Quinoa Enchiladas

I found THIS recipe on Pinterest and have wanted to try it for quite a long time. I finally did!

First, I had to find out how to make quinoa, lol! it really is just about the same as making rice, but THIS is the recipe/instructions I used. Also, you have to rinse quinoa, apparently...until the rinsing water comes clear. My rinse water was clear from the beginning and it stayed that way, sooo maybe my package was safer?? haha...

So on that note, I found these two links very interesting and informative. HERE and HERE.

I adjusted this recipe...
And this is what my family ate:

olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
14 oz can chicken
15 oz can black beans
4 oz can green chiles
3/4 tbsp chili powder
2 cups enchilada sauce
1/3 cup pepperjack cheese
2 handfuls cheddar

I decreased the chili powder and I switched the amounts of pepperjack vs cheddar because I always have at least one child complain that flavorful food is "too hot", haha.

I started by cooking the quinoa like rice. I rinsed for a long time, haha, then I put them into a dry pot to roast-ish. That makes rice really tasty, so I figured it would work the same. Then I just added twice the amount of water, and let it cook 10 mins. Then I let it sit for 15 before "fluffing with a fork".

I chopped up the onion and put just enough olive oil to just cover the skillet, and then cooked it for 6 or 7 minutes. I added the chicken, the black beans, chiles and chili powder, and heated them all thru. I alternated dumping that mixture and the cooked quinoa into a big mixing bowl. I added the pepperjack cheese to the mixture, then the two cups of enchilada sauce.
I put all of that into a greased 9x13 baking dish, and topped it all with cheddar. I baked it for 15 minutes, and broiled it for about 2.
Then we served it!

I really liked it. I had two servings, which is not super common for me. My husband liked it, tho he did say it reminded him of the texture of tamales. Both kids preferred to eat it like a dip, with tortilla chips, and I think they both added sour cream.

However, if I make it again, I'll half the recipe. The leftovers stuck around for what felt like forever, and we all had some as left overs. So apparently that makes too much food for my family of four.

Sweet Potato Avacado Soup

Today's recipe comes from a facebook page called 10 Pound Challenge with Melanie Douglass. I have followed this page for a few January's now, but I have never actually, officially joined. I just really enjoy the tips and food and workout suggestions. This was actually shared a year ago, but I finally tried it this weekend. 

This is what I did: 

1 sweet potato, as long as my hand and half as wide

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp lime juice

Freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup milk

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

I peeled and baked the sweet potato on a foil covered baking sheet, at 425* for close to 2 hours. I pulled it off the foil, lol, and put all the ingredients in my blendtec. I pureed it on the "whole juice" setting. I did scrape it down once and pulsed a few times to really blend it. Then I microwaved it for 2 minutes to get it hot! haha!

It says it makes 2 servings, and I ate probably 2/3 of it.

Full disclosure: I grew tired of it after a while, and I finally added a small pinch of shaved Parmesan to it. I wouldn't want this regularly, but every so often, it would be just fine. Pretty sure this will be lunch tomorrow!

I made two dinners that night: My daughter could live off spaghetti if we let her, and since it's quick and easy, we make it a lot....and I am tired of it!!! But I know the rest of my family really enjoys it, and, I knew they would not enjoy this so much. So I made spaghetti for them and this soup for me. I had them all try it and they all three pulled quite a face, haha, so no, this won't be a common meal around here. Still- a good one for my lunches!
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And here's the information with the original recipe.

1 large sweet potato (baked to soft flesh)
1 ripe avocado
Peel and put flesh in a blender with 1 cup of water. Puree.
Add juice from 1/2 a lime and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper. Puree a few more seconds. If you want it thinner, add a bit of milk or water.
Stir in some Crushed Red Pepper flakes and serve! Cold or hot. It's a thick creamy soup. Yummy! (er, on the scale of a "cleanse" recipe that has no sodium or junk and tons of fiber to promote weight loss wink emoticon. You can play around with other seasonings, like chipotle, cayenne or nutmeg, etc. But red pepper flakes did it for me!

Makes 2 servings and packs some powerful nutrition:
240 calories (per serving)
50% heart-healthy monounsaturated fat
10 grams fiber
4 grams protein (not as high as I like, but it's a complete protein)
350% Vitamin A (want healthy glowing skin?)
50% Vitamin C
30% Potassium, Vit K, Folate, Manganese

Apple Nachos!

Originally I saw this recipe all over Pinterest and I pinned the idea HERE.
I started making it just after school started last August, as a welcome-home-after-school-snack....and then we sort of forgot about it. Today my daughter asked if we still knew how to make that, haha, so I thought I'd blog it.

