Tomato Quinoa Salad

Although this side dish didn't exactly come out as I hoped, it was still good and unique. The blog I used as a guideline obviously either used much bigger tomatoes than mine, or didn't roast them nearly as long as instructed for the photo. But, I found this great gourmet blend of tomatoes and wanted to do something with them. They were pretty for my first photo at least. 

 

2 lbs assorted tomatoes

1/2 cup red quinoa

1/2 cup plain quinoa

kosher salt, to taste

1/2 Tsp brown sugar

1 Tsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp fresh basil, minced

1 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced

1 Tsp tarragon

2 garlic gloves, grated

2 Tbsp goat cheese

 

Recipe Adapted from Relish

 

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. For extra flavor, cook it in a broth instead of water. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wipe a baking sheet with some olive oil. Add vinegar to the sheet and brush with a basting brush to spread. Cut tomatoes in half and lie them flat on the sheet. Sprinkle them with the salt and sugar. Add the spices and garlic to the sheet.

As I stated earlier, this is not what I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it still tasted great...just not so pretty. When I make it again to bring it someplace, I will roast the tomatoes a lot less. I roasted them for 10 minutes (yellow), 12 minutes (maroon), and 15 minutes (red). Maybe next time I will turn my oven down to 200 and approach it very slowly. Again, use the size of your tomatoes as a gauge for the cooking time.

 

Mix the cooled down quinoa with the goat cheese. Crumbles would be best but I had a spreadable one, so I just added it in tiny bits very slowly, and stirred it carefully so it didn't stick together. Once this is done, add your tomatoes. You can serve this warm or cold, but not hot. Great for a different salad dish to bring to a cookout.

Clam Pasta

I figured I might as well go ahead and post all these pasta dishes together featuring Barilla Veggie pasta. You'd think they were paying me for plugging them the way I use this pasta (they aren't), I just love it, as I'm saying for the third time this week. 

I have been making this dish for years, like since I was a teenager! It has always been a lighter version of pasta for me and you don't have to remember to defrost anything ahead of time. I can make this on a whim so I turn to it a lot when I get a carb craving. No heavy sauces are used in this dish and it has a light summery taste. 

1 box of your favorite pasta

1 can of minced clams

1 Tbsp minced garlic

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tsp onion powder

1/2 Tsp lemon pepper

1 Tsp Italian seasoning

Parmesan cheese to taste

Boil pasta according to package directions. In a saucepan, empty can of clams with juice and all. Add the garlic, zest, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Shut off the heat and stir in lemon juice. Pour over pasta and toss. Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

I know I just mentioned how much I love the line of Barilla Veggie pastas. I thought it would be a great compliment to this dish. The cheese sauce is made out of butternut squash! You will fool your kids and picky husband with this secret vegetable dish! They will be so busy trying to figure out what that sweet taste is (apples) that they won't ever notice the squash!

 

1 box of your favorite pasta

1 small butternut squash

1 small can evaporated milk

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 oz light cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 shallots, minced

2 strips of bacon, crumbled

1 apple, chopped
2 scallions, minced

1 Tbsp butter

  

Recipe Adapted from Yummyship

Cook pasta according to directions. Peel the squash, remove seeds, and slice into small pieces. Boil in salted water until tender, about 15-20 minutes and then purée in a food processor. 

Cook bacon and place on paper towels to soak up grease. Using the same pan, saute the shallots for a few minutes, until they begin to caramelize. Then add the scallions and saute for an additional 5 minutes.

I cut way down on the apples for this dish until I was sure it went with it. I'm not big on mixing things that don't traditionally get mixed in dishes. But, this one gets an A.

Now, add your apples and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Crumble bacon in the paper towels and add back into the pan. Add butter and let it melt, then add evaporated milk and chicken broth and mix thoroughly. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, add squash and cheeses and mix until the cream cheese is melted and blended.

Pour over your pasta.

Balsamic Brown Butter Pasta

Put down that jar of tomato, Alfredo, pesto, or vodka sauce for your pasta. I'm about to share something totally awesome and different with you. This pasta dish is glazed with Balsamic Brown Butter. Balsamic (vinegar), brown (sugar), and butter (spread) create this amazing taste that you will not soon forget! 

This dish was so good that when I went to transfer it to a leftover container, I ate a piece...and another...and another, stone cold while I was cleaning the kitchen until I should have just had a plate. I will be making it again, and variations of it, often. In fact, I loved it cold! Maybe I'll have to see about a variation for a pasta salad. Hmm...

I love this line of Barilla Veggie pastas. They not only give you an extra veggie serving, but they are a colorful addition to any dish. You won't be able to tell the difference either. I promise! My only complaint about them is that I can't readily find them in my local Market Basket when I want to buy them. They come in 3 varieties of rotini, farfalle, and penne and I love each one. Do yourself a favor and give these a try. 

