Crispy Quinoa Cakes

Last month i 'treated' myself to Vegetarian Times magazine while shopping at Whole Foods w/ my sister, Amy. Inside this magazine, i found this recipe that i simply fell in love with! (when i made it, i just left the Feta cheese out--for my sweetheart is not a fan of cheese--and I added it later as a garnish! it was pretty easy and had this great dipping sauce that i made in my vita mix!

I was so impressed with all that the magazine had to offer, i ended up ordering a 12 month subscription... Yay, it's like Christmas when i open my mail box once a month!

i love all the new, fresh and healthy ideas for my kitchen... :)

Enjoy!

Crispy Quinoa Cakes
serves 6, 30 minutes of fewer

Serve these with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. (recipe below).

1 large egg
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs. Tahini (sesame seed butter) or nut butter (such as almond, or peanut)
1 1/2 tsp. red or white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked (red) quinoa
1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato
1/2 10-oz pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped nuts (i use walnuts), optional
2 oz crumbled feta cheese, optional
2 Tbs. finely diced onion
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. salt

preheat oven to 400 degrees. coat baking sheet with cooking spray. combine egg, flour, tahini and vinegar in bowl. stir in remaining ingredients, then mash together until mixture is firm enough to shape into cakes. Shape mixture into 1/4-cup patties with wet hands. Bake on prepared baking sheet 25 minutes, turning once, or until patties are browned.

Per Serving (2 cakes) 125 calories, 6 G protein, 4 G total fat, 17 G carbs, 3 G fiber, 2 G sugars


Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
makes 2 1/2 cups, 30 minutes or fewer

Serve this quick, healthful dipping sauce with Crispy Quinoa Cakes.

1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers, drained
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1 clove garlic
2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Puree all ingredients in food processor.

Per 1/4-cup serving: 40 cal, 1 g protein, 3 g total fat, 3 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugars

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ok so like most of you I'm sure, I am ADDICTED to pinterest. This is a recipe I found on there. It is from The Larson Lingo blog.

I can't take any of the credit for this recipe but I will say it is really yummy. We ate it for 3 days straight (because it made a lot for our little family of 3 eaters) and we didn't even mind. Check out the blog, but I hope it's ok that I just copied and pasted her recipe on here. :) Thanks The Larson Lingo!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite soups to make during the fall & winter is:

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
I made up this recipe a few years ago & it has become a staple in our house during the cold months.

Here is what you need:
4-5 chicken breasts, cooked & diced
1 large (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (14 ounce) can enchilada sauce
(I use medium, but you can use mild or hot)
1 medium onion, chopped
(Or, if you are a cheater like me, I buy the pre-diced onion. My eyes are SO sensitive to onion & my eyes water so badly. The pre-diced stuff is the best invention since sliced bread!)
1 can chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 (32 ounce) container chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn

For the garnish:
Corn Tortillas
Avocado
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Green Onions

Here are the Super Easy directions:
1. Boil your chicken breasts until fully cooked. Then, dice them up!
2. Place diced chicken, diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, mined garlic & corn into your crock pot.
3. Pour in chicken broth, add cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper.
4. Stir.
5. Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours or on High for 2 to 3 hours.

About 30 miutes before you are going to serve the soup, you need to get the tortillas ready!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with olive oil (or vegetable oil, whatever you have on hand!)
Cut tortillas into strips (I use a pizza cutter) then spread on a baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.
To serve, put tortilla strips over soup.
Then, I garnish that with sour cream, shredded cheese & sliced up avocado (you can garnish with green onions also, I just didn't have any)
It looks this pretty for about 10 seconds & then I stir it all together and eat it!
This soup is so easy & so yummy.
We go back for seconds every time I make it for dinner!

Enjoy!

NEXT DAY: White Bean Chicken Chili

I personally feel this chili is better the next day! So, I'll make it the night before an event to allow the flavors to mix and mingle! :) Great for Sunday dinners!
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

1 (12-ounce) package frozen white corn

2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, undrained

1 (7-ounce) can diced green chilies

2 teaspoon2 cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

4 cups chicken broth

8 oz Herdes (Green) Salsa Verde (found in the ethnic isle)

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Green Onions, chopped

Serve w/ Corn tortilla chips

1. Cook Chicken and chop into small pieces, set a side. In a large pot sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add chicken, corn, beans, chilies, spices, broth, green salsa, cheese, sour cream... Stir until well blended.
4. Bring to a boil, and then turn heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Add Fresh Lime before serving. Enjoy!

