More Quinoa! Red Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Dried Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, & Bacon

I had you at bacon, huh?

You must try this dish, even if the thought of quinoa and butternut squash sound questionable. If you eat this, you will be way more open minded about the two yummy foods.

This quinoa dish is a variation of a dish that I made on Thanksgiving, and it was a hit.

Leftovers the next day, right out of the fridge, were fabulous. Wow.

Red Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Dried Cranberries,  Pumpkin Seeds & Bacon

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cubed (Target sells it already cubed FYI)

1 large red onion, sliced lengthwise into half moons

5 garlic cloves, skins on

1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red quinoa, rinsed in water

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds

crumbled bacon, about 3 slices

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine butternut squash, onion, garlic, and ginger on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Press garlic from skins. Mash with a knife or fork until a paste forms. Yum.

Meanwhile, combine quinoa with 2 cups broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender and most of water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.


Transfer quinoa to a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, 2/3 of the crumbled bacon and mashed garlic. Carefully fold in roasted vegetables. Top with the rest of the bacon.

Garbanzo Bean Pizza Crust (On a Make Your Own Grilled Pizza Night)

I recently grabbed some garbanzo bean flour to make some flat bread. I figured I would incorporate it into our crust on pizza night to up the nutrient content!

It was amazing, and the kids (we had an extra child for the week who piled her goodies on!) loved it.

The Topping choices were:
sauce
shredded mozzarella
smoked diced mozzarella
grape tomatoes
baby spinach
maple roasted butternut squash
sauteed mushrooms
caramelized onions
mini pepperoni
bacon!!!!
Canadian bacon

My version was sauce, both cheeses, tomatoes, spinach, squash, mushrooms, onions and bacon. It was seriously the best pizza I have ever put into my mouth. YUM!


Garbanzo Pizza Crust

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup garbanzo flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or grill like we do!)
• Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes (or grill!) 


The Kids' Pizzas!! 

It's Been A While...And Bison Sliders!

Greetings strangers! I have still been cooking up a storm, just not inspired to photograph the food, until now! I am back!

Ok, these burgers had to been the best I have ever made. Ever. Oh my. Totally worth spending a little extra on the buffalo meat, for flavor AND health reasons. Also, it didn't make putting as little cube of cheese and a pat of butter in the middle feel so naughty. Ready for the recipe now?

As always, when I cook, I do not measure. So I am totally guessing here. You adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Bison Sliders (makes 6)
1 lb ground bison
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce ( I recommend Annie's Organic ...so much flavor and a little thicker)
2 T oats
1/4 C of finely diced onions
1/3 C chipped spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
6 pats of butter
6 small cheese cubes (I used cheddar)
S&P

6 buttered slider buns (I found organic potato slider buns that were yum)

Toppings of your choice....my sauce was equal parts of ketsup, mustard and Worcestershire

Combine bison with everything down to the minced garlic. split evenly into 6 balls. Poke a hole into each ball and put in butter and cheese, then cover it up. Let sit in fridge for a little bit to get happy.

Since Bison is so lean, you need to grill it to medium rare MAX....otherwise you will have hockey pucks. Don't be squeamish here, rare is best. So.much.flavor. Once grilled to desired doneness, let them sit while you grill the buns. Top with your desired toppings and chow down. 

You can thank me later.

P.S. A thank you to my friends Donna Dear and her hubby Jeff for introducing my family to the awesomeness of Buffalo. Really.

 Aren't they beautiful?

Drool

Grape Salad w/Blue Cheese and Walnuts

While planning our Father's Day menu, my daughter was inspired by a grape salad that she saw at the grocery store. She had read the ingredients to me and we decided to try it at home. It was a tangy, sweet treat with a right amount of creamy and crunchy. Yum.

