Recipes

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

When I found the nutritional power of quinoa some years ago I went on a quinoa frenzy. The kids really like it and the possibilities were endless. Quinoa with baked beans, quinoa salads, and quinoa patties were among some of our family favorites.  But one fine day the quinoa magic was gone. “Mom can we just have rice instead?” I was devastated but determined to make them fall in love with it all over again.

And so it happened tonight.

This was a total spontaneous quick fix and a great side dish for our roasted pork loin.

Here is how I brought the quinoa magic back.

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa with some salt, granulated garlic and cumin. While the quinoa was cooking I sautéed one small shallot in some extra virgin olive oil on a skillet.

Sauteed Shallots

I added approximately 3 cups of raw chopped kale.

Chopped Kale

Next, I added approximately 1 cup of organic black beans from a can (rinsed),1 cup of organic frozen corn (rinsed in hot water), salt and pepper.

Black Beans and Corn

I turned the heat off and added the cooked quinoa plus 1 cup of medium heat salsa from a jar. I mixed it well and finished by patting it into an even shape carving a little bit deeper in the center for the eggs.

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I spread some more salsa over the top, sprinkled some Mexican style shredded cheese and cracked two eggs in the middle (one of the yolks didn’t make it. As you see this is the real deal and I was too hungry to care.)

Eggs over quinoa

It baked at 400F until the egg looked cooked then I broiled for just a couple of minutes to get the cheese crispy. I garnished it with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

 THE DEALs

 Sprouts: Organic curly kale for 98c each this week

Frozen Corn and all frozen brands 20% off ends 03/26

Ralphs: Dozen large eggs grade AA  $1.99

Sweet Potato & Kale Hash with cranberries, walnuts and egg

Sweet Potato and Kale Hash with egg

I don’t really have much to say about this dish besides it was a pretty good breakfast and I could eat it again for lunch…and dinner. I like sweet potatoes and all the good stuff that comes with it. Apparently, if you eat a baked sweet potato instead of a baked white potato your blood sugar will rise about 30 percent less! And because one can’t get enough ‘super food powers’ just add some green, nuts and protein and you get a tasty and nutritious dish.

SWEET POTATO & KALE HASH (put an egg on it)

  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cube shapes
  • 1 shallot or 1/2 of red onion, finely chopped
  • 3-6 leaves of any kind of fresh kale finely chopped (I used Dino kale this time but any Kale will do)
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of Liquid Aminos (optional)
  • 1/8 of chopped walnuts
  • 1/8 of dry cranberries
  • eggs
  • water
  • 1 tsp salt (use 1/2 tsp if you are not using the Aminos)
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Coat a fry pan with some OOil (1 tbsp) Sauteed the onion/shallots in medium heat until translucent. Add the sweet potatoes, salt, cayenne and about 1 tbsp of water. Cover and cook about 8 minutes. Add more water if the potatoes are still uncooked and sticking to the pan. When the sweet potatoes are tender (just stick a fork into one cube and try). Once the sweet potatoes are cooked add the kale+optional aminos. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes. As the hash is finishing add the cranberries and walnuts. Divide (or not) the hash among 2 plates, topping each with one or more lightly fry eggs.

Some notes about this recipe:

  • Make a bigger batch and keep in the fridge for those “what should I have for breakfast?” days. It re-heats great!
  • If you are not a kale fan try substituting for spinach. Same goes for walnuts. If you don’t like them try pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
  • Put one or more eggs on it.
  • This measurements are not exact but this recipe was good for approximately 2 servings.
  • The smaller you chop the sweet potatoes the quicker they will cook.

Sweet potato and Kale Hash with OE egg

Irish Soda Bread with Whiskey Butter

Irish Soda BreadIrish Soda Bread Bob's Red Mill

Irish or not this Bob Red Mills Soda Bread turned out ‘dealicious’ (The Deal: only $3.00 at Big Lots). This bread tastes so nutty, rustic and somewhat sweet. It was even tastier the next day.

Inspired by A Cozy Kitchen recipe, I made some whiskey butter and it went perfect with the still warm bread. I simply whipped/mixed by hand the following ingredients:

  • 8 tbsp (1 stick) of room temperature (soft…very soft) unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp of  Whisky
  • 1 tsp of sea salt
  • 1 tsp of confectioners sugar

The best part of these bread it’s the crust. Love it! It’s the perfect texture. Not too crispy. Not chewy. So good that even my ‘non crust eater’ kids ate it.

Bob's Red Mills Irish Soda Bread

 

Oats and Flaxseed Meal pancakes with Chia Seeds

Oats chia flex pancakes

I found this recipe on a random Self magazine at the doctor’s office. I was pretty skeptical but I decided to give it a try today. Here is the original recipe.