1 apple, thinly sliced
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
small handful shredded coconut
smaller handful semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I only used green apples until today- this time I used a Gala apple. I slice it into a lot of thin slices and arrange them flat on a plate. I microwave a tablespoon or so of peanut butter til it's more runny (about 15-25 seconds). Drizzle that over the apple slices. Sprinkle shredded coconut and a few chocolate chips on top.
Depending on the size of your apple, it can serve a quick snack for 1-2 kids.

Autumn Oatmeal

While grocery shopping recently I saw a box of instant oatmeal with 'applesauce & cranberry' as it's listed flavor. At first glance I thought that sounded good then I instantly realized I could make it myself. That's almost always healthier anyway, right?

These were the ingredients I pulled from my cupboard...

These are the measurements I put in my bowl....
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp craisins
1/2 tbsp pecans cookie bits (which means almost pulverized)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk

I stirred it together and microwaved it all for 2 minutes.
And here was my breakfast!

It was very quick and easy. And it was tasty just as it was! I think you could add more water or milk, but I like my oatmeal "dry". Just note that it does get drier as it sits there...haha. You could add some cinnamon or nutmeg, but really, the applesauce and craisins add enough sweetness for me, and that's saying something.

The Moist Perfect Cinnamon Rolls I Have Ever Made

This is a recipe that I took ideas and methods from a recipe that I found on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Here's a link to original. Perfect Cinnamon Rolls. Mostly I adapted it to make a smaller batch and so that I could do it in a bread maker on the dough setting. Much of the recipe is my bagel recipe with some idea's taken from the Mel. The frosting is copied exactly from Mel minus the maple flavoring. I also added nutmeg and clove to the cinnamon filling because I really like them. One warning, you will use 3 sticks of butter in these, so definitely not an treat to make everyday. However the cinnamon rolls freeze wonderfully and can be saved for enjoyment later. A short 45 seconds in the microwave and it's like they just came out of the oven.

Yeast Proof:
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast-Active Dry
2 tbsp sugar

Into the bread maker
6 cups bread flour (900 grams)
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter (melted in the scalded milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk powder
1/4 cup potato flakes
3 tsp salt
1 tbsp dough enhancer
1 egg

Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt (not needed if using sweet cream or salted butter)
2 pounds powdered sugar
3 tbsp of milk (NOT SKIM!!!!!! 1% or higher only) or cream.

Bake on 350 for 18 to 22 minutes.

Potato Leek Soup & Brown Bread

Burt's Potato Leek Soup

3 Big Leeks (all of the white part and as much of the green part you think is edible)
3 lbs of potatoes (russet) cut into bite size chunks
1 onion minced
6 cups chicken broth or stock
1/4 cup butter for sweating, sauteing the leeks and onions
1/4 cup butter into the soup after the potatoes and stock are added
2 tbsp of minced garlic
Salt, Pepper (didn't measure these. Use until you think it's enough)
about 1/2 tsp each of Rubbed Sage, Celery Seed, Onion powder, ground thyme
2 to 3 tbsp of dried chopped chives
1 cup of half & half

Put the butter into a soup pot on med high, melt it, throw in the leeks, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and sweat/saute them until they break down and get soft. Takes about 10 to 15 mins.

Throw in the potatoes, toss them around and get everything nice and mixed up. Pour in the 6 cups of chicken broth, all of the herbs/spices and the rest of the butter. Bring to a quick slight boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft and all fall aparty. (it's a technical term)

At this point you can use a potato masher to kind of mash it all and leave chunks of everything or pull out the stick blender and blend until nice and smooth.

For the final touch pour in the half & half (or heavy cream if you want), stir it all up, add more salt and pepper if it needs it, then serve it up. Enjoy!

And the delicious molasses brown bread recipe came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and can be found HERE.

I am posting Mel's full recipe here just in case her website goes away.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses

2 tablespoons unsweetened, natural cocoa powder

3 tablespoons oil (see note)

1/3 cup honey

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (optional – see note)

3 cups white whole wheat flour

3-4 cups all-purpose flour

2-3 tablespoons butter, melted

Old-fashioned oats for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon if powering through this by hand), combine the water, yeast, molasses, cocoa powder, oil, honey, salt, gluten (if using), and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Mix until combined.

With the mixer running, slowly add the rest of the whole wheat flour. Start adding the white flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-7 minutes (about 10-15 if kneading by hand). The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but shouldn’t leave a lot of residue on your fingers if you grab a piece.

Turn the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel, and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.

