Baked cod and 3 grain vegetable feta salad

Here's another post to prove I'm the worst food photographer ever.  This was our dinner tonight and it was quite delicious.  Or so I thought, and Kristian liked it as well.  I've really got to get better at taking the pictures because everytime I look at one, it is so unappealing.  It really was good.  I also served it with pita bread left over from last night.  
I used 3 cod filets and it was enough for my family.  More than enough if you ask the children. 


For the baked cod:
3 cod fillets (or white fish of choice)
 6 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 a lemon, juiced, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
 1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt and fresh black  pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a large baking pan with parchment paper and place fish on it.
In a medium bowl whisk together the butter, lemon, mustard, parsley, dill and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the sauce between fish. top evenly
Bake for 15-16 minutes depending on the size of the fish, Then broil for 1-2 minutes or until top turns golden, checking every 20 seconds. Serve immediately with additional lemon.

Beware of overcooking.  Cod is very easy to overcook.  Probably any fish, but you know... be aware.

FOr the 3 grain salad:
http://naturallyella.com/2014/07/01/three-grain-grilled-vegetable-and-feta-salad/

For the grain salad, beware of overcooking the grains.  They will get mushy and that's not nearly as appetizing. 

The theme in this post seems to be don't overcook.  I totally overcooked everything in case you hadn't guessed.  Also, I went to 4 different stores today to find sorghum (which I had never before heard of but suddenly had to have).  I tried Winco, Trader Joe's (where my pronunciation was corrected.  It's Sore-gum, not sour-gum), Natural Grocers and finally found it at LifeSource where I pronounced it like a pro.  It was delicious.  The cook time on it is longer than the other grains, but it held it's shape and texture well and I liked it.  I will try it again in other things.  I don't know what, so don't ask me. 

I should have posted this as two separate posts because it's two different recipes.  Well, really a recipe and a link.  Anyway, I didn't, so...

These recipes can also be found on my healthy habits pinterest board. 

Spinach Tomato Orzo Pasta

I made this last night to go with our chicken. It was delightful. I used Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian for the dressing (it has no artificial gunk). This afternoon, I decided to try it with Quinoa for my lunch and after adding a bit of the dressing (say 2 tbsp?) to the quinoa after it was cooked I had a delicious one-pot lunch. http://cookingwithruthie.com/2013/08/16/spinach-tomato-orzo-pasta/

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.

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!

One pan mexican quinoa

I made this for dinner tonight.  It's basically quinoa, tomatoes, corn, black beans, and some spices all thrown into a pan and cooked for 20 minutes with some veggie broth (I used water cause I didn't have any veggie broth).  It was super fast and easy and I'm on a quinoa kick.  After it's all done cooking you are supposed to mix in the juice of one lime a chopped avocado and some chopped cilantro.  I mixed in the lime juice, but decided to put the avocado and cilantro on top for the sake of presentation.  It tends to make a difference in terms of how my husband and children think of the food.  The kids were surprised to find they like it.  I was also surprised to find I like it, cause in the end it was just a big pan of mush and didn't look too appetizing.  The avocado and cilantro make a big difference. 

It was yummy, I will put it into my recipe box.  This is Kristian's.  It's still on the table cause he probably won't be home till 9:30ish.  I think it will be fine cold.  I never think to take a picture before I eat it, so his absence is the only reason there is a picture.  I'm trying to remember

Another reason I like this one is that I almost always have the ingredients for it laying around, so it's a good go to if I didn't plan anything. 

I was thinking this could also be a good one to make and freeze in individual portions to be thawed the night before for lunches.  Minus the avocado and cilantro of course.  You'd want to add those fresh.  it may also just turn into a pile of mush.  I don't know.

One Pan Mexican Quinoa

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Wonderfully light, healthy and nutritious. And it's so easy to make - even the quinoa is cooked right in the pan!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapenos, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
• Serve immediately.

quinoa salad with cilantro lime dressing

Tonight I made quinoa salad with a cilantro lime dressing.  I topped it with avocado, tomato and some chicken.  This is Kristian's plate.  Most of us did not have that much chicken.  It was super good.  I really loved it.  I've made this one before and you can do all sorts of add ins.  Corn would be good in here too, though, you know, very little nutritional value.  This is a protein packed meal with the quinoa, black beans, avocado and chicken pack a punch that doesn't feel super heavy when you eat it, but stays with you a long time. 

There's a trick to quinoa, I have learned.  If it is not well rinsed before you cook it, it will have a very bitter flavor.  I put mine in a bowl, fill it with water and rub it between my hands several times, drain and repeat.  If you wash it well, it will not have any bitter flavor at all.  The kids ate this one pretty well with minimal complaints, but the only meal they don't whine about is rice bowls, so....

Anyway, I can't find my original recipe.  I deleted it for some reason, but I posted a similar one on my healthy habits pinterest board.  This one is definitely a keeper. You could also just do the beans and quinoa ahead of time and add what you want later for a fast prep lunch.  Hey, I'm totally going to do that.