Quinoa Risotto

Clearly not a true risotto, this quick and healthy side dish substitutes the traditional Arborio rice for the fast-cooking grain, Quinoa.  

This small, high protein, high fiber grain cooks quickly in chicken broth flavoured with lemon, thyme and garlic.  To recreate risotto's familiar creamy texture, cheese is stirred in during the final moments of cooking!

I purchase quinoa at my local supermarket - the brand I buy is the President's Choice Organics brand from Super Store.  I find this brand cooks well - with all the liquid absorbed, and the quinoa maintaining an aldente texture - but you can substitute any brand you wish - even the black or red varieties for interest - just adjust the cooking time if needed.

The entire box of quinoa contains roughly 1 1/3 cups dried quinoa but I had used about 1/3 cup in another recipe so I used the remaining 1 cup here.  I used all the liquid required by the instructions however to further replicate risotto's 'looser' texture.  If you have a full package use that and add about 1/2 cup additional cooking liquid.

I've also used coconut oil to start the recipe here.  Coconut oil has many health benefits but you can use olive oil or butter instead if you wish!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

A quick and easy way to jazz up plain mashed potatoes. There's no limit to what you can add to yours. Pretty much any cheese will work, I've added sharp cheddar here. Then add bacon, diced onion and whatever else you like to your potatoes. These make a great side dish or meal on their own!

Spiced Vegetable Quinoa with Vegetables

Did you know Quinoa, a seudo grain native to South America, is a relative of spinach, beets and the tumbleweed? Its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice, and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods. It is a good source of dietary fiber (7g per serving) and phosphorus and is high inmagnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. (from Wikipedia).

Quinoa is very easy to cook, it takes only 15 minutes which is basically the same amount of time as white rice, with many more health benefits! It's also very versatile, like rice, and can be served hot or cold!

I served this quick and easy spiced quinoa with broiled salmon, but it would do just as well with pretty much anything or even on its own!

Chicken Fingers

Ok, not exactly a very healthy recipe...so put aside your New Years Resolutions for a bit and make some chicken fingers! (If you need some more convincing, Shaun calls these the BEST chicken fingers he's ever had...but maybe he's just buttering me up...make them and decide!)

**Note -- If you really don't want to pan fry these you could likely spritz them with non stick spray and bake them, they won't taste quite the same but I bet they'd still be good!

Easy Mushroom Risotto

I searched the web for an easy risotto recipe and was confronted with similar yet slightly differring instructions. The recipes called for anywhere from 6-10 cups of stock....1-2 cups of rice....cheese and vegetables in the rice, vegetables in the stock....all with different cooking times...what to do but experiment! With delicious results!

Note - Due to differing liquid amounts I found when searching for recipes online, I prepped 10 cups of liquid for 1 cup of Arborio rice.  I used nearly all 10 cups, freezing the rest for another use.

Spaghetti with Lemon and Anchovy

Don't worry, this isn't fishy! The anchovy paste adds a salty richness to the pasta sauce. Anchovy paste is also a great addition to a basic fresh tomato sauce for the same reason.

Butter Basted Baby Carrots

I was lucky enough to find these multicoloured baby carrots at this farmers market this weekend.  Sweet and tender in purple and orange.  These are so fast and easy to cook and they require little prep - I don't even peel them before tossing them in a hot frying pan with a little butter.  No brown sugar glaze required here, these baby's are super sweet and tasty.  If you can find them, snatch them up - they are great like this, served raw in crudités or salad or simply blanched - a great early summer treat.

Twice Baked, Stuffed Baked Potatoes

What follows isn't exactly a recipe and you really don't need one to make these just start with baking potatoes....now, if you can avoid the 2 pound, 5" monsters Shaun picked out at the grocery store (I pause to note that I did ask him to choose the smallest potatoes he could find from the bin and this is what we got) you won't have to bake them as long as I had to...these bad boys took an hour and a half!

Stuffed with cheese, yogurt, onion and bacon - crispy skin on the outside and creamy mashed potato within, what could be better than this!

Peas, Pesto and Pasta

The basil plants on the balcony are going a bit crazy. I've been plucking off their flowers and have been rewarded with an abundance of leaves! I really love pesto in moderation but there is something very strong about the bottled stuff and on a bowl of pasta I find it over whelming so I thought I'd try making my own with basil, lemon, parmesan and of course garlic!

I used substantially less oil than traditional pesto in this recipe.  I have also added a few tbsp of vegetable broth to the mixture to make up for the lack of oil.  If you prefer a more traditional consistency, feel free to up to oil amount as you blend.

This recipe makes enough pesto for one generous plate of pasta for one as a meal, however, you could easily serve this as a side dish with a light protein like fish or chicken if you wish!

Grilled Flank Steak Tacos with Spiced Tomato Rice, Fresh Guacamole and Home made Flour Tortillas

This meal has made the top ten best things we've eaten at home...(don't ask me what else is on that list cause I can't tell you...ha ha) but this was just divine We have never cooked a flank steak before and wasn't sure where to begin...the only thing I knew was to 'cut it across the grain' after cooking to ensure it would be tender (and tender it was!), juicy, flavourful. We could have eaten the whole thing...but restrained ourselves...just barely.

We wrapped out grilled steak in home made tortillas with spicy tomato rice and guacamole, but this steak would be great with a big heap of garlic mashed potatoes or in a sandwich too. I can just as easily see this piled on a crusty roll with provolone cheese and grilled onions!

Spicy Tomato Rice

Shaun makes this spicy tomato rice as a side dish all on its own or as a filling for chicken enchilada or burritos.  It comes together quickly and is easily adapted to any seasoning you may like to use!  Shaun uses a cajun seasoning blend here but you can use any pre-mixed seasoning mix you like.

Add cooked sausage, chicken, or pork for a complete meal!

Macaroni and Cheese

Almost as fast as the box!  Use any cheese you like in this quick and easy version of a family favourite!  I chose cheddar and mozzarella as it's what I had on hand but you can really use whatever you like from velveeta to fontina and gruyere.  You can up the spicing as well, this can be a very basic starting point if you wish - add worcestershire, dry mustard, hot sauce.  Top it with panko or seasoned bread crumbs and put it under the broiler to crisp - anything you wish really or make it just as is for rich, creamy, plain old good, mac and cheese.