Lightly punch down the dough and divide into three equal pieces. Form into tight oval loaves and place on parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheets (I fit two loaves on one large, rimmed 11X17-inch baking sheet and the third loaf on another baking sheet). Lightly cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel and let rise until puffy and doubled in size. Optional: right before baking, using a very sharp razor, knife or bread-slashing lame (I use this one from King Arthur Flour), cut three deep slashes in the top of each loaf.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly brush with about a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with the oats and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

NOTES:

I’ve used all sorts of different oil making this bread: olive, avocado, melted coconut. You could also use canola or vegetable oil.

The vital wheat gluten is optional but I highly recommend it if you want a really soft, light, chewy loaf of bread. Another alternative is to use bread flour in place of the white flour (and omit the gluten). Also, if you don’t have wheat flour, you can make this with 100% white flour. I haven’t tried making this with all whole wheat flour – if you experiment, I’d suggest increasing the kneading time by a few minutes to really develop that gluten and get a soft, light loaf.

The oats in the recipe are more for looks – and they tend to fall off while slicing but I like the look and texture of them so I’ve kept them along for the ride. You could easily omit them if they’re not really you’re thing.

This recipe transitions very well to rolls (about 12-14) or any size of loaves.

My own carrot soup!

So maybe a year ago, maybe longer, I decided to absolutely keep linking to the sources of the recipes (copyright, etc), but also to copy the actual recipe in here, just in case that website ever took it down. And this is why: I cannot for anything find the carrot soup recipe I loved.
I never printed it, that I can tell, so that added to my frustration.
In my notes I said to half the butter, but not one recipe I found used any butter and in fact only used very small quantities of any oil at all!
And most of these had savory spices, or lemon, and mine had sweeter spices....
This meant I had to get creative and make my own recipe up, off memory and based upon the ones I found online. So here's what I did....

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
3 small russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger root
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup water
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
dash of salt
1 tsp nutmeg

Saute the onion in the coconut oil (on the stove top) til soft and translucent.
Put the onion and all other ingredients into the crock pot, cooked on high for 2.5 hours.
Puree with a stick blender, and serve!
*we did add salt to taste, after it was pureed, to brighten the flavors. And one or two of us added some shredded parmesan to the bowl.

It was a hit! Everyone enjoyed it, and one of the kids even had more later!! Trust me- that tells you it was good!

Grilled Peaches: Revisited!

Something about "teaching a man to fish..." comes to mind...hahaha!
I have wanted to grill peaches for several days now and my husband hasn't had a chance except when we have plenty of other food ready to eat, ie: dinner time. (see the previous post HERE)
So today when I asked for it at lunch time, I also asked if there was a way *I could 'grill' them inside and just do it myself, hahaha....
Here's how we did it:
Put a sheet of tin foil over a 6-cup muffin pan. Lay a peach half, cut side up, in the cups. Put under the broiler for 3 minutes. Pull the pan out of the oven and turn it to 500*. Sprinkled on a bit of brown sugar. When the oven reached 500*, I put the peaches back in for 5 mins.
Yep! That worked great!!

*however, this time it was much tastier with the peel pulled off...maybe the peel burned? I don't know, it just wasn't very tasty.

"Lunch Lady" Peanut Butter Bars

Earlier this week I pinned THIS recipe to my Food board... And maybe it was the next day I moved it to the "Tried & Approved" board! haha!

Yep, I made them almost as soon as my husband and I saw them. We have talked many times thru our relationship about the yummy pb bars we used to have at school, and wishing we could get the recipe... This one claims to be "spot on", so it was definitely worth a try!
If we're being honest, my husband and I are a few years apart in school, and we attended different school districts... That said, I don't recall and oats being in my school's peanut butter bars...and he doesn't think this frosting is quite right for the ones he grew up with... hahaha!

However!! These are super scrumptious!! Both of us have said we could easily eat the entire pan- and that is a lot of sugar, even for me! The bars are rich and dreamy!

 And soooooo good!

The recipe is from the Six Sisters Stuff blog, so go check it out and try these. Then tell me what you think- is it like what you had at school?? haha...!

Mexican Chopped Salad- my version

Well, I absolutely enjoyed tonight's dinner, which means I'm going to be crazy and post it here!
(I know, it's been a few months...but I'm not sure we've tried very many new things that we've liked in that time, so you really aren't missing out...)

Tonight's dinner was totally inspired by THIS recipe which I found on Pinterest. However, I changed it up.
...mostly because I wasn't interested in finding out if I'm allergic to raw zucchini or jicama...wimp? maybe...but allergic reactions to food are not nearly as fun as they sound.

