Quinoa Stir-Fry

I can't believe Colorado is just two weeks away!!  Just two long weeks of hiking and rock climbing to prepare.  Working out takes a lot out of you and it's important to refuel your body properly!  After a workout protein is your friend, it feeds your muscles and helps them grow.  Contrary to popular belief, it's easy to find protein in a Vegetarian diet as long as you know where to look.  Quinoa is a great source of a lot of different minerals as well as 8 grams of protein in one cup (cooked).  I started with the Thai Peanut Quinoa I had made the other day and added some stir fried veggies.  This really hit the spot after a long draining hike!

Ingredients for the Quinoa:

2 cups cooked Quinoa

2 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2 Tbsp White Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

(add about a teaspoon of Sriracha if you like some heat)

 

For the Veggies:

1 Red Pepper

3 Carrots

1 Zucchini

1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

1/2 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp White Vinegar

(Sriracha Optional)

While the quinoa was cooking (check here for instructions) I heated the oil in a deep pan and added the cut veggies to it.  I cut the veggies a bit large so they would hold up to the heat of cooking and still have a slight crunch to them. 

Toss the veggies in the pan until they start to get soft around the edges.  Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, and vinegar and mix well.  Meanwhile, combine the cooked quinoa with the rest of the ingredients and stir it until evenly coated.  Once the veggies are done how you like, add them to the quinoa.  Spoon into a bowl and serve.

Falafel Burger

Even though I don't want a piece of chicken anymore, I still want to make some of my old recipes that center around chicken breast.  I was planning on making a recipe for a veggie "chicken breast" when the Husband and I stopped into Wegmans.  They had a really good Chickpea Slider that I wanted to try and replicate.  I couldn't pin point all of the flavors from the small sample, but I had an idea of what I wanted to do.  I'm still going to make a faux chicken patty, but today we're having a Falafel Burger!

 Ingredients:
1 15.5oz can of Chickpeas
2 Cloves of Garlic (more or less to taste)
1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 Egg
1 Carrot
3 Tbsp Oats (or flour)
2 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Dill
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander

This is where it gets complicated... ready? Pay attention...

Throw it all in a blender until pureed.

Done.

 Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan ( I used toasted sesame seed oil OMG SO GOOD!).  Once the oil is hot, spoon about a quarter of the mixture out of the blender into the pan and flatten it with the back of a spoon.  Repeat with another quarter of the mixture.

 After a few minutes (maybe 3? or 5?) on medium high heat, flip the burger over to reveal the golden crispiness on the other side.  I wish I had better lighting in my kitchen!!!

I whipped up a quick Tzatziki sauce to go with these. 

8oz Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Clove of Garlic (add more to taste)

1 Tbsp Dill

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Juice of 1/4 Lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

I really should have added a cucumber and combined it all in the blender but I didn't want to clean the blender again... :) yes, I'm lazy.

I added everything together in a tupperware container and grated the garlic using my microplane zester.

The Husband wanted his burger on a Kaiser roll and I wanted mine in a pita either way it was DELICIOUS!  I spread a bit of sauce on the bread, topped with a few slices of cucumber and tomato and then added the burger to the top.  I'll be making more veggie burgers now that the weather is getting warmer and everyone is eating beef burgers!  Stay Tuned!



Quick Meal - Thai Peanut Quinoa Burrito

After a long day of work, and then a long hike up and down the pipe line in the Sourlands, the last thing I want to think about is cooking a meal.  That's why these quick meals are so important to me while I'm getting ready for our trip to Colorado.   But they can be good for anyone looking for something easy, delicious and most of all good for you.  Microwave meals are not your only option when you want to make a single serving lunch or dinner in just a few minutes.  And to be honest, before our roommate moved in, I had banished out microwave to the basement.  It wasn't a useful cooking tool in my kitchen. 

Today I made a Thai Peanut Quinoa Burrito.  You could easily replace the quinoa with chicken, tofu, shrimp or anything else you heart desires.  I picked quinoa because I had some left over.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa

1 1/2 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2 Tbsp White Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

(add about a teaspoon of Sriracha if you like some heat)

1 Tortilla

1/4 Cup Coleslaw Mix

Mix the first 6 ingredients until well combined.  Top the tortilla with coleslaw mix and then with the qunioa mixture.  Enjoy this protein packed meal after a workout or any time of the day.  This really hit the spot!