Red and Green Grapes (enough to fill a large bowl)

Crumbled Blue Cheese

Walnuts

4T Honey (more if you like it sweeter)

1.5 T Canola Oil (or veg)

3T White or Red Wine Vinegar (I used a little of both...but apple cider vinegar would be good as well. Or you can get fancy with gourmet vinegars like cherry or pomegranate).

Combine the honey, oil and vinegar (adjust the ingredients to your liking). Pour half of the mixture over the grapes. Crumble the blue cheese into the bowl along with the walnuts. Toss. Pour remaining dressing over the salad. Chill about an hour before serving. Enjoy!

Lemon Linguine w/ Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pine Nuts Plus Artichoke Appetizer

Wow. Been a while, huh?
This is a recipe that was inspired by a plethora of other linguine dishes with lemon. I didn't measure anything, but I will try my best to give you an idea at least. Yum.
The dish started off because my daughter and I were grocery shopping and she really wanted to get artichokes for me to steam....and we had a ton of lemons. So it evolved from there.
Here we go!

Steamed Artichokes

 (this can be made so many ways, this is just the way I have learned to love it-other than grilled)

2 Artichokes cut (there are a ton of places on the web so see how to do this)

Enough chicken broth/water to cover artichokes (I had one box of broth and used water for the rest)

Herbs (I use rosemary stems and basil stems from garden)

Two peeled cloves of garlic

1 sliced lemon

Bring broth/water to a boil with the lemon slices, garlic and herbs

Place artichokes in liquid and simmer for about 10 minutes

Place artichokes (along with lemon and herbs) in a steaming basket over simmering liquid and let them finish cooking by steaming.  When they are soft enough for the leaves to practically fall off is when I know they are ready. Save liquid in pan for the pasta.

At this point I called the family inside and we devoured the meat on the leaves in about 5 minutes. We usually dip them in a mayo mixture, but this time we dipped in melted butter. Next time I think I will get 3 artichokes...maybe more. It is embarrassing the way my family eats these things.

 Lemon Linguine w/ Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pine Nuts

I winged this meal....so I am not going to use exact measurements!

Box of wheat linguine

Handful of pine nuts (toasted)

Handful of baby spinach roughly chopped

2 Garlic clove minced

A half of a jar of sun-dried tomatoes chopped(about 2-3 T oil reserved)

Juice of a large lemon plus a teaspoon of lemon zest

Parmesan Cheese (I used asiago because I have it and love it)

2T Sour Cream

Olive Oil

Basil or Rosemary for garnish

Cook the pasta according to directions in the broth mixture left from the artichokes, then drain reserving about 1/3 of a cup to keep pasta from drying out

While pasta cooks, warm a pan and drizzle with olive oil. Saute garlic for about 2 minutes then add spinach. Once spinach is wilted, toss in the sun-dried tomatoes.

Combine drained pasta with spinach mixture, lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil, reserved sun dried tomato oil (awesome flavor), and reserved broth mixture if it seems too dry (white wine would be good here too). At the end add in sour cream, pine nuts, and asiago or Parmesan.

Garnish with lemon zest and fresh herbs. Add s&p (and red pepper flakes if you like...I do!).

That was wordy but the best I can do with describing my thrown together meal. :)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Kandice

P.S. Bacon would SOOOO rock this meal, but since yesterday I promised myself I wouldn't have any, I didn't. Haha.

A Santa Fe Beef Salad Un-Recipe

Un-Recipe because it was kind of thrown together after I couldn't find the ingredients for the original recipe I was going to try. I wanted something pretty light and good clean flavor. I have still been eating in vacation mode, ya know?

Here is the gist of the salad:

Flank Steak: marinated in a mix of oil, minced garlic, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, cumin, and maybe more. Haha. The husband mixed it together, so I am not certain what all is in it. We like to keep it simple so you can actually taste the meat. After it was marinated for a couple of hours, it was slapped on the grilled to mouth watering goodness. Then we squeezed a tad of lime on it while it was still hot. After letting the meat sit, we thinly sliced it.