So here's what we did:

Salad:

• 1/2 head chopped ice burg lettuce (in separate bowl) 
• 1 thick chicken breast, cubed and browned in pan with olive oil, black pepper, cumin and granulated garlic
• 3/4 cup sliced frozen bell peppers, chopped 
• 1 red onion, minced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 fresh corn-off-the-cob
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, chopped

Dressing: 

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• fresh cilantro

I started by getting the corn boiling, and the chicken browned. My husband and I chopped up all the ingredients and put it all in a bowl. I mixed up the dressing with a fork, and my husband poured into our mini chopper/food processor. He added cilantro to taste, and we have no idea how much, haha... Then he poured it all over the salad ingredients. I chopped up the lettuce and we kept it separate. To serve, we "made little nests"! I put a serving of lettuce on the bottom of each wide bowl, then a big scoop of the salad. 

I was surprised how much I liked it, how much the lettuce added to the dish, and how nicely it filled me up! I added the chicken to make it more of a meal but considering it was only one chicken breast, it was just a nice addition. 

Tortilla chips would have been a nice touch, my husband even suggested Cool Ranch Doritos crumbled over the top. My son added cheese, which works well with all things Mexican. But I really enjoyed it exactly as it was. And aside from the corn and chicken, which you could easily grill, it wasn't a lot of 'cooking' involved, making it perfect for these hot summer days!

*I ate it for two dinners and two lunches in a row, the family had it both nights for dinner. They all liked it much better with Cool Ranch Doritos crumbled into it, haha! I liked it just as it was! 

Cheesecake Sandwich

This is her son here. I'm not technically supposed to be doing this, but hey, this is good sandwich. It's got a very weird ingredients list though. It was really created by my mom's suggestion, technically speaking. I was going to have some Cheese Nips and a piece of bread with Nutella on it. My mom saw me and though I was going to eat Cheese Nips with the Nutella. That's when I got the idea of Cheesecake Sandwich. Here's how to make this disgusting-looking-but-really-good-sandwich.

2 pieces of bread
Nutella
Cheese Nips
Sugar

Spread the Nutella on both pieces of bread. Place the Cheese Nips on top of 1 slice of Nutella covered bread. Then put a dash of sugar on the other one. Fold it together like a regular sandwich and enjoy! If you are wondering it's called 'Cheesecake Sandwich', that's because it tastes like Cheesecake! If you seem revolted by this recipe, give it to the kids! Thas good stuff moms!

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Smoothie Ideas!

Yep, I'm still pretty much stuck on my two classics - made as kits twice a month and how I start most mornings!

Pineapple Green Smoothie and

Berry Green Smoothie:

• spinach (1 cup)
• frozen mixed berries (1/2 cup)
• fresh ginger (very thin slice)
• coconut oil (1 Tbsp)
• ground almonds (1 Tbsp)  (spinach, berries, ginger, oil, and almonds go in the kit)
• vanilla yogurt (1/4 cup)
• milk (3/4 cup)

But this week I decided to finally try some of the smoothie ideas I've been pinning. So now I've got: 

Raspberry Lime Smoothie

inspired by THIS

• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp vanilla whey powder
• 1 heaping spoonful cottage cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cubes ice

Without the ice it is really thick, and foamy all the way thru. It IS tart so this won't be a daily thing. Maybe when I need a boost of vitamin c or maybe when I need an actual wake up call, haha...

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
inspired by THIS

• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 3 ice cubes
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla whey powder
• ground cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves to taste
• 1 slice ginger root 
• 1 cup milk 

I can't eat bananas, so I hoped the coconut oil would lend some sweetening, on top of its nutritional value. And I don't own pumpkin pie spice, so I had to toss in my own. This is the most complicated smoothie I've made, only because I have to pull allll these things out in the morning, but it feels healthy to me, with that big shot of pumpkin,  

Apple Pie Smoothie
inspired by THIS

• handful almonds (I think I counted there were 9 in the blender)
• 1 red apple (I buy fuji or gala)
• 1/3 cup cottage cheese
• 1/.4 cup oats
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup milk
• 2-3 ice cubes

Despite the milk, apple and cheese all coming from the fridge, this one could definitely use some ice cubes. In fact, I dumped it back in the blender and added two! Like the other poster says, this would lend itself well to adding spinach, ginger and coconut oil, but I wanted to try it {mostly} the way it was written.

And there's some new ideas for you too!
Oh wait, I also read THIS article the other day...I was happy to note that the only thing I use is the honey in the pumpkin smoothie above, and occasionally I'll still put the chocolate Instant Breakfast in the Berry Smoothie above. So according to that article anyway, haha, my smoothies ARE good for me! Yeay!