quinoa stuffed squash

Today I was given these beautiful crookneck squash by my dear sister-in-law's grandmother.  They were the inspiration for dinner tonight (my children were not pleased).  Get ready people, you are in for a treat.  My first attempt to write my own recipe.

Things you will need (AKA stuff I had on hand):
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 bullion cube (I used chicken, but veggie would be good too)
3 crookneck squash (other squash would probably work fine too, though you'd need more than 3)
1 large onion
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup minced fresh basil (or other herbs of your choosing)
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast (or Parmesan if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 Italian vegetarian sausage links (or regular sausage or no sausage at all!)
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Bring 2 cups water and bullion to a boil, add quinoa, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes (or throw it all in the rice cooker, works like a charm).

While the quinoa is cooking, slice your squash in half and scrape out all the insides.  Give the seeds and stringy stuff to the chickens, or compost it, or whatever you like to do with that stuff.  Scrape out as much of the rest of the inside of the gourd as you can, reserving it to go back in the middle.  If it's excessively wet, set it on a paper towel to absorb some of that moisture. 

Set the shells of your beautiful squash plants face up on a baking sheet and drizzle them with oil and sprinkle them with a little sea salt, or kosher salt, or whatever kind of salt you have laying around. 

In a large saute pan, cook diced onion in a little olive oil over medium high heat for about  5 minutes or until it starts to brown.  While your onion is cooking dice up that scraped out squash into bite size pieces.  Take the casing off the sausage and chop it up as well. Add the squash and the tomatoes to the pan to cook with the onions.  Turn heat down to medium and cook five minutes more.  Please note that the sausage I used was vegetarian, if you are using regular sausage, make sure it is mostly cooked through. 

When your quinoa is done cooking add it to the saute pan with the nutritional yeast (or parmesan), fresh herbs and white wine vinegar.  Stir to combine.  Season to taste with salt (and anything else you might want to throw in there.  Heat through.  Scoop mixture into your hollowed out gourd shells.  Pile em high.  Mine looked like this.

I wish I had scraped those gourds a little more.  I ended up cutting out some of the squash after I cooked it to eat.  The outside was woody and not very chewable (which didn't stop me from trying to eat it), but the inside was delicious.  Also, I can't figure out how to rotate that picture. 

OK, cover those bad boys with foil and bake them for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and give em another 10 minutes in the oven. 

Here's my finish product.

Ooooh, yeeeah.  Scrumptious.
The hubs and all the kids except Solveig liked it.  The baby screamed through the whole meal, which I took to mean he really wanted some too.

whole wheat waffles and pancakes

I made these for breakfast yesterday and was pleasantly surprised.  I used whole wheat pastry flour for the first time.  Pastry flour is typically made from a softer variety of wheat.  It is more finely milled and has the added bonus of being lower in gluten.  I think the flavor of whole wheat flour can be pretty pronounced and not everyone enjoys it.  I found the pastry flour to have a much milder flavor, and thus it was not rejected out of hand by my children who grow somewhat pickier every day. Overall the waffles were a big hit.  We sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on them or topped them with strawberry jam.  They were also really good just plain.  They are pretty quick and easy to whip up and I think they will find a place in my breakfast rotation. 

Give 'em a go.  I think you will be surprised.

Here's a link, and as always the recipe can be found on my healthy habits pinterest board as well.

http://www.thenakedkitchen.com/whole-grain-waffles-and-pancakes/

 (Side note: I found my whole wheat pastry flour in the bulk foods bins at Winco)

honey whole wheat bread

I tried a new bread recipe yesterday.  I'm always on the lookout for good bread, but I haven't tried a new one in a while.  This one is a copycat of great Harvest's Honey Whole Wheat, which I love.  It turned out pretty good.  It was warm outside (and inside) yesterday and the dough rose too fast making my bread a little too crumbly, but still good.  I'm going to try it again today and use about half the yeast and let it rise longer if necessary.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

The recipe is on my healthy habits pinterest board, but here's a link.

http://www.eatcakefordinner.net/2012/02/great-harvest-honey-whole-wheat-bread.html

One of these days, time permitting I will write my own recipes.  I've got good stuff up here in my brain and I'm afraid it will all leak out before I can take the time to write it down. 

**UPDATE**
I made this one again yesterday.  I decreased the yeast from 1.5 Tablespoons to just one tablespoon.  It still rose a little too quickly leaving pockets larger than I would like in the middle of the loaf.  I think next time I try it, I will decrease it even more. 

Such good bread though.  My favorite thing is that I can knead it in the stand mixer.  I hate kneading bread by hand. 

real pitas stuffed with chicken avacado salad

I once again apologize for my less than appetizing photography.  It's just not my strong point. 