Green leaf lettuce: You know...wash it....chop it....arrange on a platter or in a bowl

Diced tomatoes: I wanted plum, Target didn't have plum....so I used on the vine

Thinly sliced red onion because it is pretty

Avocado: ours was mangled due to a little girl who wouldn't stop eating the avocado slices. I couldn't cut it fast enough.

Homemade Tortilla Chips...cause they are good. Just don't make too many...because you can't stop eating them. You should only make a handful. And when I say you, I mean me.

Black beans: rinsed and drained

Arrange it all in a pretty fashion and add a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Use dressing of choice, but I kept it light and just used lime juice. You can also top with your fave salsa and cheese.

That was fancy, huh? :)

French Toast Baked in Honey-Pecan Sauce

Valentine's Breakfast Rocked. I had to share. Check out the recipe!
Please take the time to prepare the night before. It will be worth the time. Yum!

Snow Ice Cream

I live in North Texas y'all. We don't get much snow. It has snowed nonstop since we woke up this morning. So much in fact, I decided to attempt making snow ice cream. I have never (gasp) tried it.

After a morning of playing outside and then inside to warm up by the fire with hot cocoa, I checked our bowl that I had set out back. It was full! Yippee!

This is the recipe I used. Kids pretty much licked their bowls clean. I ate mine out of this glass that my mom gave me about 20 years ago. Just because I am missing her today.

I love snow days, they make me happy shmappy.

THE Best Homemade Soft Pretzels EVAH!

After searching for a recipe, I decided on one courtesy of 2Bleu (Bird&Buddha) (thank you thank you thank you!) at www.recipezaar.com.

I have to say that these are wayyyyyy better than any at the mall. Holy cow. Especially after brushing them with melted butter fresh out of the oven. I didn't even need any dipping sauce. Perfect as is.

Recipe Here

Our Annual Valentine's Day Brownies

My mom made a simple yet yummy cake every year for us on Valentine's Day.
When she passed away 3 years ago, I decided to keep the tradition alive for my family. Why the heck not, right?

It is so simple and soooooo very good. Mom always made it in a heart shaped pan, but this year I decided to layer it and switch it up some.

• Make brownies...your choice. I used box mix, but if you feel adventurous by all means..make your own!
• Top with a can of cream cheese frosting (or make your own ya over achievers! hehe).
• Now plop a can of cherry pie filling (jeesh, you aren't going to make your own cherry pie filling now are you?)

Now I switched it up this year because I am wild and crazy like that. I made the brownies in a larger than normal pan, cut them in half...and layered. I also warmed up the frosting so it would would make more of a yummy glaze....and only used a half a can as a result (healthier, right?).

Seriously, make it. It will make you smile.

Have V-Day weekend.

Cindy McCain's Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

These were a hit! I saw the recipe in Family Circle Magazine and anything with Butterscotch I love. So I made them to take to a friend's birthday party. Yum!

Ingredients
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1-2/3 cups butterscotch chips
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup

The kids wanted pancakes this morning and since I had tons of blueberries still, I decided to do a blueberry theme.

I started with a basic pancake recipe, and added in some blueberry jam that I had made a few weeks ago (you can use store bought or make your own). I probably put in about 3T of the jam.

It needed something else, so I grabbed some quick cooking oats (a handful) and threw them in and stirred well. It was a nice purplish/blue color. So when you make them, they look a bit more done than they really are because of the color.

For the blueberry syrup I made a simple blueberry syrup , then added in about 1/3 C maple syrup and kept heated.

The kids loved it and so did momma. Just get yourself a huge glass of cold milk for this.

Are You Ready For This? Stuffed and Grilled Sausage Sandwich

This was so very freaking good. While making it I was drooling. Maybe not the healthiest thing but hey...it was worth it all.

The inspiration came from Rachel Ray's latest magazine. We pretty much followed it to a T minus the mushrooms and I used ff sour cream instead of yogurt. The scallions came from our garden. The sour cream mixture needed something else so I added minced garlic and a pinch of garlic salt. I also sauteed onions for the sandwich.

