Search Results for "quinoa"

This sounds like some sort of a throwdown from the Food Network: How many superfoods can you fit in one dish? [Read more →]

This tangy, protein-packed salad is so good, so easy, so healthy.  There is nothing to hate about this dish – your taste-buds, body and family will thank you for putting this on the table! [Read more →]

Today’s recipe is a simple, hearty  and healthy dinner salad that boasts high protein and high fiber.  If you skip the added chicken, you could serve this as a pretty and creative side dish.  Or sub tofu for chicken, and create a vegan one-dish meal.  In any case, this’ll cost you only 30 minutes of your time, counter to table.

Orange Chicken Quinoa

Boil 1 1/4 c. water in a small saucepan.  Add rinsed quinoa, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed by the quinoa.  Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes and then fluff.

While the quinoa is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.  Trim the scallions and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Saute the chicken and scallions in a skillet with 1 t. of olive oil, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  Cut 1 inch off each end of the orange.  Squeeze the orange ends into a small bowl, to get about 2 T. of juice.  Whisk together the orange juice, the lemon juice, 3 T. olive oil, salt and pepper.  Peel the remainder of the orange and slice it very thinly.

Add the chicken mixture, the dressing, sliced orange and the pistachios to the quinoa and toss.  Taste for seasoning – add more lemon juice, salt and/or pepper if desired.  Arrange 1 c. of salad greens on each of four plates, garnish each with 1/4 of the chicken mixture.

Serves 4.

Adapted from the Nutrition Action Healthletter, April 2009

Tip: Are you using non-stick cookware?  It’s more than suspect from a health-standpoint, it could be downright dangerous.  Did you know that a properly seasoned cast iron frying pan is virtually non-stick?  The secret is to heat it up before you begin cooking your food.  The 1 teaspoon of oil in this recipe more than coated my cast iron frying pan and created a non-stick surface for my chicken – all for only 10 extra calories per serving.  And bonus!  If you use cast iron cookware, you’ll get a little extra iron in your diet.

Hey Sweeties . . . how’re you feeling after the New Year weekend?  And perhaps you took some time off last week off to be merry? Indulge a bit, yes? I know we did . . . and I am SO ready to ratchet it all back and load up on healthful foods again.  My body was aching for greens at the end of the week. And fiber, and less bread, and a lot less sugar.  Oh, the sugar!

So here we are, start of the new year, end of the holidays – ready to cook up some good-for-you vittles again? [Read more →]

We’re in!  We’ve moved, and are madly rushing about, trying to settle ourselves.  The first hurdle to tackle was unpacking and organizing the kitchen, of course – this family’s had too much takeout.  I’m pleased to announce that mama’s kitchen is open for business, and man, this new kitchen rocks, folks.  I’m a lucky, lucky woman.  I have great space, great tools and lots of inspiration.  Not sure how often I’ll be posting now that we’re here, but I can assure you, it’ll be more often than it has been this summer.  I’m so happy to be back!

Today’s recipe is vegetarian, quick, easy and just might help you use up some of that produce that your garden or CSA is dishing out.  The original recipe is meant to be served cold, and indeed, this is great leftover, but I made this as a warm salad.  Feel free to add more veggies as you please.  Any way you toss it, it’s got a great mix of flavors that’ll prevent a weeknight dinner slump.

Quinoa and Spinach Salad With Chickpeas and Smoked Paprika (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Pour the chicken broth into a medium saucepan and add the quinoa.  Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.  Simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes, mint and feta in a big bowl.  Add the quinoa and toss gently to wilt the spinach and blend the ingredients.

Combine the vinegar, smoked paprika and olive oil in a glass jar with a lid, cover and shake until combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.  Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed. 

Serves 6.

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Clean Eating Magazine – it’s got an eclectic set of ingredients, but they work together well.  This is a fast, flavorful meal that will add flare to your weeknight repertoire.

