Quinoa Primavara

ngredients
1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 cups thinly sliced or bite sized pieces assorted uncooked vegetables
3 tablespoons grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions
Rinse quinoa thoroughly; drain. Bring quinoa and broth to boil in a 2-quart saucepan; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes or until broth is absorbed. While quinoa is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook garlic in butter for about one minute, stirring frequently, until golden. Stir in vegetables. Cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir cream cheese and basil into cooked quinoa. Toss vegetables with quinoa mixture and sprinkle with cheese.

Let's Dish
If you've never tried quinoa, you really should. I'm always looking for new quinoa recipes, and this is one of my favorites. Technically, quinoa is not a grain, but it does remind me of cous cous. The great thing about quinoa, as opposed to other grains, is that it's very high in protein. It's also gluten-free. You can use any kind of vegetables in this dish. I like onion, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, and I'll add peppers sometimes too. I just give all the veggies a coarse shop in my food processor, but you could even throw in a mix of frozen veggies to save time. Although I'd typically serve this as a side dish, I'll happily eat it as a meal on it's own.

Dal

Dal Makhani
Ingredients:
1 cup dry lentils
1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions:
-In a large saucepan, add lentils and enough water to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, until lentils are open and tender. Drain and return to pot.
-Using a wooden spoon, stir lentils around pot, using spoon to mash some against the side of the pot. Add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cayenne, water, butter, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about an hour, or until thickened. Periodically check to make sure the water has not cooked out. If so, add a bit more and cover pot for remaining cooking time.
-Stir in cream, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

biscuts

Cream Biscuits with Cheddar Cheese
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425º and place oven rack in the upper-middle position. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the cheese. Pour in 1 1/4 cups of the cream and stir with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds, or until a dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, leaving behind any dry pieces of flour in the bowl. In tablespoon increments, add up to the remaining 1/4 cup of cream to the dry bits left in the bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition. Once the bits are moistened, add them to the rest of the dough. Knead by hand for about 30 seconds, just until the dough is smooth.

To make biscuit rounds, pat the dough into a 1-inch thick circle. Using a biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits and place on the baking sheet. Push together the remaining dough and cut more biscuits. You should have 8, but that will depend on the size of your biscuit cutter. Alternately, press the dough evenly into an 8-inch cake pan. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into 8 wedges using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Bake the biscuits, immediately after cutting, for 18 minutes. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

http://www.cooklikeachampionblog.com/

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 tablespoons water or chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Siracha (optional)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces
salt and pepper, to taste
Half a bell pepper, cut into strips
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
Rice, for serving

Directions:
Cook rice according to package directions. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water/chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Stir in hoisin, vinegar and Siracha and set aside.

Add oil to wok or large skillet and set over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cashews and stir until garlic is golden and fragrant. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then add to wok. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, then add pepper strips and cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the green onions. Serve with rice and top with remaining green onions and additional cashews, if desired.

Serves 3

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

http://penniesonaplatter.com/

Printable Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.

To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Freezer Friendly: After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F

cupcake

Hummingbird Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: approximately 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:*
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

http://annies-eats.net/page/3/

Rice Pudding

* ¾ cups Regular Uncooked White Rice
* 1-½ cup Water
* 4 cups Milk, Divided
* 2 whole Eggs
* ¾ cups Sugar
* 1 teaspoon Vanilla
* ½ cups Raisins, Optional
* ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
* 3 Tablespoons Butter, Cut Into Pads

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

In a saucepan, cover rice with the water and steam for 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t go dry.

Add 3 1/2 cups of the milk and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring so the milk doesn’t stick and boil over.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then add sugar and vanilla to the eggs. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup cold milk into the egg mixture, and add to the rice. If desired, now is the time to throw in the raisins.

Pour in a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg, dot with slices of butter and bake for 50 minutes in your preheated oven.