Before I even start telling you these dense, filling, stick-to-your-ribs pancakes are actually tasty, please know that this is a healthy breakfast choice rather than a substitute to the traditional pancakes. There is NOTHING like light, fluffy and full of gluten pancakes! Can’t substitute that. Although these cakes are probably not a low-calorie breakfast they’re full of nutritious and ‘better for you’ ingredients. And they’ll keep you satisfy for a long time. I ate them with honey instead of maple syrup and it was delicious.

Here is my version of the original recipe.

OATS & FLAXSEED MEAL PANCAKES with CHIA SEEDS

  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup non fat plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons chia seeds
  • 2 teaspoons flaxseed meal
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon

In a blender or food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add yogurt, eggs, and flaxseed meal and process until batter is combined. Lastly mix Chia seeds (don’t blend or process.) I used a old large nonstick skillet coated with oil spray and I cook each pancake individually (only 6 small pancakes per recipe) approximately 1-2 minutes each side.

 

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Spicy Hummus

Spicy Hummus iPh

I love hummus and I love Sriracha Sauce.  Put them both together and BOOM…It’s a spicier, smokier take on traditional hummus, but not so spicy that your tongue is burning afterwards.

I also find it hard to go back to store bought hummus after I started to make my own.  Fresh food processor hummus taste way…way…way better than any hummus you will find on market shelves.

Here is what you need:

Spicy Hummus in FP

SPICY SRIRACHA HUMMUS

  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 1 16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup of tahini
  • 1 fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Sriracha
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon of cumin

In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic, chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, fresh lemon juice, Sriracha, cumin and salt. Puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with more salt if you’d like.  Adjust the thickness by adding some water to thin it out. I love thick hummus so this recipe is for a thick but creamy hummus.

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Spicy Apricot Roasted Drumsticks

Last week’s meal planning worked for the most part. We had one ‘cheat’ dinner on Tuesday so instead of Apricot chicken drums we had Costco frozen turkey burgers, which are surprisingly delicious, somewhat healthy, and a pretty good deal.

I’m actually digging this whole meal planning drill. Baseball season is on and kids have a pretty tight schedule with all the after school activities. Having some meals prepared ahead and other dinners already planned really helped me to save time and money.

The plan this week is to keep it as simple as possible. I know…duh…we all like simple but it’s hard to come up with healthy and simple dishes. Tonight I made the Spicy Apricot Chicken Drumsticks (recipe below) I didn’t get to make last week. We had it for dinner and we all loved it. I’m glad we have leftover for Monday’s dinner.

I’m planning to make ground turkey taco plate with black beans (frozen batch), rice and fresh guacamole for Tuesday’s dinner.  Wednesday is Chicken Parmesan (with frozen chicken strips) and Caesar salad with homemade croutons.  Thursday is shopping day but I’m thinking to make a quick fried brown rice and fish. Honey sesame baked salmon will be a great choice with the rice. Friday is blank.

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SPICY APRICOT CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

(inspired by Jessica Seinfeld from Do it Delicious)

For each pound of drumsticks (skin off as much as you can trim):

  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of: turmeric, curry, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder
  • ½ cayenne pepper

Mix salt and spices. Rub the chicken legs with it and forget about them in the fridge (Ziploc or airtight container) for at least 3 hrs. Mine marinated overnight.

Preheat oven at 400F. Place legs on a Pyrex (discard any chicken juice left in the bag no matter how good it smells or looks. Trash it).

Now is the fun part.  You’ll need approximately 1/3 of cup of apricot jelly for each pound of chicken.  Spread the jelly over the drumsticks and with your hands (no messy brushes please. Your hands are the best tool here. Trust me on this!) Make sure to cover each leg with the jelly.

Roast it for approximately 20 minutes. Turn each leg and roast it for additional 20-25 minutes.  I roasted the drumsticks tonight at 400F (roast setting) for 50 minutes (25 each side).

The Deal

Sprouts Chicken Drumsticks $0.69 ends  03/12

 

 

Kale and Quinoa Salad with spicy citrus dressing

Kale & Quinoa Salad

Honestly,  I really suck when it comes to describe dishes, talk about foods in depth, explain what makes this or that recipe special. This kale salad is delicious, healthy and easy to make.  No fancy adjectives. No overuse of description words. And the fact that I can use a local food deal to prepare it makes this salad even more exciting. I hope you try it!

KALE & QUINOA SALAD with SPICY CITRUS DRESSING

For the salad:

  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Quinoa and cook according to package directions adding some truffle salt and pepper. To get one cup of cooked quinoa, use ½ cup of raw quinoa)
  • 1/4 cup of walnuts (slightly chopped)
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 small shallot (minced)
  • 1 medium carrot shaved (use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrot in thin slices OR use a cheese grater)

For the dressing:

  • Juice of 1 small lemon
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of Liquid Aminos (if you don’t have it in the pantry just substitute for salt)
  • ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Start by cooking the quinoa. While quinoa is cooling off wash kale well. Remove the ribs from the kale. Pile the kale leaves on top of each other and roll them up like a giant cigar. Thinly slice the kale.  Place it in a large mixing bowl.