Sesame Garlic Chicken, Spinach With Tahini Sauce and Roasted Peanut Quinoa

Tahini Sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet.  With a sharp knife, make 3 slits in each chicken breast, taking care not to cut all the way through the breast.  Stuff the slits with garlic, dividing it evenly amongst the breasts.  Sprinkle each breast with salt, pepper and the sesame seeds.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa thoroughly with water and drain.  Combine the quinoa with the stock in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Add the peanuts to the quinoa and set aside.

Prepare the Tahini Sauce:  In a bowl, whisk together the tahini, vinegar, soy sauce, agave nectar and 1 t. of water until smooth and combined.

Steam the spinach, either in the microwave or in a metal steamer insert for a saucepan.

To serve, mound a portion of quinoa in the center of each plate.  Arrange the steamed spinach around and on top of the quinoa and drizzle some Tahini Sauce over the quinoa and the spinach.  Place a chicken breast on top and serve.

Serves 4.

Parents, you know those days when you swear the clock is broken?  Or that maybe it’s . . . moving backwards?  That was our Monday holiday.  Cruddy weather, plans for a trek to the South Shore to redeem gift certificates and visit Daddy and Grampy thwarted.  Blah.  Luckily our good buddies down the road were in the same position, so we rounded up the kiddos for a snowy park playdate.  But as I trundled L. home at 5, I thought “and now I have to COOK DINNER?”  Not in the mood.  I whipped up this easy pilaf in about 10 minutes, slapped some Stonewall Kitchen Vidalia Onion and Fig Sauce on a chicken breast and steamed some broccoli.  30 minutes to a complete meal, with a fruity, nutty pilaf on the side.  It was the best part of the day.

Quinoa Pilaf With Fruit And Nuts

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent. Add the quinoa and toast, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the broth, salt and cranberries and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until liquid is completely absorbed and quinoa is tender, 15-20 minutes. Toss with almonds and serve.

Serves 6.  Make it vegan by subbing vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

I love Thanksgiving ’cause it’s all about food and friends and family.  None of the gift pressure, less of the scrambling to get ready.  I look forward to the special foods we eat once a year . . . and then I know that afterwards, I need to rein it in again.

Friday night, we were all back on the sick train.  This reinforced my theory that we’ve had H1N1-lite – classic feeling better/thinking we’re out of the woods then wham-o back down for the count.  In any case, D. and I wanted something clean, healthful and tasty for dinner, and this salad fit the bill.  It’s adapted from a Ken Oringer recipe in the December Food & Wine. 

I used dried beans for this, so it’s a more time-consuming process.  You could easily sub a couple of cans of beans for this – just rinse and drain them before you add them to the mix.   If you do want to use dry beans (they are cheap and far tastier than canned, and then you avoid the BPA headache), you could do as I did and prep the beans in the morning.  After they cooled, I put them in the fridge for later.  I let them come up to room temperature while I prepared the quinoa and chopped the veggies, then combined them all at the last minute. 

Whichever way you make it, this salad is colorful, warm, crunchy and smoky and a 180-degree difference from the rich, starchy, sweet deliciously-fattening goodness most of us enjoyed on Thursday . . . .

Warm Bean & Quinoa Salad

 In a large saucepan, cover the beans with cold water and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.  Drain the beans.  Return them to the pot and cover with 3 inches of water.  Bring them to a boil and simmer over low heat until tender, about an hour.  Drain.

In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer over low heat until the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes).

Place 2 T. of extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet.  Add the onions and saute over low heat until translucent.  Remove from heat and set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice and chipotle.  Add the olive oil, whisking until blended.  Add the beans, quinoa, scallions, red onion, yellow pepper and cilantro.  Toss to combine, then season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, tossing to combine again.

Serves 4 as a main-dish, generously.

This is one of those recipes that’s even better day 2, after the flavors have blended.  It serves up nicely chilled from the fridge, making it a strong contender for next day lunches.