me that pretty much everything you put in a slow cooker comes out pretty mushy and the tastes all melded together after 8 hours of mindless simmering. Which is okay for sometimes...but not for always. I still plan on trying more crockpot recipes in the near future.

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breasts, frozen (I used 8 chx breast tenders instead)
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (I used Mexican style)
1 sliced onion (this was MY addition)
**I also added a little salt, ground red pepper for heat, and ground cumin

DIRECTIONS
Put chicken in crockpot, cover with tomatoes. Cook 2 hours on high, then turn down to low for at least 6 hrs. Check once to make sure chicken stays covered by liquid, and it will stay tender. Serve over rice.

(I didn't have time to cook on high for two hours before I left this morning, so I just cooked for eight hours on low. I figured that this would work since the chicken tenders were smaller, and probably wouldn't take as long to cook as a whole breast.)

Can you tell that, when left to my own elements, I can't follow recipes very well? I give myself entirely too much freedom to change things as I see fit...

And, most importantly...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABIGAIL!

Week 7: Chinese Chicken Chop

This week's recipe was courtesy of my "Hungry Girl" cookbook. Abby and I felt so healthy and fiber-ful after this one. Also, all of "Hungry Girl's" salad recipes don't include dressing, so we added a little tang to our salads with red wine vinegar.

**Now that I think about it, we pretty much didn't chop everything that it told us to. We had larger chunks in our salads.**

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 cup shredded green cabbage

3 ounces boneless skinless lean chicken breast, chopped

1/2 can mandarin oranges in juice, drained

1/2 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons minced scallions

2 tablespoons Fiber One bran cereal (original)

DIRECTIONS

Place lettuce and cabbage in a large bowl and toss.

Add oranges and water chestnuts, and then top with chicken.

Sprinkle scallions and Fiber One over salad.

(This recipe makes one serving, so we doubled it for two of us.)

Week 6: Turkey Ravioli Lasagna

This lasagna is made with frozen cheese ravioli, so it was super-easy. It is also super-yummy! And with the ground turkey breast and the chunks of veggies in the sauce, I also felt so nutritious!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 package (25 oz) frozen cheese ravioli, cooked and drained
3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, cook turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper; set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook carrots and mushrooms in oil until tender. Sitr in spaghetti sauce. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a greased 13 x 9 in. baking dish. Layer iwth halfo fht eravioli, spaghetti sauce mixture, turkey, and cheeses. Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Week 5: Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Today I decided to try one of the yummy recipes I found on Kraft's website. I found several that had not very many ingredients, and seemed interesting yet simple.

It ended up tasting pretty good. You can put stuffing on pretty much anything and I will be a happy camper. After it was already done, Abby and I both admitted to adding extra cheese to the part of the recipe we worked on. More cheese is never a bad thing. The most complicated part was pounding out the chicken breasts. And waiting for it to come out of the oven...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
• 8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.)
• 1/3 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

DIRECTIONS

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

MIX tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

PLACE 2 chicken breasts in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick. Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat with remaining chicken. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture. Starting at 1 narrow end, tightly roll up each breast. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing.

BAKE 40 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.

I know the picture isn't great, and you can hardly tell what it is. From now on Abby is in charge of taking the pictures...