Asian Autumn Salad

I've been trying a lot more vegetarian meals for dinner... THIS recipe, i got from Vegetarian Times a magazine and web site that I've kinda become obsessed with! Yummy and delicious food, with tons of flavor. Check it out some time.

This recipe was submitted by a reader... and I changed it a little by adding Quinoa (a bit more protein and fiber never hurt a salad before!) It's sweet, sour, salty and tangy, and surprisingly very fulling! and did i mention, it's beautiful... "just look at it!" (if you are related to me you know why i put quotes around that... hahaha!)
Asian Autumn Salad
serves 6 / 30 minutes of fewer

Salad:

-2 large oranges, peeled and cut into pieces (because it's autumn dish, i thought Apples would be delish in this recipe also!)
-2 cups shredded red cabbage
-2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
-1 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa (3/4 cup dry red or white Quinoa, 1 1/2 c. chicken broth) *Optional
-2 cups mung bean sprouts (I didn't add these, cause they are scary looking, but feel free)
-1 cup button mushrooms, sliced (Mmm!)
-3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
-2 green onions, thinly sliced
-1 tsp. ground ginger
-1 tsp. garlic powder

Dressing:

-2 Tbs. rice vinegar
-2 Tbs. roasted Tahini* (see pic below)
-2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
-1 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
-1 Tbs. honey
-1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
-1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
-1/4 tsp. onion powder

1. To make Salad: (if adding Quinoa: make ahead and cool. then add to salad!) Combine all ingredients in large salad bowl (yes including the ground ginger and garlic powder, toss to coat.)

2. to make Dressing: combine all ingredients in small glass jar with lid. Close lid and shake vigorously. Pour over salad and toss to combine!
*Tahini is ground Sesame seeds made into a paste or butter. You can find it in the organic section of the store by the peanut butter and almond butter... it's a small seed with lots of flavor! (If you can not find it, you could probably use peanut butter!)

Apple Crumb Pie

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water, ice cold

**NOTE: I just used a store bought pie crust. It worked just fine!

Filling Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds Granny Smith, Cortland, Jonagold apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1/4 teaspoon salt

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, chilled, cut in pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. To make crust: mix together flour and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut the shortening into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs are formed.

4. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until a dough forms.

5. Shape into a flat circle then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

6. On a floured surface, roll dough with a floured rolling pin into a 12" circle. Fit into a 9" pie pan. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1 inch overhang; pinch edges to flute.

7. To prepare filling: in a large bowl, toss together lemon juice, apples, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Spoon mixture evenly into crust.

8. To prepare topping: mix together brown sugar, nutmeg and flour in a small bowl.

9. Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut the butter into the brown sugar mixture until coarse crumbs form.

10. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the filling to cover completely.

11. Place foil around crust to prevent burning. Bake, rotating halfway through for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Key Lime Cheesecake

1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
6 Tbsp Butter, Melted
24 oz Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
3 eggs
1 Tbsp Grated Lime Zest
2/3 Cup Key Lime Juice (I used 1/2 Cup Regular Lime Juice)


*NOTE: I found some suggestions to add shredded coconut to the crust. I added about 1-2 tsp and it did not make a difference. Next time I will add 2-3 Tbsp of shredded coconut.

**NOTE: I added a couple drops of green food coloring to give it some color. I added the color before I added the lime juice.

1. Combine cookie or graham cracker crumbs with butter or margarine. (Also, add shredded coconut at this time, if desired.) Press into bottom and partially up sides of 9 inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
2. In a large bowl, beat with an electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, lime peel, and cornstarch until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending just until smooth. Add key lime juice with mixer on low. Finish mixing by hand. Do not overbeat, or cake will crack during baking. Pour batter into prepared crust.
3. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 to 65 minutes, or until set. To minimize cracking, place a shallow pan half full of hot water on lower rack during baking.
4. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes with the door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven. Refrigerate cake overnight, and up to three days.