Meatless Monday

On Monday night I made Britt's delicious Mushroom Lasagna. I am always intrigued about feeding my meat loving husband some veggie meals to see how it goes.  This lasagna was SO good and he also didn't believe me that there was no meat in it. Way to go Meatless Monday! The only thing I would have changed it using baby spinach instead of normal spinach, but that is a personal choice. This has been added to my recipe box and will go into our meal planning rotation.

Stuffed Pasta Shells

I have wanted to try a recipe like this for ages..in fact I bought shells months ago to make something similar and never got around to it. I am putting it on here so I will feel obligated to try it and let you know if it is any good or not.  I found the recipe here.  As I mentioned yesterday, my father in law is coming to stay for a few days so I need some yummy options for him...he gets suspicious when I try to feed him too much quinoa

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Tuesday night I decided it was time to try something new for dinner. I took to my trusty "I heart food" board on Pinterest and decided to try the Quinoa Mac and Cheese I pinned ages ago.  The recipe was from here  and I was concerned a few times that it was going to be an epic failure, but it turned out awesome and yummy and will definitely be put into rotation in our dinner menu.  It made a ton as well so we had two dinners and three lunches out of it! I've included the recipe below and you can see my comments in blue!

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil


• 1 med. leek white and pale green parts halved and sliced (1 cup)
  


• 1/2 cup diced tomato, or red/green pepper


• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained (OR you can just use pre-cooked and cut back on the water and cooking time)


• good pinch of salt


• a few grinds of seasoning salt


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 3 cups of water (or stock)


• 2 large eggs


• 1 cup soy milk, non-fat milk, or milk of choice


• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling- NOTE: (You may find you need more cheese, BUT I use this amount to still keep the dish 'lighter' yet very flavorful.)


• Optional- Crushed Red Pepper, Panko Bread crumbs for topping


• Toppings (optional)- salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions (you get the picture)

Directions

Go to make dinner and realize G used remainder of the milk in his morning coffee...scoot out to store, remembering while you are in line that you also need garlic, scramble to produce and grab some. Text Harrison plans of dinner making, and prepare for having to order pizza in case it doesn't work out

1. Heat oil in med. saucepan over med. heat. Add leek and tomatoes (or bell peppers-or any veggies you want really); cover and cook 5 mins or until tender. Stir in quinoa and garlic, and cook, uncovered, 3-4 mins, or until grains start to turn opaque.  (They will not fully be cooked yet.)


2. Add 3 cups water (or stock) and season with salt and the Seasoning Salt (I like Lawry's or Everyday Seasoning). Cover and reduce heat to med-low and simmer 15-20 mins or more, (depends and also what kind of quinoa you use) or until most liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand 5 mins. Wonder why it seems to be taking FOREVER, realize that when you turned it down you actually turned the gas off. Vow to pay more attention whilst cooking


3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13x9 inch dish with cooking spray. Grab spray out of cupboard and note that it expired in 2007.  Question how we can have Pam as old as our relationship.  Throw it out.  Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese (if you feel you need more cheese, add here.) Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt. (Will seem a little "soupy", do not worry, it will all mold together.) Seemed VERY soupy, got phone out to call Pizza Pizza just in case


4. Transfer to prepared baking dish and if using Panko Crumbs or Bread crumbs, add now.You can also sprinkle a bit more cheese on now if you prefer for topping. Bake 25-35 mins, (or until browned around edges.) Yell in frustration as you realize that the freshly prepared 9x13 pan does not fit into microwave oven.  Get G into kitchen to help tetris like fit pan.  Discuss need for real sized oven!


5. Now you can toss with many toppings, some ideas: salsa, scallions, sour cream,  and hot sauce! Garret doused his in Frank's and said it was amazing. Cheer yourself on for making healthy delicious dinner then pack up leftovers for lunch the next day (which you forget to bring with you in the morning)

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What's growing in my garden?

Last week I went to check out my very neglected herb garden and noticed something I was pretty sure hadn't been there before.

