Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes

This recipe was discovered on Nick's website.  However, I don't want to loose it since it is the first quinoa recipe I ever made and it was well received by both myself and my husband.  And, it falls into the category of things that my youngest can eat.

Quinoa Salad

Yield: Serves 6-8.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Cups dried quinoa, rinsed
2 large sweet potatoes, cubed and blanched (or sub 1 medium butternut or acorn squash, halfed, roasted and cubed)
1 Cup dried cranberries (you can use raisins, cherries, mango, whatever)
1 Cup pumpkin seeds (you can use sunflower seeds)
1/2 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
Juice from one lemon
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Teaspoon paprika (optional)
Salt and pepper

Cook quinoa per package instructions.  I purchase it bulk.  So, it is a two parts water to one part quinoa ratio.  All quinoa says to rinse thoroughly.  However, I do not own a strainer with small enough wholes.  I tried using a coffee filter, but that was to fine.  So, rinsing does not occur in my world for quinoa.

First, stick your sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and poke a few holes in them with a fork. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 50-60 minutes until they’re very tender.
By the way this is the same process I used for both the butternut squash and the acorn squash. Just chop them in half, poke some holes in the skin, and bake them for 50-60 minutes.
Let your potatoes cool for a few minutes after they come out of the oven and then peel and slice them into about 1/2 inch strips.  (Nick's instructions.)  Cube the strips.

Then, you mix everything together.
Mix the quinoa, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and seeds.
Mix your dressing up and pour over your quinoa mixture.  Toss to coat.  The dressing should be on the less is more side, not standing in the bottom of the bowl.

Hummus

 Spinach Salad
with Layered Greek Dip using hummus & Spiced Pita Chips.

Recipe adapted from HERE.

2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c. garbanzo beans (I cook mine in the crockpot.)
2/3 c. water
4 T lemon juice
2 T tahini
1 t. salt

Mix in blender until creamy.

 

Grilled Steak Pitas

Soooo good. Always love to see the Penzey's Catalog in the mail.

Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1-2 T Dill Weed (to taste)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced
1/2 t salt (optional, to taste)

1 1/2 lbs. skirt steak (or sandwich steak or round steak pieces pounded a bit flatter)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (juice of 2-3 lemons)
1 t Turkish oregano
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t granulated garlic powder
4 pitas, halved
2 cups arugula or soft lettuce, washed and dried
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 2 oz)
1 tomato sliced

Make the yogurt sauce first. Put the yogurt in a bowl. Rub the dill weed between your hands over the bowl, so that the dill is broken up and releases its flavor. Add the cucumber and mix well. Add salt and mix. Taste and add more Dill and salt as desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the steak, lemon juice, oregano, pepper and garlic in a zip-top bag or other closed container. Marinate for 10-30 minutes. Pre-heat grill while steak is marinating. Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the steak to desired degree of done-ness; 3-4 minutes per side over high heat is a round estimate for medium-rare. Remove from the grill and let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing. (I broiled mine in the oven 5 minutes on each side.)

While the stead is standing, fill each pita half with a few heaping spoonfuls of yogurt sauce, feta cheese, a bunch of arugula and tomato slices. Slice the steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Add steak to the pita and serve.

Nutritional Information: Servings 4; Serving Size 1 pita; Calories 590; Calories from fat 350; Total fat 38g; Cholesterol 110mg; Sodium 770mg; carbohydrate 48g; Dietary Fiber 3g; Protein 52

Roasted Eggplant, Tomato, Garlic and White Bean Spread

You have to love Penzey's!

This is a great dip or sandwich spread instead of hummus.

1 medium eggplant, cute into thick chunks, peeled (I didn't peel mine. I also had a small eggplant so I also put in a zucchini.)
1 head fresh garlic, each clove individually peeled
5-6 tomatoes on the vine, quartered and seeds removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t Kosher salt (optional)
1/3 freshly ground pepper
2 T Tuscan Sunset (I added basil and oregano instead)
1 16oz can white beans
1 t. ground Chipotle pepper
1/2 t Mexican oregano (I put regular oregano in)
2 lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the vegetables in a shallow baking dish. Add the oil, vinegar, salt, if using, and pepper to taste and the Tuscan Sunset. Toss well to coat. Carefully spread into a single layer and place the pan in the oven. Roast for 45 minutes. (You can let the mixture rest overnight in the fridge to cool or try to let it cool before putting the the food processor.)

