Mini Southwest Quinoa Quesadillas

My kids ate this up. And, I have a 5 year old that doesn't like quinoa. So, finding a way for her to like quinoa has been a goal of mine for a while. Success! These were so yummy that I ate way too much. Love it. 

2 cups of quinoa

4 cups chicken broth (can sub veggie broth)

juice of 2 limes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 can of corn (rinsed and drained)

1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)

salt to taste

Rinse quinoa and drain. In a large saucepan boil quinoa in chicken broth. Reduce heat when it comes to a full boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Add remaining ingredients. 

Spoon quinoa mixture into small corn tortillas and top with monterey jack cheese. Grill in a saucepan with a small amount of butter (or non-stick spray of choice) for 4-5 minutes on medium until tortilla is lightly browned and cheese has melted. Cut into small triangles and serve.

Crock Pot Yummy

I have two new recipes...yay! I don't like to post a recipe until I've cooked it a few times, and know that it will be a staple in my family. These two recipes come from the same cookbook, The Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes, which I give a B rating. I love to use my crock pot. It makes life so much easier when I have two little kids. But, I've tried several recipes from this book, and only a few so far have been too delicious not to share.

The great thing about these two is that they share some of the same ingredients. I decided to make them both in the same week, and since there is a lot of chopping involved of carrots, celery, and onion, I just chopped enough for both recipes to use in the same week. Enough babbling, here are the new recipes....enjoy!


Spiced Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup

1 Cup dry lentils
2 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. garam masala
4 cups vegetable broth

Rinse and drain lentils. In a crockpot, place lentils, squash, onion, carrot, and celery. Sprinkle garlic and garam masala over vegetables. Pour broth over all.
Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-9 hours or on high for 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

MY TWIST: Add some butter to each bowl. It is SOOOO delicious with a little butter added.
A HINT: I always buy a larger butternut than what is called for. I do not peel, as it is very hard to peel a hard squash like this. So, I simply cut off the skin, not worrying too much if I cut off a little squash too. You could make life super easy and buy frozen, already cut up butternut at places like whole foods.


The next recipe that is delicious and shares some of the same ingredients is.....

Spicy Black Beans and Rice
2 cups dry black beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 medium green bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (take out seeds for less heat)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 bay leaves (I just use dried)
2 14 oz. cans chicken broth (veggie would work too)
2 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tbsp. flour
4 cups hot cooked rice

Rinse beans; place in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour. (You could also place beans in cold water and let soak overnight to avoid this step). Drain beans.
In your crockpot, combine beans, onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cumin, coriander, thyme, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves. Pour broth over all.
Cook on low for 10-11 hours, or high for 5- 5 1/2 hours. If using low heat, turn to high when you have 30 minutes remaining, and add butter and flour together to make a paste. Pour it into crockpot. Cook 30 minutes longer. Serve with hot rice.

MY TWIST: I served this bean mixture on a quesadilla with cheddar cheese for my kids and they gobbled it up! I loved that they were eating carrots, and celery, and didn't even know it!

Tuna Pesto Pasta

So, no more promises. I'll share recipes when I can, that's all I can promise. But, I will promise one thing...I'll still keep searching for yummy things to eat.
So, this is a recipe for the true Cheating Vegetarian, because it does have a little meat.
Tuna to be exact.

3 cups cooked rotini pasta
4 Tbsp. prepared pesto
9 oz. frozen peas
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 can tuna in water, drained
Romano cheese

Prepare frozen peas in a saucepan. When heated through, add remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with Romano cheese. Voila! Easy Peasy. Get it?

Cilantro Bean Casserole

I am re-vitalized, rejuvenated, whatever you want to call it. So, my goal for this blog is to start updating with a new recipe once a week. That's all I can commit to right now. But, we had something delicious last night that was an invention of mine a while back, and we tweaked it again, and I'm in love. It's so delicious. The beauty of this dish too is that if there is an ingredient that you don't like, just leave it out and it will probably still taste devine!