These  were so good.  I was so excited to make pita bread with flour after my gluten free attempt.  It went so well and I couldn't believe how easy it was.  Super easy.  I say that and then you will read my recipe and probably think it doesn't sound easy at all, but please try it.  It is really easy and they are so good.  I used whole wheat flour in these, though of course you could use white flour.  They are stuffed with a chicken avocado salad which was so fast and easy and also super good.  This will definitely become a regular.  I wish I had some alfalfa or lentil sprouts to shove in there for a little crunch.  Maybe some lettuce would have been good.

Experiment with these and let me know what you come up with and what you put in there.  I'm serious, make these, they are worth the effort. 

Both of these recipes can be found on my healthy habits pinterest board and I am going to attempt to attach a link as I have seen Genny do. 

avocado chicken salad - http://bakersblessings.blogspot.com/2013/07/avocado-chicken-salad-no-mayo.html

pita bread - http://bakersblessings.blogspot.com/2013/07/avocado-chicken-salad-no-mayo.html

there, I hope that works out for you.

Almond butter Protein Balls

I made these for the first time yesterday. I really liked them and so do the two younger girls. As I am not a huge meat eater I am always looking for good ways to get more protein into my diet. I would highly reccomend this recipe. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/85568461644685490/ I made a few changes, partially out of necessity and partially out of desire. Instead of doing all almond butter I substituted half with peanut butter. This was the necessity as I did not have ough almond butter The deired change came in the form of adding granola to the finished product. I really liked this because it added more texture. I think these will become a staple in our house.

You Are What You Eat

Overall I have been doing well following my clean diet. I have eliminated a lot of the sugar and nearly all the artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. I have been feeling pretty good, but did not actually take much notice of that until this past weekend. Zach and the girls went out of town Friday night so I treated myself to dinner at Panera. I had salad and soup-not bad. The next morning however, I decided to treat myself again, but this time I got hot chocolate and a croissant from Java Crew. I felt sick all morning. I have been used to things like steel cut oats, chia pudding, or in a rush a glass of milk for breakfast. Not sugar loaded drinks and baked treats! I did better the rest of the day. But then Sunday rolled around and I was not home. We visited friends and I gorged myself of pizza and birthday cake. When I got home, I was still hungry (I can't imagine why?!?) so I ate some m&m's. Yes, this was a day of one bad choice after another. When I woke up on Monday morning, I hurt all over. My lower back and legs were especially sore. My stomach hurt and I was cranky. My thoughts were completely disorganized, I had no patience and was just generally moody. I ate clean all day yesterday, hiked around silver falls and today feel about 100% better. It is sad that it took feeling awful to realize that I had been feeling good, but I was grateful for the eye opening experience.

gluten free pitas

I realize this recipe probably appeals to no one but myself, but as I'm chronicling my adventures into ingredient deprived food world, here it is anyway.  By the way, side note.  Depriving oneself of the bad stuff for long enough eventually makes the good stuff taste really good and the cravings for the not so good, lessen and eventually go away altogether (except chocolate, why won't that one go away?) 

Anyway, this recipe.  Let me tell you that originally my pitas were going to be much bigger and more delicious and I was going to stuff them with a chicken avocado salad I planned to make.  My pitas turned out considerably smaller than I thought they would (what?  I thought they would grow in the oven, it happens) and there just weren't enough to make for dinner.  So, I ended up stuffing them with the chipotle black bean hummus I made earlier this week and the lentil sprouts I've been sprouting all week.  My kids loved the pita bread itself and Laila ate two of them with hummus in them, but no one was brave enough to eat the sprouts, not even Kristian.  I loved the sprouts in there.  I thought they were so yummy.  The whole combination was a win win in my book.  My pitas didn't ever puff the way they should and I think my using home made unstrained almond milk was a little too heavy for them.   I used gluten free flour from trader Joe's.  If you are just using regular flour, you could omit the xanthan gum.  This recipe is also on my Healthy habits pinterest board.