[caption id="attachment_779" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Open call to internets for advice![/caption]

It didn't seem like a weed, so I posted this picture to facebook to ask what the heck was growing in my garden. Garlic Scapes was the consensus and I got excited.  I clearly forgot that I had planted garlic in the fall but I was really excited with new development.  I harvested it all (love saying harvest for a small bunch o' scapes) and we made some amazingly potent pesto with it.

Garlic Scape Pesto

1/2 cup garlic scapes, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

1/2 cup walnuts

About 1/2 cup olive oil

The recipe said to blend certain parts first, but I always forget to read ahead so we just threw it all in together. We ended up adding some basil as well since we had some in the fridge.  And it was POTENT.  Like, killing vampire breath but since we werent trying to impress anyone (that jig is so up at this point) we loved it.  The recipe said that it keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge or you can freeze it. So we ate in with pasta one night and then froze it. YUM

[caption id="attachment_783" align="aligncenter" width="300"] When it comes to food processing anything Garret suddenly takes over and gets way too into it[/caption]

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Last night my Mum was over and as we are known to do we tried a new recipe for dinner.  We have been looking for new healthy recipes to try and this one was delicious and easy so I thought I would share it.  It comes from Angela Liddon at Oh She Glows.  It's a neat blog full of vegan recipes and gorgeous pictures.  We tried her recipe for 15 minute  dairy free creamy avocado pasta.  Since I can't eat cream I am always on the look out for ways I can fake myself out.  Anyway, this was amazing and I will keep it on hand to make on the regular.

Ingredients:
• 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, packed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• Pasta

Directions:
1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook about 8-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth and scrape down sides of the bowl. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy. You can add a touch of water or oil if necessary.
3. When pasta is cooked, drain in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Please note: This sauce does not reheat well due to the avocado.

 

***  That served Mum Garret and I and it was amazing!!! If you weren't worried about the vegan part it would be phenomenal with some chicken.  And you could add other sautéed veggies as well.  yummy, quick and healthy...trifecta of awesomeness in my book

SnickerDoodles aka, can't stop eating them cookies

We were at a cottage this summer and one of the other guests had brought up some cookies she made.  They were deliciously dangerous (in the "bet ya can't eat just one" category) In even better news she explained how easy they are to make!  I do love baking, but to be honest I love me some easy baking too.  I haven't made them in a while because we are on a bit of a healthy living kick start (and eating fists full of cookies will probably derail me somewhat)  However, my healthy eating doesn't need to get in the way of your cookie enjoyment.  These would be perfect for a cookie exchange..tis (almost) the season!

Ingredients

2 1/2	cups all-purpose flour
2	teaspoons cream of tartar
1	teaspoon baking soda
1/4	teaspoon salt
1	cup unsalted butter
1 1/2	cups sugar
2	large eggs
2	tablespoons milk
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
6	tablespoons sugar
2	teaspoons cinnamon

 

*In a small bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
*In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. (I think I only left it in for an hour...I was hungry and impatient)
*Preheat oven to 350?F.
*Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

*Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Then try to resist eating  them all at once.

Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup

Nothing exciting happened around the house last night as we were at the gym. So in keeping with the whole posting every day thing I'm going to share a slow cooker recipe I made Sunday that we had for dinner last night!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
(Crock pot edition)

*chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces (I was lazy and just ripped the meat off a BBQ chicken from Zehrs)
*jar of salsa (as spicy as you like)
*tin of black beans
*carton of chicken stock (but since I'm working on my Suzy Homemaker merit badge I used homemade stock)
*a few handfuls of frozen corn
*tin of green chilies (optional)
*tin of diced tomatoes

--Throw all this into slowcooker...top with chips, shredded cheese and cilantro (could also top with guacamole, sour cream etc)

I cooked it on high for the day...and served it with some crushed up nacho chips, chopped cilantro and shredded light cheese on top. Super yummy! I love this recipe because you could throw pretty much anything in with it and it would be delicious.