Now you’ve got choices. When you remove the dish from the oven, either let it sit and the rice will soak up the extra moisture or stir it up really good to speed up the process. I must say that when I make it, I can’t resist but stir it all up and eat it immediately, just in case you were wondering!

Sweet Potato Chili

Chipotle-Spiced Sweet Potato Chili
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

What you need:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, medium dice
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into ½ inch dice
2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1 tablespoon chili pepper
1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup dark beer
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed with their juice
2 whole chipotle peppers In adobo sauce, chopped
½ cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red hot sauce (or more, if desired)
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ears corn, kernels removed or 1½ cups frozen corn
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups tortilla chips, crushed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan and toss with one tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper as desired and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are just tender.

Heat a deep heavy pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Sauté the onions until lightly caramelized. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle powder and cumin and cook for an additional minute or until spices are fragrant. Stir them frequently so they don’t burn at the bottom of the pan.

Deglaze the pan with the beer and scrape up any browned bits (these are called fond and they’re full of flavor) from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, chipotle peppers, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.

Simmer the chili for about 15-20 minutes or until it begins to thicken slightly. Add the corn, beans, sweet potatoes, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in a bowl topped with crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can hominy (find in the grocery store by corn)
1 (15 oz) can black eyed peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup red quinoa (cooked)
1 jalepeno pepper
4 green onions
1/2 cup yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper
2 tomatoes
1/4 cup cilantro
1 (11.5 oz) can V8 juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1 small lime
1 Tbs olive oil
1 or 2 avocados
2 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
Whole wheat tortilla wraps (Papa Tortilla brand tastes good and folds easily)

RINSE THE QUINOA (it removes the saponin. You can get sick if you don't rinse it!). Quinoa will double in size when boiled so to make 1 cup cooked quinoa; boil 1 cup water and 1/2 cup quinoa. It takes about 15 minutes for the water to absorb. The grain will be open and tender to the bite when cooked.

Drain cans of black beans, white hominy, and black eyed peas. Add frozen corn. Rinse well with cool water and place colander in the sink to continue draining while preparing fresh ingredients.

Chop/dice all the vegetables and combine with the bean mixture in a large mixing bowl. Pour in V8 juice and spices. Gently fold in avocado and cheese.

Place 2/3 cup of filling in the center of a tortilla. Fold burrito style.

Spray a large cooking sheet with cooking spray. Place burritos on cookie sheet and spray the burritos with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until the top is toasted golden brown. Turn burritos over and spray again and bake for 10 additional minutes until all the burrito is toasted and the filling is hot. Serve with avocado ranch dip

Wrap leftover burritos individually in foil. Reheat in oven set at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

AVOCADO RANCH DIP
1 cup ranch
1/2 avocado
(optional) handful of cilantro

ketchup

Homemade Ketchup: Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato paste, preferably homemade
• 1/4 cup raw honey, maple syrup or whole unrefined cane sugar (see sources)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh whey*, divided
• 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar, plus extra for thinning the ketchup, if desired
• 1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Homemade Ketchup: Method

1. Spoon tomato paste into a large mixing bowl and fold in raw honey or other natural sweetener of choice.
2. Whisk in one-quarter cup fresh whey or vegetable starter culture into the sweetened tomato paste along with apple cider vinegar, sea salt, allspice and cloves. Continue whisking these ingredients together until the paste is smooth and uniform.
3. Spoon the homemade ketchup into a mason jar, top with remaining two tablespoons fresh whey or vegetable starter culture, cover loosely with a cloth or lid and allow the ketchup to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for three to five days.
4. After three to five days, uncover the homemade ketchup and give it a thorough stir before transferring to the refrigerator. Naturally fermented homemade ketchup will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

TIME: 5 minutes (active), 3 to 5 days (fermentation)
YIELD: about 1 pint.
DAIRY-FREE? Omit fresh whey and substitute one packet vegetable starter culture (see sources) dissolved in one-quarter cup plus two tablespoons filtered water.