Quinoa with Roasted Veggies

My friend Jen, who is a registered dietician gave me this recipe. The original recipe did not include roasted veggies. So you can make this dish either way, with raw veggies or roasted veggies for some really nice added flavor! The awesome fact is that quinoa is an excellent source of protein so this happens to be a COMPLETE meal. You won't be asking, "where's the beef?" while eating this yummy dish.


Ingredients:

2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup Quinoa
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 zucchini sliced
4 oz. fresh baby spinach
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup pine nuts
6-8 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 large red/yellow pepper, diced
1 lemon, cut in half
Additional 1 tbsp. Olive oil
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Place zucchini, tomatoes, pine nuts and bell pepper on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum paper, drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and roast for 30-40 minutes.

Heat 2 tsp. of Olive oil in a medium stock pot and add the onion and garlic, saute until soft. Add the quinoa, stir to incorporate and cook until it toasts slightly and becomes golden in color. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Quinoa is cooked when it looks like the letter C!

Add roasted veggies to quinoa, as well as fresh spinach and basil. Squeeze in lemon juice and additional olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and Enjoy IMMEDIATELY!!

Quinoa with Roasted Veggies

My friend Jen, who is a registered dietician gave me this recipe. The original recipe did not include roasted veggies. So you can make this dish either way, with raw veggies or roasted veggies for some really nice added flavor! The awesome fact is that quinoa is an excellent source of protein so this happens to be a COMPLETE meal. You won't be asking, "where's the beef?" while eating this yummy dish.


Ingredients:

2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup Quinoa
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 zucchini sliced
4 oz. fresh baby spinach
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup pine nuts
6-8 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 large red/yellow pepper, diced
1 lemon, cut in half
Additional 1 tbsp. Olive oil
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Place zucchini, tomatoes, pine nuts and bell pepper on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum paper, drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and roast for 30-40 minutes.

Heat 2 tsp. of Olive oil in a medium stock pot and add the onion and garlic, saute until soft. Add the quinoa, stir to incorporate and cook until it toasts slightly and becomes golden in color. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Quinoa is cooked when it looks like the letter C!

Add roasted veggies to quinoa, as well as fresh spinach and basil. Squeeze in lemon juice and additional olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and Enjoy IMMEDIATELY!!

Easter Egg Cookies!!

I just wanted to share the cookies I made for Dylan's Easter party at school. I used a Paula Deen Recipe if you are interested. They were my first attempt and it was a lot of fun!!

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli with Pine Nuts, Fresh Basil, and Lemon

When I am pregnant I am known to watch the Cooking Network ALL day long!! I then proceed to waddle my butt to the grocery store to purchase every ingredient for every recipe that has tweeked my interest on that particular day. It was one such day that I watched Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten is a genius) prepare this roasted broccoli and I've had a love affair with this broccoli dish ever since. In fact I refuse to eat broccoli ANY other way!

1 Broccoli Head or Package of Broccoli florets
4-5 Large Garlic Cloves minced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
1 tsp. kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
juice from one lemon
zest from one lemon
3 Tbsp. of pine nuts
1 bunch of fresh basil julienned
Freshly grated Parmesan (I use parmegiano Reggiano, it's more expensive but if you keep it in a ziploc bag in the fridge it will keep for a very long time)


Directions

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks.
Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Toss with garlic, pine nuts and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
Roast at 400*F for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with the lemon zest, lemon juice, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot and Enjoy!

Gourmet Pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and fresh basil

I LOVE gourmet pizza! The kind that Papa John DOESN'T make. The best part about this home-made pizza is that if you keep the ingredients in stock, it literally takes 15 minutes, start to finish. Delivery isn't even that fast and not nearly as delicious! You can get as creative as you like but these are my hubby's favorite toppings! These pizzas are also great for last minute entertaining!! Enjoy!

Mama Mary's Thin and Crispy Pizza Crusts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning
L.E. Roselli's Pizza Sauce (It's all natural)
Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
Goat Cheese
Julienned sun-dried tomatoes
Fresh Basil

I like to brush the pizzas with olive-oil, spoon on pizza sauce and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Then top with your favorite toppings! You'll never order pizza again!

St. Patty's Day Green Choc Chip Cookies!!

In honor of St.Patty's Day I thought I would share with all of you my favorite choc chip cookie recipe. I usually omit the green food dye!! ;)
Of course this recipe is courtesy of my favorite food blog: Sweet Savory Life!!
These cookies will make your friends GREEN with envy that they didn't think of it themselves! Or you can be GREEN and GREEDY and eat them ALL yourself!!
Either way, Happy St.Patty's Day and may the luck O' the Irish follow you ALL ALWAYS!!!


The Best EVER Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes approx. 45-48 cookies using a sm-med 2tbl. cookie scoop

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour

1 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you only have table salt, use 1/2 tsp. *When using sea salt, you will get small crunchy flecks of salt when you bite into the cookie. If you do not like this taste, go with 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups/16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips *I use Nestle Toll-House

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Low Sugar Salmon a L'Orange

Ok folks it does not get any easier than this Salmon right here! My friend Virgi once told me she cooked her chicken with Orange marmalade and a light bulb went off and so the idea for this dish was born. Whenever I am in a pinch for time I make this Super Simple Salmon dish and now you will too. The combination of the marmalade and soy sauce is perfecto! Tonight I used Apricot marmalade instead and it was just as tasty!

Ingredients

2-3 Salmon Fillets
Favorite Seafood Seasoning (I love Costco's Herbed Seafood Rub)
2 Tbsp of Low Sodium Soy Sauce per fillet
2 Tbsp Low Sugar or Sugar Free Orange/Apricot marmalade per fillet
Black/White Sesame Seeds optional
Diced green onions/chives are also optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place Salmon on Aluminum Paper (makes the clean up a cinch)
Sprinkle with seafood seasoning
Top each fillet with soy sauce and marmalade
Bake for 30-40 minutes until Salmon is golden
Tip: Salmon is fully cooked when a knife inserts smoothly through the center of fillet
Garnish with Sesame seeds and chives

Serve with Brown Rice and Salad and dinner is Done!

Buon Appetite, ;)
Stephanie