Rinse and drain the white beans in a colander and place in a blender with two cups of the roasted vegetable mixture. The vegetables should have exuded quite a bit of liquid so make sure to include SOME of the liquid in he two cups. Blend the beans and vegetables. Add the Chipotle pepper and oregano and the juice from the lemon. Blend well and pour into a bowl. Serve with any firm cracker.

Nutritional Information:
Servings 12; Serving Size 1/2 cup; Calories 80; Calories from fat 45; total fat 5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 0 mg; Carbohydrate 8g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Protein 2g

Pea, Feta, and Crispy Prosciutto Salad

Found HERE from Real Simple.
Great summer side salad.

Ingredients
2 thin slices prosciutto (2 ounces)
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 pounds fresh peas in the pod, shelled (about 2 cups), or 2 cups frozen peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces Feta, crumbled (1⁄2 cup) (MSPI goat cheese)
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450° F. Place the prosciutto in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until beginning to darken, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool (the prosciutto will crisp as it cools), then crumble.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the peas and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes (1 to 2 minutes if frozen). Drain and rinse under cold water to cool.
3. In a large bowl, toss the peas with the oil, Feta, scallions, prosciutto, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Grilled Chicken & Fresh Salsa Wraps

Grilled Chicken & Fresh Salsa Wraps
From Favorite Brand Name 100 Best Chicken Recipes

1 bottle (12 oz) Lawry's Herb & Garlic Marinade with Lemon Juice, divided
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1 tomato, chopped
1 can (4 oz) diced mild green chilies
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp garlic salt
flour tortillas

Marinade the chicken breasts in 1 cup Herb and Garlic Marinade in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
In bowl combine tomato, green chilies, green onion, red wine vinegar, cilantro, and garlic salt; mix well. Cover and refrigerate till ready to serve.
Pull chicken out of marinade and place on baking sheet to broil or hot grill for 10-15 minutes. If grilling flip once 1/2 way through. Cut chicken into strips. Place chicken on tortillas; spoon salsa on top and wrap to enclose. Serve immediately.
Or, take the chicken, salsa, and tortillas to your favorite outdoor spot, assemble and enjoy.

The book suggests serving with black bean and corn salad, but, since we were eating it as a picnic meal with our Little Men, we just did the wraps and served with corn chips and fruit.

Southwestern Chicken Wraps

Another great recipe from Jennifer!
* 3/4 cup sour cream
* 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped green chiles
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* Chili Powder
* 4 sandwich wraps, (10 inches each)
* baby spinach
* shredded cooked chicken
* black beans, drained and rinsed
* tomato, thinly sliced
* red onion, thinly sliced
* avocado, thinly sliced

1. In a bowl, whisk together sour cream, green chiles, and lime juice; season with salt and pepper and chili powder.(Or you can mix some salsa verde in with the sour cream)
2. Spread sandwich wraps with sour-cream sauce, leaving a 2-inch border. In center of wraps, layer equal amounts of baby spinach, shredded chicken, black beans, tomato, onion, and avocado. For each wrap, fold two sides of wrap over filling, then roll tightly, ending seam side down.

Jennifer's Sandwich

This is directly pasted from the email with the recipe that Jennifer sent me. I love this recipe for a picnic lunch!!!
____________________________________________
It is based off of a Julia Child's recipe, but I think the method
could be adapted to making any kind of large sandwiches to cut and
serve a big group of people.