Homemade Pizza

Living in New Jersey, I am bombarded with pizza places on nearly every corner.  It's hard to find THE best pizza, but I think I have.  In my own kitchen.  Whether you're a fan of sauce, or toppings, or thin crust or thick crust, who knows how to make pizza just the way you like it better than YOU?  It's so simple, it might just replace takeout!

For the Crust:

1 Cup Hot Tap Water (you don't want to use boiling water or you'll destroy the Yeast)

1 Tbsp Sugar

2 tsp Yeast

1 tsp salt

1/4 cheese (optional)

2 1/2 cups Flour



 Start by mixing the water, sugar and yeast in a bowl.  The yeast will need to sit and "wake up" for about 10 minutes in a warm place.  If it's cool in your kitchen, or you have a draft, I suggest putting your oven on warm for a few minutes, then turn it off and place the bowl inside.  This will give the yeast a warm, draft free place to come back to life.  It should start to get bubbly like this:

Once your yeast is up and ready to go you can add the other ingredients.  Add the flour, a half a cup at a time and kneed it into the mixture.  Depending on the humidity out, it may take more or less flour to form your dough into a ball, you don't want to add too much and make it tough.  Once the dough has enough flour to prevent it from sticking to the bowl, rub a bit of oil around the sides of the bowl, cover it with a cloth and place it back in a warm draft free place for about 45 minutes.

It may seem like a lot of work, but it's worth it I swear!  Once your dough is ready, place it onto a piece of parchment and spread it out while your preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone, pre-heat that as well. 

Full confession? I don't like sauce on my pizza.  I'll make a good recipe for you one day, but for today there will be no sauce.  Sorry!

The toppings for today are:
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 Cups Shredded Cheese Blend
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese

Grate the garlic with a zester and add it to the olive oil.  Using a pastry brush, coat the crust with the garlic oil. 

Sprinkle the seasonings on top of the oiled crust.

Top with the shredded cheese

And add dollops of the ricotta cheese on top.  Add more seasoning if you'd like.  

Transfer the pizza with the parchment to an over turned baking tray and then slide onto your pizza stone.  If you don't have a pizza stone, bake right on the back of the tray. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes and then broil until the top is crispy and browned... YUM just the way I like it!!

Try to wait till the pizza is cooled slightly before digging in.  You'll want to taste this one! :)  The crust comes out like a foccacia bread!  SO GOOD!  Play around with adding more or less cheese, or seasonings to the crust to give it more depth and flavor.  A bad dough can ruin a good pizza!

Quick Meal - Grilled Shrimp with Rice and Grilled Zucchini

Now that its getting nicer out, I decided it was time to start using my grill!  So for a Quick Dinner idea, I wanted to whip up a quick marinade for some shrimp skewers!

Here's what I had around the house:

About 12 Shrimp

1/2 an Orange,

1 tsp Honey

1 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Small piece of Ginger

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Ground Corriander Seed (optional)

1 Zucchini

Salt and Pepper to taste

I forgot to add the Soy Sauce to the picture!  I always have low sodium soy sauce in the house.  The regular stuff is SO SALTY!

I ran 1 piece of garlic and the ginger over our microplane zester.  It makes almost a paste out of the garlic and ginger which is easier to mix into a marinade. 

 I lightly salt and peppered everything and let it sit while I heated the grill, cut the zucchini and got the rice started. 

I added the oil, corriander and last garlic clove to my rice cooker and turned it on.  I like to get everything cooking a bit first before I add the rice.  The corriander adds a bit of extra flavor to the rice that I really like.  Feel free to leave it out!

I then add the rice for a bit and stir it around in the oil and seasoning before adding the water.  I really love having my rice cooker (which doubles as a steamer).  It makes perfect rice every time, and I don't have to watch over the stove!

Once I got the rice started, I added my zucchini to my skewers and placed it on the grill. 

