Quinoa Recipes

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Kat

I have a bag of quinoa in my pantry that stares at me every once in awhile and makes me think, “Hey – I should really figure out how to use this.” Here are a few recipes that I have found that look promising:

Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole from Eating Well…..Living Thin(ner)

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa from Epicurious

Quinoa and Roasted Pepper Chili from myrecipes.com

Greek-Style Quinoa Burgers from wholeliving.com

Lentil Quinoa Salad from Melissa d’Arabian

Quinoa Tabbouleh from Aarti Sequiera

Corn and Manchego Tri-Color Quinoa Salad from Cheese Please

Wow! These look good. What are your favorite Quinoa recipes?

Enjoy! :)

Enchiladas with Green Chile & Sour Cream Sauce

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Kat

Happy Independence Day!! As a totally non-festive American thing to do (or maybe it is a very festive American thing to do since we have all come from all countries and backgrounds…) – I bring to you a yummy Mexican dish, as promised. :)

Is your chicken shredded? Ha HA! – you are now ready for the recipe!

Any time we go out to get Mexican food I always find myself ordering enchiladas with green chile sauce. Every time. They are my favorite. I found this recipe a couple of months ago on Six Sisters’ Stuff and it is awesome. And there is no “cream of….” in the sauce. Hooray!

Ingredients:

8 flour tortillas
2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
2 c. Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 tsp. chili powder (optional)
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 c. chicken broth (or 2 c. water and 2 bullion cubes)
1 c. sour cream
1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
1 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Mix your chicken, 1 c. cheese and chili powder together. Place mixture in tortillas, roll them up, and place in a greased 9×13 pan. I like to make some with less of the meat/cheese (like above) for my kids, and then make some that are a little more filled for my husband and me.

Step 3: In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Step 4: Stir in sour cream, chiles, cilantro, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.

Step 5: Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Step 6: Bake 20-22 minutes. If desired, place under high broil for 3 min. to brown the cheese.

There you have it! Super yummy chicken enchiladas. No fatty, gristly meat. Just pure goodness. My sister has made these before with Pepper Jack cheese, and said they were awesome.

My one extra tip here too: these are best eaten within a day or so of making them. If they survive to the “leftover” phase, make sure you eat them sooner than later or you’ll have some soggy tortillas.

Enjoy! :)

Vegetarian Tacos

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Kat

These are actually delicious. Shocking, I know. Especially since they are made from….lentils. But don’t tell anybody.

Last year I decided that I wanted to make more vegetarian meals for our family, so I asked some of my friends for their favorite vegetarian recipes. This one can be found at allrecipes and was passed on by a friend from high school who said that she was vegetarian for seven years and this was one of her favorites.

So I thought we could try it. And I actually like this BETTER than normal taco meat. Crazy, right? It has the same flavor, but the texture is, in my opinion, MUCH better.

In case you have never cooked with lentils before and are wondering what to look for, here is a picture for you:

You can find them with the dried beans, which is normally by the rice.

Ingredients:

1 c. finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. canola oil

1 c. dried lentils, rinsed

1 T. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. oregano

2-1/2 c. chicken broth (or dissolve 3 chicken buillion cubes into 3 c. water, and use 2-1/2 c. of it)

1 c. salsa

12 taco shells or tortillas

Step 1: In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender.

Step 2: Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil.

Step 3: Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Uncover and cook for 6-8 additional minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly.

Step 4: Add salsa. Serve up and enjoy!

EASY Taco Soup

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Kat

I know it is getting a liiiiiiitle bit out of “soup season”, but this one also has some good summer flavor in it. Plus also, it is SUPER easy. As in open and dump cans easy. My mom passed this recipe along last year, and we have been very happy to have it because you can keep the ingredients on hand and throw it together at the last minute. We likey.

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can corn

1 15 oz. can kidney beans

1 15 oz. can pinto beans

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

1 30 oz. can tomato sauce (29 oz. is what I can find usually)

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 lb. ground beef, cooked

shredded cheese & tortilla chips (or broiled tortillas) to top

Step 1: Brown your ground beef if it isn’t already browned. I usually buy in bulk, cook it all at once, and put it into baggies by the pound and freeze it to make life easier later.

Step 2: Open your cans and dump everything into a large pot (including the juice from the cans). Add the taco seasoning and beef. Stir well.

Step 3: Cover and cook on stove for about 1 hour. (Now that I am typing this up, I realize that we usually just bring it to a boil, and then simmer uncovered until we are ready to eat it – which could be 10 or 15 minutes. Your pick.)

Step 4 (if desired – or you can just use tortilla chips): Turn your oven to broil and move one of your oven racks to the top spot. Take about 6 or so soft tortillas and cut them into pieces. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and put your tortilla pieces on the sheet. Stick the sheet into the oven and broil until the pieces are slightly browned. KEEP AN EYE ON THEM SO THEY DON’T BURN. Take them out of the oven and flip them over, and brown the other side. We LOVE these little tortilla pieces – they add a good texture to the soup.

There you have it – easy peasy.

Thanks Mom for the recipe, and thanks Chelsea for the tortilla pieces tip! :)

Tamale Pie

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Kat

This recipe is a goodie. My mother-in-law passed this one along a few weeks ago, and we have enjoyed it. It is easy, and tasty. Just make sure to start making it early enough to allow for the baking time.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. corn meal

1 1/2 c. milk

1 egg, beaten

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (or chicken)

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. sugar

2 T. dried onion (minced or flakes)

1 T. seasoning salt

1 lb. can chopped tomatoes (14 oz. is what I could find)

1 can corn, drained

1 small can sliced olives

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix corn meal, milk and egg in a bowl.

Step 2: Mix all other ingredients together in a large bowl. Yum.

Step 3: Dump the corn meal mixture into the other ingredients and mix. Then pour in greased 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish (or other smaller baking dish) and bake for 1 hr. 15 min.

Step 4: Sprinkle some cheese over the top, and melt in the oven (about 5 minutes).

There you go! Very easy, and delicious with some sour cream. Enjoy!