For the vinaigrette:
1 shallot, minced
1 anchovy fillet, minced
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 round of Focaccia* or other round loaf
Extra-virgin olive oil
About 6 leaves red-leaf lettuce, washed and dried
8 oz fresh mozzarella, in 1/4" thick flat slices
3/4 c black olives, chopped
sliced turkey, salami or other deli meat

Equipment
plastic wrap
2 cookie sheets
Heavy pan or other weighty items for pressing the sandwich

To make the vinaigrette, mix the shallot, anchovy and vinegar in a
small bowl, and gradually whisk in the oil with a fork. Season with
salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the bread horizontally into even top and bottom layers. Turn the
top over, then drizzle olive oil all over the cut sides of both
layers, using 2 or 3 Tbs of oil on each.

Make layers of all the filling ingredients. First, completely cover
the sandwich bottom with 5 or 6 lettuce leaves, then arrange the
slices of mozzarella on top. Scatter the chopped olives and cover with
the tomato slices in a single layer.

Spoon about half the vinaigrette over the tomatoes, then distribute
deli meat evenly. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette all over the
filling. Finally, replace the top layer of the bread to close the
sandwich.

Wrap the sandwich well with several layers of plastic wrap and place
on a cookie sheet or pizza pan or tray. Lay another tray on top of the
sandwich and center some heavy items to press and flatten the loaf (a
heavy pan and a 5-lb bag of sugar, for example).

Place the weighted sandwich in the refrigerator for at least a couple
of hours or overnight. Before serving, remove the weight, unwrap the
compressed sandwich, and let it come to room temperature. Cut into
serving-size wedges or, as an hors d'oeuvre cut in thin parallel
slices, and again into short, bite-size lengths. 1 large sandwich
makes 8 large wedges or 24-hors-d'oeuvre-size pieces.

Notes:
*You don't want there to be too much bread, so a high round loaf is
not ideal, the flat of focaccia works best

The original recipe is from Julia Child's show Julia and Jacques:
Cooking at Home on PBS Create. The recipe called for using Brie
instead of mozzarella and distributing anchovy fillets over the
sandwich instead of deli meat, I've also heard of making the sandwich
with tuna.

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salsa / Salad

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 5 ears)
(We sautéed frozen corn in a skillet with some olive oil.)
1 1/2 cups diced avocado (1/2-inch pieces)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

2. Add the corn, avocado, tomatoes, and onion and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature. Serves 4 to 6.

I served with quesadillas like a chunky salsa but it can be served as a salad as well.

Creamy Shrimp Rolls

¼ cup mayonnaise
1 T fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and pepper
1 ½ lbs cooked medium shrimp, cut in half cross wise
2 stalks celery, chopped
¼ cup sliced chives (optional)
4 hot dog buns
1 small head butter lettuce, torn into pieces
1 5 oz bag potato chips
In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Fold in the shrimp, celery, and chives, if desired. Line the buns with the lettuce and fill with the shrimp mixture. Serve with the potato chips.

Prosciutto and roasted red pepper sandwiches

1 baguette
2 T Dijon mustard
4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto or salami
4 oz Asiago, Parmesan, or some other hard cheese, sliced
1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, halved

Slice the baguette in half horizontally. Spread the bottom half with
the mustard and layer with the prosciutto, cheese, and red peppers.
Sandwich with the top of the bread and cut crosswise into 4
sandwiches.

Roast beef and Cheddar roll-ups

4oz cream cheese, softened
2 T prepared horseradish
4 large flour tortillas
1 head romaine lettuce, tough ribs removed (I use spinach)
8oz thinly sliced deli roast beef
4 oz Cheddar, thinly sliced

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and horseradish. Spread
evenly over each tortilla.

Layer the tortillas with the lettuce, roast beef, and Cheddar and roll up.

Turkey Panini with Onion-Cranberry marmalade

This is outrageously good. Don't be deterred by the weird ingredients. (For Two People)

4 slices multi grain bread
oil
4 slices (1/2 oz each) Havarti cheese
4 oz thinly sliced deli mesquite turkey (6 slices)
Onion-Cranberry marmalade (see below)1/4 small Granny Smith apple, cut into eight thin slices

Onion-Cranberry Marmalade: Pour 2 T hot water over 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries in bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 t oil in pan over medium heat; add 1 cup thinly sliced onion. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until onion softens and begins to caramelize. Add 2 T cider vinegar; stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of pan. Add 2 T orange marmalade, cranberries and any liquid from soaking. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

1. Lightly spray one side of bread slices with oil; arrange bread, oil side down, on cutting board. Top two bread slices with half of the cheese, turkey, marmalade and apple slices. Top with remaining cheese and bread slices oil side up.

