Southwestern Quinoa

I spent ALL day cooking yesterday.  I was going to my grandma's and, since she never makes it over to our neck of the woods for dinner, wanted to bring dinner to her.  On top of that I had made a whole batch of mini raw strawberry cheesecakes and key lime pies AND still had to pack for the week AND take all these pictures for the blog...needless to say, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off :-) In the midst of all the chaos and commotion in the kitchen I nearly cut the tip of my thumb off.  As much as I LOVE cooking...I am relieved to just be sitting down today blogging.  Far away from any potentially hazardous sharp objects :-) This is the perfect accompaniment to my Walnut Crusted Salmon with Mango Mustard recipe.  It can be made ahead, which is always a plus, AND it tastes so fresh and summery.  I can imagine serving it with all sorts of meals...It would be epic with some Carne Asada tacos and plantains.

  

Ingredients:

- 1 c. quinoa

- 2 mangos (diced)

- 2 jalepenos (minced)

- 1 medium red bell pepper (diced)

- 1/2 c chopped cilantro

- 1/2 of a small red onion

- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn

- 15 oz can of black beans (rinsed and drained)

- Juice of 2 limes

- 2 T olive oil

- 2 garlic cloves (minced)

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1/2 tsp chili powder

- 1/2 tsp tumeric

- 1/2 tsp Sea salt to taste

- 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

- Cook quinoa according to package directions

- Combine ingredients through black beans in a large mixing bowl

- Whisk together remaining ingredients (lime juice through salt) and pour over quinoa mixture

- Stir well to combine and refrigerate until ready to serve

Warm Tomato Kale Salad

I love salad.  Especially in the summer.  There is nothing like a fresh, crisp, cold salad in the heat of the summer.  But it's not fair to the salad that I limit it to one season.  That is where a nice hearty warm salad comes in.  A warm salad is the beef stew to my gazpacho, the eggnog to my mojito, the sweater to my bikini.  This salad is the perfect transition from the heat of the summer to a chilly fall night.  With its fresh roasted basil garlic tomatoes and hearty kale it's sure to make it into your winter sides rotation.  Don't believe me ask the dishes...

.....they don't lie :-)

Ingredients:
- Kale (I bought mine in a bag already cut and destemmed and then chopped it chiffonade)
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1 T Olive Oil
- Himalayan sea salt (to taste)
- 6 plum tomatoes cut in half either length or width wise (make sure to take a little sliver off the base so it sits flat on the baking sheet)
- 1/2 c Fresh Basil (cut chiffonade)
- 5 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
- Salt (to taste)
- Optional: toasted pine nuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300.  Massage kale with lemon juice and olive oil and let sit to soften.  Place tomatoes on baking sheet. Spray and rub with Pam olive oil spray.  Sprinkle generously with salt, top with garlic and basil.   Bake for 35 min or longer until  tomatoes soften and begin to collapse (trust me, the longer the better...lol....that's what she said).  Anyways, when the tomatoes are done place on top of a bed of your marinated kale, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, and dig in! So good!

Mashed Cauliflower

So apparently I'm a little obsessed with cauliflower right now.  Maybe it's because it can be converted into some of my favorite starchy foods: pizza crusts, rice, and even mashed potatoes.  Things that were no no's before are now yes yes's thanks to this miraculous heaven-sent vegetable.

So here it goes, get ready to have your mind blown! 

Ingredients:

- 1 head of cauliflower

- Skim Milk

- 3T. Light Butter

- 1/4 c. parmesan

- 1/4 c Plain Greek Yogurt

- 1 tsp garlic salt

- 1/2 c. chives, chopped

- Optional: Dried parsley to top 

Directions:

- Peel leaves, wash, and cut stems off cauliflower

- Place in a pot of boiling water and boil until tender (approx. 6 min)

- Drain, pat dry and immediately transfer to mixer

- Add milk, parmesan, yogurt, garlic salt, butter and chives to mixer

- Blend until smooth, but no gluey

Riced Cauliflower 2 Ways

Mexican Riced Cauliflower

After my great success with cauliflower pizza last night, I was left with a dilemma.  What do I do with all this leftover riced cauliflower.  I opened up the fridge, looked in the pantry, and assessed my ingredients options.  Being that I had made my Salmon con Mojo a couple nights prior, I had some leftover Mojo goodness.  I also had some leftover corn from the Cauliflower Crust Shrimp Pizza.  I also had a can of black beans in the pantry....so here's what I came up with.

Ingredients:

- 1 head cauliflower, riced*

- Mojo Sauce (1/2 the recipe should be plenty)

- Steamfresh frozen corn kernels (prepared according to package directions)

- 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

*To rice your cauliflower:
Take head of cauliflower and remove stems and leaves
Coarsely chop and throw into you food processor
Pulse until cauliflower resemble coarse grain (do not over-pulse as this will create a puree)
Place in a microwave safe container and microwave on high for 8 min.

Directions:

- Mix Mojo Sauce with riced cauliflower, beans, and corn

This will replace my rice dish anytime I make any Mexican dish! 

Servings: 

Calories: 

Fried Riced Cauliflower

Ingredients:

- 1/2 head cauliflower, riced according to instructions above

- 3 green onions, chopped

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 2-3 T. low sodium soy sauce

- 1 tsp garlic salt

- 3 eggs, beaten

- Oil

- Optional: pork, chicken, or shrimp

Directions:

- In a wok, or large skillet, heat enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan.  Fry the minced garlic and the white part of the green onion for approx 1 min.  Add cauliflower and fry for approx 5 min stirring constantly.  Add soy sauce, garlic salt, green onion tops, and meat (if using) and stir until mixed.  Push this mixture to one side of pan.  Spray empty side with Pam, if needed, and fry the eggs until done.  Stir eggs into rice and remove from heat.

Servings: 3

Calories w/o meat: 155