Gluten-free Pita
MAKES 8 TO 10 PITAS, depending upon size
Ingredients
3 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, divided
2 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons canola (or vegetable) oil, plus more
2 1/2 cups warm milk, about 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (low-fat is fine, non-fat is not)(nondairy is fine provided it has some fat)
Baking & Preparation Notes:
*Please pretty please read through the whole recipe before you begin. We’re all very excited, but we.must.remain.calm. Deep breath. Read on.
*These directions assume a stand mixer. If you do not have one do not despair. Use a large bowl and a spoon, and just do your best stand mixer impression. You can also use a food processor.
*You will need some sort of hole-y (not necessarily holy (but who am I to judge?), just with lots of holes) surface upon which to bake the pitas. You need lots of air circulating around them to get them to fill with steam. I use a pizza crisper. For pizza, I use a pizza stone, but it doesn’t work for pitas. It looks like this. Anything oven-safe up to about 500 degrees F that has lots of holes in it will do, though.
*You need a screaming hot oven. And NO PEEKING. It’s kinda like a souffle. It’s modest. No peekaboo. You’ll ruin everything.
*Here’s the biggest secret of all: You don’t need every single pita to puff all the way through. The essential feature is that the pita be cooked until a tiny bit crusty on the outside, and kinda fluffy on the inside. If you get that far, and it puffs on at least part, you can let the pita cool a bit, slice it in half through the center, and slide a knife (horizontally and with care) through the center to free the pocket. Free the pockets! Free all the pockets!
*Ideally, when shaping the dough, you’re going for a seamless, airless form. You have to squeeze out all the air pockets that were created by the yeast. It seems like madness, since you just let the dough rise. Seriously? Humor me on this. ;)
*No rolling pins allowed. Just alternating flour and oil, finger tips, and turn turn turn to every season turn turn turn. You’ll see.
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place 3 cups of flour and the xanthan gum, along with the salt, and mix to combine well. Add the yeast and sugar, then the oil, mixing well to combine after each addition.
2. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk in a slow pour. The dough should begin to come together. Continue adding the milk until it’s all in there, baby.
3. Now comes the part where it would be super-helpful if I had a picture for you of the dough as it begins to take shape. But I don’t. And I feel real bad about that. So I’ll paint you a picture: Add enough additional flour so that the dough is thick and kinda creamy looking – not dry, and not really sticky, but tacky (not like it’s poorly dressed, but like if you touch it some of it sticks to your finger).
4. Dump the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over a few times to coat with oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, humid place for about an hour, or until nearly doubled in size.
5. Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 475 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface (if you have a silicone mat, this would be a great time to break it out). Divide the dough into 8 to 10 pieces, roll each in the flour on the mat, pick one to work with first, & let’s get the initiation over with, shall we?
6. For each ball of dough, begin to flatten it (& squeeze out the air) with the heel of your hand, staying away from the edges, taking care not to make it too thin and sprinkling flour on sticky spots. Using floured fingertips, press the dough toward the edges (without pressing down the edges). Keep the form relatively small, no more than about 6 inches. Rotate the round of dough on the floured surface, and flip it frequently. As the dough begins to resemble a round, continue pressing toward the edges with your fingertips, and press back toward the center of the round with the side of your other hand, rotating and flipping the dough as you go. If this sounds confusing, go back and read this paragraph again, keeping in mind that we’re trying to create a seamless piece of dough with integrated sides. If you have added too much flour at any point, drizzle in some canola (or vegetable) oil. And don’t be afraid to oil up a piece of dough and start again. It’s more forgiving than you think. If you see any concerning spots, try to seal them up with either flour or oil, depending upon what the issues seems to be.
7. Place only as many pita-to-be rounds on your pizza crisper as can fit without touching. Stepping lively, place the crisper in the preheated oven and shut the door right quick. Bake for between 5 and 8 minutes, taking care not to allow the pita to burn (it will be crunchy and very hard to work with). Watch in amazement.
Remember – if not every pita pops, don’t.worry.about.a.thing. Don’t get discouraged. If one pita doesn’t work, pull it out before it burns, call it Naan, and keep on keepin’ on.
Cut pitas in half, gently slice open the more reluctant ones,

Apple cinnamon quinoa bites

I finally made the apple cinnamon quinoa bites I've been trying to get around to all week.  They turned out pretty good.  You can definitely taste the quinoa, and it throws off the flavor a little bit, but I still enjoyed them.  The rest of my family, not so much.  I'm getting used to this reaction.  Soren said he liked them at first, then he ate another one and changed his mind.  Same with Laila.  Solveig said she liked them but didn't want one and Kristian said he could definitely taste the quinoa.  I think next time I make them (oh yes, I will make them again), I'm going to grate my apple up instead of chopping it.  Other than that, pretty delicious. 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 cup chopped apples (I used macintosh, but any type should work nicely)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, add your cooked quinoa and quick oats. In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine your cinnamon, nutmeg and sugars and then add the spice mixture to the quinoa and oats. Then add the maple syrup, apples and eggs and mix until just combined.

3) Spray your mini muffin pan (24 count) with non-stick cooking spray. Make sure to spray the top of the pan as well. The quinoa bites will overflow out of the cup a little bit, so you don't want the tops to stick.

4) Fill each muffin slot with 1 tablespoon of the mixture and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Serve warm!