Make the dressing by whisking with ‘gusto’. Taste it. Listen to your taste buds. They will tell you what to add (for me it’s usually more cayenne).

Now, this step makes all the difference so don’t skip it. Pour the dressing over the sliced kale mix and ‘massage’ it. Yes, massage it with your HANDS! Set aside and let kale marinade until slightly wilted (about 5 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients.

The salad will keep for over 4 days in the fridge depending on how fresh the kale was when you use it. When picking your kale bunch just make sure the leaves are not mushy and sad. You want happy kale with vivid color and crunchy aspect.

 The Deal

Organic Curly Kale is always 99c at our local Ralph’s

Sprouts usually has good deals on ‘in bulk’ nuts and if you are not a nut eater you can buy just enough for the salad (no waste of nuts or money)

Pão de Queijo For the Gluten Free Valentine

Pão de Queijo

This is what sexy looks like right now. Pão-de-queijo or Brazilian cheese breads…puffs…balls. Crispy in the outside, cheesy and airy in the inside these delicious puffs are love at first bite.

Warning: Maybe be highly addicting but at least they are gluten free.

Happy Valentines Day!

BRAZILIAN CHEESE BREADS – Gluten Free

  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch. I used Bob’s Red Mill.)
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (preferably medium or sharp. you can play around with the cheese. Monterey Jack, low-moisture mozzarella, Swiss, smoked Gouda and even gruyere in place of the cheddar. All great!)
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender (yes, a blender!) and blend until smooth. Add Parmesan cheese and pulse. Add cheddar and mix a bit by hand. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about ¾ full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing puffs from pan. Serve warm. These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh (not that there’s ever any puffs left anyway!). Muito Bom!

Citrus Skirt Steak

Citrus Skirt Steak

I have this silly habit of believing I’ll remember and achieve the same flavors with NO recipe. Well, that NEVER happens. I suck at documenting recipes, therefore repeating ‘winner’ dishes. I may find a cure for this here in this blog!

You see, it’s one thing to mess with your kids Mac & Cheese recipe and a completely different story to screw up your client’s favorite steak (I do have a personal chef/cook gig for those who didn’t know). So when my client asked me to make this Citrus Skirt Steak again I panicked.

It all worked out at the end and they enjoy this flavorful steak almost every week. I usually serve it with tortillas for tacos and a side of Honey Lime Cumin Slaw salad (I’ll post the recipe here once I have a decent picture of ‘her’).

So, for my own information and for the sake of my client’s Tuesday Taco here is the recipe:

CITRUS SKIRT STEAK

  • The juice of 2 medium limes
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pounds flank steak

Blend or mix all ingredients and spread the paste on the steak(s). Stack the steaks on top of each other on a airtight container or large Ziploc bag. Refrigerate overnight (this is a MUST). Bring to room temperature before grilling. Fire up the grill or heat a grill pan. Scrape the marinade off the meat and season with sea salt. Grill the steaks over moderately high heat until seared and crusty, about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Zucchini carpaccio with crème fraîche horseradish and arugula salad

Zucchini Carpaccio

This is an elegant, full of flavor and healthy dish. It may look difficult to make but it really isn’t. The thinner the zucchini slices the better. Don’t skip the salad. It compliments the Carpaccio really well.

For the Carpaccio:

  • 1 large or 2 medium zucchinis
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • ½ of 1 small lemon (reserve the other half)
  • 1-2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche
  • 1 tsp of prepared Horseradish
  • Capers

Using a mandolin, a vegetable peeler or a very sharp knife if you have mad knife skills, slice zucchini into very thin rounds. Overlap zucchini disks in 1 layer on a plate; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice. Mix the crème fraîche with the horseradish. Taste it. Needs salt? Add some. More horseradish? More crème? Maybe a splash of lemon juice. Make it your own. Dress the Carpaccio with it. You can simply do it with a spoon or put the mixture in a small Ziploc bag, cut one end, squeeze and drizzled all over. Pretty! Oops, almost forgot…place some capers to finish.

For the Arugula Salad:

  • 1 or 2 hands full of baby arugula
  • Juice of the reserved lemon half
  • Salt+pepper (you are on your own on that one)
  • 1-2 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Toss ingredients all together with your hands (trust me on this one). Grab (yes, with your hands) some of the salad and place it in the top/middle of Carpaccio platter. Garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts. If you need to learn how to toast this delicious fatty little nuts just click here.

The DEALs

Sprouts; Organic baby arugula 2 for 5 and zucchini 88c lb.

Trader Joe’s has the best price on crème fraîche and they carry a pretty good prepared horseradish.

You can find all ingredients for this dish at Trader Joe’s.