Here are the ingredients:

1 can corn, drain juice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch of cilantro (you can't leave this one out!! sorry!!)
Juice of one lime
2 green onions finely chopped
3 roma tomatoes chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 small avocado, diced
3-8 oz of monterey jack cheese cut into small cubes
Salt to taste
**Serve with fresh diced jalapenos on the side for those that like the heat!

That's it! Super easy.

Possible ideas to change it up: Add some Quinoa. I'm going to try this soon. Add some tortilla strips on top.

Happy Mother's Day!

My husband made smoothies for me for lunch for mother's day. YUM!!

We just throw in whatever frozen berries we have in the fridge, always a banana, some ice, Dannon light n fit vanilla yogurt, and voila. So yummy!

One thing I've tried too is to add some nuts. Cashews work good. It gives it a nutty flavor and is more filling. Just a little healthy alternative to try.

Hope you all ate something scrumptious for Mother's Day!!

Quick Dinner Idea

The other night I had nothing I wanted for dinner except this delicious hummus recipe. Have you made it yet? You have to. So yum! Even if you think, ewww, hummus is nasty. You should give it a second try with this recipe. And if you've never tried it, it's just a bean dip. That's all it is. But, a very yummy healthy one!

Anyway, so back to the other night. I was craving hummus, but could not justify it alone as a meal, so I decided to try a

Grilled Hummus Sandwich with Avocado. I think it would be delish with tomato too...

So, please try taking the above mentioned hummus recipe, putting it between two pieces of bread, grill it up with some of your favorite margarine or butter, and add some avocado and tomato slices after it is nice and golden brown.

We paired it with some sweet potato fries. Just take a sweet potato, slice or dice it up, toss with some EVOO, salt and pepper, and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes.

There you go.

Plus, the hummus recipe makes a ton, so this is just another way to not let it go to waste.

Oh, and it is approved by my 3 year old even!

Quinoa, avocado, and sweet potato timbale

sorry. sorry. sorry!

I finally moved, and now have the time to sit down and give you a new recipe. I'm going to keep them coming. I promise. But, remember my last post and that pretty little thing I made? I've got the recipe for you.

It's Tal Ronnen's recipe out of The Conscious Cook.

It is soooo yummy!

I'm going to simplify it a little to make it not look so intimidating. Because there are 4 different things to prepare, and the picture looks so pretty. But, it's just as good in a pile of not so pretty on your plate.

For the quinoa:

1 cup Quinoa, cooked in vegetable stock. (I do a 2 to 1 ratio of veg. stock to quinoa, boil about 15 minutes or until tender)
1/2 jalapeno minced (I chopped mine)
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro (again...chopped, and I do extra b/c I love cilantro)
1 Tbsp. EVOO
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and fresh ground pepper.

Cook the quinoa, let cool to room temp, add remaining ingredients.

Peel 1 large sweet potato and chop into small pieces. Toss with 2 teaspoons EVOO and salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Do not burn!
Chop up 2 avocados (or three if you love them like me) and toss both the avocado and cooked sweet potato with the Quinoa mixture.

Top w/ tortilla strips sprinkled w/cajun seasoning (he makes his own by slicing a corn tortilla and frying in canola oil...)

Last, make the dressing. This is yummy and worth it!

Roasted tomatillo Dressing

2 tomatillos tossed in olive oil after skins have been removed
3 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 teaspoon light agave nectar (a great substitute for honey)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Sea Salt and ground black pepper.

Toss tomatillos with a teaspoon of oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Put in a blender with vinegar, cilantro, and agave nectar, pulse to combine. Add remaining EVOO and continue blending. Pour a light amount over the quinoa. Delicious!

Don't be scared of this one b/c of all the steps. It's so worth it!!

PS-The quinoa just cooked in vegetable stock is yummy all by itself too for a good complete protein source.