For the kid's version we let them roll out their dough, grilled one side and then let them put on their toppings then put back on the grill. Theirs was gone within minutes. Andrew wasn't huge on the crust (neither was I, see note at the bottom). But he came back for more sausage.

Also, while waiting for the bread to grill, we dipped salted tomato slices in the sour cream mixture. That alone was mouthwatering.

*Now for my note. I am going to start adding what I would do next time differently.
I will more than likely make my own dough or go to the local pizzeria and buy some dough.
This recipe also opens up a million ideas. Stuff with Italian seasoning and cheeses and make a meatloaf sandwich. OR grown up hot dogs with the crust stuffed with onions and cheese then topped with sausages and chili. You get the idea?

Red Quinoa Black Bean Salad

My first time every making quinoa. So I just followed a simple recipe that came with my Inka Red Quinoa. I was more than impressed and now that I know what the texture is like, I can't wait to try some more original dishes.

Make a note if you have never made it before. Cooked quinoa has little white sprouts coming out that might look like little worms and have you googling frantically about worm infested quinoa. Luckily I read this exact warning so I was prepared. Haha. !



RED QUINOA BLACK BEAN SALAD
1 cup red quinoa
2 cups water
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice, or more to taste
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons minced scallions
1 ½ cups cooked black beans (one 15 oz can)
2 cups diced tomatoes (one 24 oz can, drained and diced)
1 cup diced red bell pepper 2 teaspoons minced fresh (or canned)

diced avocado
green chilies
salt and black pepper to taste
Add red quinoa to 2 cups of water. Cover and simmer about 10-15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Set aside to cool. Combine lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro, scallions, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and chilies. Add cooled quinoa, salt and pepper to taste. Serves 2-3

Smokey Turkey and Grilled Apple Paninis

I got this recipe from Rachel Ray, with a few minor changes.

I used my George Foreman but you can use a grill pan. The only difference was that I used ciabatta bread and added green onions for some more crunch.

It was pretty tasty and the kids totally loved it. Next time I may try smoked cheddar instead, I like the sharper flavors. :)

Cherries Cherries Cherries

My menu was inspired by Joe at one of my fave food blogs. I did some minor changes due to me trying to loose weight and what we had on hand.

Here is my version:

Chicken Salad with Cherries and Goat-Cheese Dressing

2 ounces crumbled fresh goat cheese (low fat)

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped chives

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar

salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons Olive oil

garlic/rosemary seasoning

2 large chicken breasts

1/2 Bag Spring Mix Salad

1 1/2 cup sweet cherries, pitted and halved (I used a straw to pit)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, whisk together goat cheese, sour cream, chives, water and vinegar - season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil and season with rosemary seasoning and s&p. Grill until no longer pink.

Remove and place on a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice chicken.

To a plate add lettuce, chicken, cherries, dressing and walnuts. Enjoy!

The dressing was soooo good, Chad and I will definitely do this again! And the kids LOVED it.

Thanks Joe for the great recipe!

Now, for dessert. I bought some pastry shells and wanted to use more cherries. I made this recipe up...so I will call this:

Cherry Sussy hehe

4 pastry shells

1 C pitted cherries

1/2 C sugar

3T water

1T corn starch

1T lime juice

Fat Free Cool Whip (I had some on hand, added vanilla to mine and froze it... you can use ice cream for sure!).

Left over walnuts from dinner

Bake shells according to directions

In a sauce pan add cherries through lime juice, let it get bubbly and thick...stir stir stir. When cherries are nice and fat and sauce is thick, it is ready. You may have to add more sugar to thicken.

Then arrange: pastry, cool whip, cherry sauce, walnuts.....eat. Yum.