I love having my Misto for times like this.  A quick spray on each side of the zucchini made sure it didn't stick to the grill.

I went back inside and started adding my shrimp to the skewers.  After a few minutes, I flipped the zucchini and added the shrimp to the grill. 

Next time I'll make two veggie skewers per person since the portions.  But everything was delicious!  I love cooking on the grill! 



Quick Meal - Shrimp Burrito

I had a great hike in the Sourlands this weekend.  It's a small local mountain in Hillsborough that I've been hiking for years now.  The past few weeks I've been training to climb a much larger mountain, Longs Peak in Colorado.  I've never climbed with a pack on before so it's been a bit of a process getting ready.  I feel great and can't wait for May!

After my hike I only had about an hour to get ready to go out again and I was starving!  I had to make something quick so I could still have time to get showered and ready.  I did a quick survey of the fridge and came up with this:

1 Small handful of spinach

6 Shrimp

2 Tbsp Salsa

1 Tortilla

1/2 Avocado

Cheese



Lightly chop the spinach and toss into a pan with a light spray of olive oil or Pam.

Once the spinach has wilted slightly add the shrimp with a bit of salt and pepper. 

Cook the shrimp until it turns pink and add the salsa.  Stir it around a bit to coat everything.  

You can't see here, but I added  half of an avocado to the tortilla before topping it with the spinach, shrimp salsa mixture.  I topped everything with a bit of shredded cheese.

This really hit the spot!  It was super tasty and really filling!  The whole thing came together in just a few minutes!  I ate this on the front porch and enjoyed the amazing weather before I had to run to work!

Lemon Asparagus Salmon with Mushroom Risotto

You'll see me cook salmon a lot.  I love the flavor and the simplicity of it!  And once it gets a little warmer out I'll be grilling it on a cedar plank.  I can't wait!  But today was a bit chilly so I stayed inside and baked it in a little parchment pouch.  If you're using a smaller piece of fish, you can even use the pre-seamed bags.  I get mine at Shoprite.  This whole meal came together in just 30 minutes! 



Salmon-

1/2 bundle of Asparagus

2 Lemons

1 1/2 lbs Salmon

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Start by cutting off the ends of the aparagus and slicing the lemons. 

Place the salmon on a piece of parchment paper.  I actually should have spun the salmon around 90 degrees so the length of the paper could wrap around the width of the salmon.  The way I have it below, the paper couldn't fold over the fish. 

Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper and then top with the asparagus and lemon.  If I were to do this again, I would have tried squeezing the lemon onto the fish first, and then placing the juiceless lemon rings on top of the asparagus.  The way I made it, the asparagus came out a little too lemony.  When I try it again, I will update you.  Drizzle the olive oil over the top. 

Here is when I relized the salmon wasn't sitting right on the paper and I flipped it around.  Simply pick the ends of the paper up, and roll them down toward the fish.  Then tuck and roll the ends underneith. 

Lay the salmon on a baking sheet and place it in a cool oven and set it to 400 degrees.  Let bake for about 20-25 minutes

While that's cooking, start the Risotto.  I didn't go through all of the steps since I already made it here.  But I added mushrooms this time, so I showed how and when I included them. 



Risotto -

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Butter

1 1/2 cups Risotto Rice

1/2 cup Dry White Wine
5 cups Vegetable Broth
2 Portobello Mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to taste

1/3 cup grated Romano Cheese

I sliced the mushrooms and then cut in half.  I actually ended up cutting these into bite sizes pieces later on becuase they didn't reduce as much as I thought they would.  Do yourself a favor and cut them into quarters or smaller now. 

Cook them up with about a tablespoon of olive oil.  I let them sit on the back burner on a medium heat while I was cooking the risotto.  I stirred them every once in a while to make sure they cooked evenly. 

Once nearly all of your broth has been added, I think I had about a cup to go at this point, you can add your mushrooms to the pan.  

Everything finished at nearly the same time.  I took the salmon out of the oven and let it sit and steam a little longer while I added the finishing touches to my risotto. 

Look at that beautiful fish! Bonus: the parchment paper makes for easy clean up!

Now that's what I call a good evening: Delicious dinner with a cold beer!  YUM!