1 box of your favorite pasta

1 can or package of salad shrimp

1 lb fresh asparagus

1 Tbsp olive oil

mixed up salt, to taste

mixed up pepper, to taste

1 Tsp brown sugar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp spreadable butter

 

Recipe Adapted from Food And Wine

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Cut hard ends off asparagus and then slice, at an angle, into 1 inch pieces. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until they are bright green. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the balsamic vinegar with the sugar until it boils. Let it keep heating and reducing, until there are only a few tablespoons left. At this point, stir in the butter and let it melt. Mix well, as soon as the butter is completely melted, remove from heat and stir in the shrimp. Pour directly over the pasta and toss with asparagus. I didn't even use any Parmesan cheese on this dish, the flavors are bold enough!

Banana & Egg Flourless Pancakes

This is another recipe that I came across again and again, trending on Pinterest and it caught my attention. Who wouldn't want to try flourless diet pancakes? Well, as usual, I tweaked the recipes I found and came up with my own winning combination because I really didn't think that there was much pancake in the original "pancakes". I also like flavor, which I thought they lacked, even with adding some maple syrup.

 

2 bananas

3 eggs

1 Tbsp flour (if you want it gluten-free then don't use it, but I find that this tiny bit went a long way!)

1 Tsp cinnamon

1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

1 packet of sweetener (Splenda)

 

Recipe Adapted from Blogilates



Mash the bananas well using a blender or mixer and add eggs, whisking them. Slowly sprinkle in flour and add in the spices. I used a batter dispenser to form my pancakes and cooked them on a non-stick pan with a spray from my Misto. The batter is pretty runny! I did manage to cook two silver-dollar pancakes at once in a large pan, but I wouldn't go much more than that. They cook fast, about a minute or two only on each side.

Banana and egg are still the predominant flavors in these, not pancakes. In the future, I would forgo the maple syrup route and have them with butter, a small amount of peanut butter, some caramel, or a bananas foster topping that I make sometimes (will share at some point). All in all, it was a different thing to try but I wasn't totally sold on them. Give me my flour I suppose...



Roasted Chick Peas

I am absolutely in love with hummus! I had such a hummus addiction at one point that my husband said I needed to go to meetings and seek a 12 step program! Although I have yet to make my own, I did come across tons of pins for roasted chick peas on Pinterest and decided I had to try this!

 

They certainly aren't your average, normal snack but I liked the taste and texture of these. Not to forget that they are filling and much healthier than most snack finger foods. They are a great thing to make for toddlers who are just getting used to small foods and so much better than store bought snacks.

 

There really isn't a limit to what you can put on these chick peas! You can try a barbecue rub; go sweet with brown sugars, cinnamon, and honey; try an Asian style with soy and sesame seeds; add some spice with cayenne pepper; anything you can think of to try! My favorite that I've tried is below.

 

1 can of garbanzo beans, drained

 1 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp garlic powder

 1/2 Tsp fresh rosemary

 

The blog that I adapted this from, Foy Update, had a whole cooking time scale for these. I didn't want a complex recipe for something that I thought you should be able to just mix up and forget. So, I drained mine and didn't additionally rinse them, mixed them up with the seasonings, and baked at 400 for a little over an hour and stirred them about 4 times during the roasting. I did find that I liked them more well done and dried out but, a few were still a bit soft in the center and that was fine with me too!





Crabcakes

1 package imitation crab meat or can of crab meat

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

lemon pepper (to taste)

1 Tsp lemon juice

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp mayonnaise

oil (for frying)

Break up crab meat and combine with the other ingredients. Mix well. Roll into patties and place onto parchment paper. In a medium skillet, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Fry until browned, about 3-4 minutes each side.

Serve with tartar sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup pickle relish

1 Tbsp minced onion

1/8 Tsp apple cider vinegar

Bleu Cheese & Parmesan Crusted Steak

I don't know what genius thought of putting cheeses on top of a steak, but I'm addicted to the idea. Restaurants like Longhorn and Texas Roadhouse that offer this addition make me very happy. Serve it up with some caramelized onions and I'm one excited girl. But, this is no secret and why not dress up your steaks at home?

Large thick steak (like this T-Bone)

1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles

1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

1/2 Tsp breadcrumbs

1/2 Tsp bleu cheese dressing

Mix it all up in a small bowl, spread it onto your steak, and pat down. Cook as your normally would (just wouldn't recommend on a grill). I like my beef RARE!...like twitching on the plate rare...like the meat in the supermarket looks appetizing to me rare! Okay, I'll stop now for the sake of those of you who order it charbroiled! So, I put my oven on the lowest setting possible and roast it like prime rib for a few hours. The slower you cook beef, the better, and the juicier it stays. 

Sweet Corn Tomalito

Chevy's was one of my husband's favorite Mexican restaurants. When they all closed down, I bought the restaurant's cookbook to try and make him some dishes. 

The first time, I made him a huge sampler platter for Valentines Day. This was back 9 years ago when clearly out relationship was still new and I gladly spent 8 hours in the kitchen cooking something special for him. Now, I just cook a few dishes from time to time, like this one, that he loves. 