Three Cheese Veggie Pizza

This is another Cooking Light recipe and it was good. I think next time I will omit the capers (although I like capers, just not for this recipe) and maybe add some cubed chicken. It was a great start though, the mushrooms UNDER the cheese was kind of cool and tricky. Haha.
Also, I patted dry any wet ingredients to keep the pizza from getting soggy. :)

Use this recipe as a template, and vary the cheeses and vegetables to make your own creations. Allow the pizza to stand five minutes before slicing to allow any liquid on top time to be reabsorbed into the toppings so the crust won't get soggy.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 cup marinara sauce1 (1-pound)
Italian cheese-flavored pizza crust (such as Boboli)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup sliced bottled roasted red bell peppers
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
4 drained canned artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 500°.
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add black pepper, minced garlic, and mushrooms; sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and most of liquid evaporates.
Spread sauce over the pizza crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border, and top with mushroom mixture. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella, fontina, and Parmesan cheeses. Top with roasted red bell peppers, 1 tablespoon capers, and artichokes. Bake at 500° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Let pizza stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Caribbean Taco Salad

I saw this recipe on the JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE website and had to try it. The only difference I made was I whipped up a homemade taco seasoning because we rarely have packaged on hand. You NEED to try this. I made a non-spicy batch for the kids and it was gone.

Oh, only 300 calories. Cool, huh?

Ingredients
Shells:
4 10-inch whole wheat flour tortillas
Olive oil cooking spray
Salad:
1 20-ounce package JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE Extra Lean Ground Turkey
1 1.25-ounce package reduced-sodium taco seasoning mix
2 tablespoons water
1 mango, peeled, pitted and chopped (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
2 cups firmly packed spinach leaves
Preparation: Preheat oven to 425°F. Invert four, 10-ounce custard cups onto 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan. Spray outside of cups and one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Place tortillas, oiled side up, over cups. Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned. In medium skillet, brown turkey until no longer pink and cooked through. Add taco seasoning mix and water. Cook over low heat 3 to 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together the mango, bell pepper, green onion, cilantro and lime peel to make salsa. Place taco shells on serving plates. Divide spinach leaves evenly into shells. Top with cooked turkey and salsa.

Poor Vampires

So, tonight I wanted to include my son in the dinner making "event". So after his homework of finding 3D shapes, he pulled out his Disney cookbook to find out how to make meatballs. He found the recipe (Mr. Incredible's to be exact)but we waited to start that. FIRST, we had something else to do.

We had to try to make Garlic Oil and Garlic Smash thanks to 64 sq ft kitchen. I used rosemary as the herb though because it is what we had. Drew had so much fun smelling the raw garlic and talking about it. My kitchen (and hair and clothes and hands and son and dog) smell of garlic still. The vampires will be sad tonight.
While the garlic and olive oil were in the oven we started on the Tigger Tail pasta.Other than assistance with ingredients, Drew was on his own to make meatballs. He read the ingredients with help from me and all by himself he mixed it (clean hands folks) and formed the balls. He was mighty proud.

With all of this work we used a jarred sauce (gasp) we got from Central Market with a few additions from me.

It was a decent dinner with some special time with my son (Jordan was sleeping during the prep, she missed out).

Now, for a photographic journey (even some black and whites.. a challenge for food):

mmm...garlic

Good Night

Sweet and Sour Lemon Bars

These were a result of a late night craving. Hehe. My Better Homes and Garden's Cookbook hooked me up.


Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch


1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup half-and-half, light cream, or milk
Powdered sugar


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil. Grease foil; set aside. In a large bowl combine the 2 cups flour, the 1/2 cup powdered sugar, the cornstarch, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden.
2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium bowl stir together eggs, the granulated sugar, the 3 tablespoons flour, the lemon peel, lemon juice, and half-and-half. Pour filling over hot crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Grasping foil overhang, lift from pan. Cut into bars. Right before serving, sift powdered sugar over tops. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
3. Makes 36 bars