2. Heat fry pan/grill/George Foreman grill (we used this, worked great!) over medium-low heat five minutes. Put top on grill and press (or press down in pan). Cook 3-4 minutes or until grill marks appear and cheese is melted. Turning once.

Blackberry limeade

6 cups water, divided
3 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
8 thin lime slices
Fresh blackberries (optional)

Place 1 cup water and 3 cups blackberries in a blender; process until
smooth. Press blackberry puree through a sieve into a large pitcher;
discard seeds. Add remaining 5 cups water, sugar, and juice to
pitcher, stir until sugar dissolves. Place 1 lime slice and a few
blackberries, if desired, into each of 8 glasses; pour about 1 cup
limeade over each serving.

Seven Layer Southwestern Salad

¾ cups sour cream
1 ½ cups thick and chunky salsa
1 can black soy beans
1 can canelinni beans (or Great Northern beans)
1 large green bell pepper, diced
grape tomatoes
spinach
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or Pepper Jack)
Blue corn chips

Mix sour cream and salsa.

Drain and rinse beans.

Layer beans, bell pepper, tomatoes, and spinach. Top with sour cream/ salsa mix and cheese. Eat with blue corn chips.

(Add cooked chicken if desired.)

Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad

4-6 cups chopped chicken cooked with parsley, onion, and a little
vegetable oil
3 cups color spiral pasta--follow cooking directions for pasta--cool
2 stalks celery diced
6 green onions chopped--including the green
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1 package craisins
2 cups whole cashews

Dressing:
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Combine dressing ingredients and toss with the rest saving the cashews
to put on salad immediately before serving so they don't get soggy.
(Although, it is better if they have been on a little while so they get
soft and absorb some of the dressing.)

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

Chop 3-4 cups Veggies
Dressing:
½ cup Mayo
1/3 cup Oil
¼ cup Vinegar
1 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Pepper
2 Tbsp. Sugar
½ package Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Mix (In salad dressing aisle)

Mix dressing well and pour over veggies. Let sit over-night in refrigerator

Chicken Salad with Figs and Prosciutto

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can (14 oz) no-fat, low sodium chicken broth
4 handful hazelnuts
4 oz mixed baby salad greens (a couple handfuls, from the bulk bin in the produce department)
6 fresh figs, trimmed and quartered, or 8 dried figs, reconstituted by simmering in water for 10 minutes, then draining and halving
1/4 lb prosciutto di Parma, sliced thin at the deli, then cut into short, wide strips, working across the slices of prosciutto
1 t currant or seedless blackberry jam or all-fruit spread
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
A splash balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Place chicken in a skillet and cover with broth. Place skillet over high heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 12 minutes to poach chicken through. Drain and let stand at room temperature.

While chicken is cooking, toast hazelnuts in a cake pan or on a cookie sheet in over until golden brown. Pour nuts onto a slightly damp towel and rub off skins. Transfer nuts to a plastic bag and give them a whack with a blunt instrument to break them up a bit.

Chunk the chicken. Combine in a shallow bowl with greens, figs, and prosciutto. Mix jam, olive oil, and vinegar with a fork. Drizzle over the salad and lightly toss the coat. Sprinkle with nuts and black pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Blue cheese potato salad

4 slices bacon
2 lbs red new potatoes
½ c olive oil
2 T white vinegar
1 bunch green onions, chopped
½ t salt
1 t ground black pepper
1 ½ oz blue cheese, crumbled

Place bacon in large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop, leaving skins on. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, green onions, salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, bacon and cheese and toss to coat.

Green Bean Salad

4 cans. whole green beans
1/2 cup mayonnaise (sometimes I use Plain yogurt)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 small package hidden Valley Ranch Salad dressing (dry)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 Tablespoon dill weed

Refrigerate 12 hours