This is a great side for almost anything. I usually serve it on Thanksgiving or Christmas. It's not hard to make, it's just time consuming. 

You can prepare this ahead of time and cook it later. It freezes well in a Ziploc freezer bag. Just portion it out and then lay the bag flat and expel any air. Defrosts in the fridge overnight or on the counter in about an hour. Don't try to can or jar this! I'm huge on jarring things and this one was a big mistake! The cornmeal expands and will explode everything everywhere. What a mess that was!

 

6 cups drained corn kernels

¾ cup milk

¼ cup melted butter

2/3 cup sugar

¾ cup cornmeal

¾ Tsp baking powder

¾ Tsp salt

¼ cup milk

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Blend 3 cups of the corn kernels and the ¾ cup of milk in the blender. Add butter and sugar until smooth (2 minutes). Grind remaining corn kernels slightly in food processor and mix corn mixtures together with remaining ingredients. Pour into a baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. Set inside larger baking pan and fill ¾ of the way up with water. Place in oven and cook for 1 ½-2 hrs until hot. Scoop out pudding portions.

Cheese Stuffed Purple Potato Dumplings with Pesto

Purple potatoes. They are certainly a showy dish to create! Did you know that they are also high in antioxidants, like most berries, and shown to boost your immune system and prevent certain cancers? I've used them to cook these dumplings and I've made gnocchi out of them. The color tends not to stay as vivid as they first appear, sadly. But, who can't love a naturally colorful vegetable as this? I think they are a bit starchier and nuttier than regular potatoes but sure to add color to any potato recipe!

10-12 small purple potatoes
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 Tsp pepper
1/4 Tsp sea salt
1/2 medium egg, beaten
1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles

 

Recipe Adapted from Honest Cooking

Peel the potatoes and boil them in a pot of salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Mash them with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer. Refrigerate overnight.

 

The next day, mix in the other ingredients in and divide evenly, scooping out tablespoons. Then, roll them into neat balls with your hands.

Make an indentation down into the tops for the cheese. Insert the cheese and pack tightly, then close the hole. Lay them out on parchment paper until ready to cook.

Bring another pot of salted water to a boil and reduce to medium low. Drop in the dumplings, a few at a time and cook until they float, plus an additional minute to ensure that the cheese is melted. I topped mine with a dollop of fresh pesto. These are sure to wow anyone you cook them for.

Salmon Croquettes

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can get some great recipes from Bumble Bee. Great in a pinch, when nothing is defrosted, I pull out a pouch of this and try a new salmon recipe!

1 pouch salmon, drained

1 cup breadcrumbs 1 clove garlic, pressed

2 Tbsp onion, finely minced

1 large egg, beaten

1/8 cup milk 1 Tsp Worcestershire sauce

vegetable oil

 

Heat up a non-stick frying pan and add a few tablespoons of oil to cover the pan. In a large mixing bowl, mix together remaining ingredients and spoon out balls with a tablespoon.

Flatten them onto parchment paper and then fry them in the oil for about 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve with french dressing dipping sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 Tsp cider vinegar

1 Tsp sugar

1/4 Tsp mustard powder

1/8 Tsp dill 



Roasted Broccoli

If you check out recipes on Pinterest, you probably have come across this pin. Labeled with things such as "Best Broccoli Ever", I had to try it. Then I saw it! 5-6 Tbsp of oil?!? I don't think so! What's the point of that?

 

Here's a trick! Get a large gallon Ziploc bag, and coat the broccoli in oil in that! It will evenly coat and you won't clog your arteries with massive amounts of oil while trying to eat a vegetable!

 

1 large head of broccoli, cut
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp mixed up salt
1/2 tsp mixed up pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
zest and juice from 1 lemon

Recipe Adapted from The Gingered Whisk

 

Using the above Ziploc bag method, mix broccoli with oil and garlic. Lay out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with mixed up salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss to mix it up. Squeeze the lemon juice on top and then disperse the lemon zest evenly over broccoli. Sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan cheese. Roast an additional 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.



Broccoli Bites

Broccoli Bites, ordered in a sub shop, you are going to get a fried bite of deliciousness. But, it's deep fried and pretty much kills any good you are doing by eating the broccoli! I adapted this recipe from one that used shredded cheese. The cheese slices make for a deeper, more layered taste and it also gives them this lovely golden brown color. They have all the taste of those fried appetizers but, none of the grease. Originally made as a healthy finger food for kids, this can be served as a dinner side or a great party appetizer. They are so easy to make, too!

 

1 large head of broccoli
2 slices American cheese

1 slice Swiss cheese
2 eggs

1 Tbsp minced onion

1 Tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper, to taste
1 cup breadcrumbs

 

Recipe Adapted from Stacey Snacks

In a steamer pan, steam your fresh broccoli until tender. Allow it to cool off enough to handle.

Combine other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in your broccoli.

Using a tablespoon, spoon out round balls of the mix and flatten them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

In a 375 degree oven, bake for 15 minutes. Flip the bites and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

These just look so good! Anyone would certainly love them, even kids!