Tuna Quinoa Cakes

As mentioned in my previous post, I made these the same time I made the Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers. Both contain sweet potatoes and quinoa, so it was easy to prep and make them together. It was nice to only have to heat up the oven once in this summer heat, too!

The original recipe and photos can be found here, my alterations are below:

1 medium sweet potato, cooked and mashed
2 cans tuna, drained (I use white albacore in water)
3/4 cup quinoa, pre-cooked
1/4 cup onion, chopped (I used yellow, you could use green)
 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg. beaten
1/4 cup low fat sour cream (could use Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, etc.)
1 tsp yellow mustard
dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Mash the sweet potato in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well.

Form into 6 cakes and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a 400° oven for about 20 minutes, flipping once.

Each cake is 199 calories, 27g carbs, 4g fat, and 14g protein.

In the future, I might put more onions or celery in these. They were a little one-note in the texture department. They reheat well in the toaster oven and I enjoyed mine with a sprinkling of low sodium soy sauce over top!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

I pinned these from Debbi Does Dinner Healthy, and made them the same time as another recipe, Tuna Quinoa Cakes, that I'll share next. Both have sweet potato and quinoa, so it was easy to prep and make them together. It's been busy around here, so I'll take a little convenience where I can.

The original recipe and photos can be found here. My version is below:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium sweet potato, mashed
1/4 cup corn (I used frozen)
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup quinoa, pre-cooked
3 Tbsp oats
1 Tbsp cumin
dash of cayenne

Remove the skin from the sweet potato and place in a medium sized mixing bowl. Drain and rinse the can of black beans, and add half to the sweet potato. Using a stick blender, mix them together, until they form a play-dough like consistency. Add the remainder of the black beans and the rest of the ingredients, using the back of a spoon to incorporate everything and slightly mash the whole beans.

Heat the oven to 375° and grease a baking sheet. Form the mixture into small patties and place on the sheet. Pop into the oven for ~30 minutes, flipping once.

I formed mine into 9 patties. Each were 92 calories, 17g carbs, negligible fat, and 4g protein.  

I brought some of these to work to heat up for dinner with some frozen peas, and they reheated nicely. They had a bit of a kick and were full of flavor. I'm not sure I'd like them on a bun, it might be a little dry, but on their own, they were good. Debbi served hers with a big dollop of guacamole on top!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Don't adjust your computer screens. This really is a new recipe with photos being posted to my blog.

It's been a long, long time, hasn't it!?

But I am so happy to have a kitchen. My pots and pans. A reliable stove/oven. My utensils. My gadgets. And a fridge that doesn't freeze everything. It all makes cooking so much easier and FUN!

I had company visit for Easter break, and while here, we went to our local fruit stand. My God daughter fell in love with teeny bell peppers, so I let her pick out a few so I could stuff them. She liked the yellow ones, so that's what we went with- feel free to use your color of choice.

3 cups cooked quinoa
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 head of broccoli
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
~1 cup frozen spinach
salt, pepper, Italian seasoning to taste
5-8 bell peppers (depending on size, mine were very small lemon-sized ones)

Begin by cooking the quinoa. I cooked mine in vegetable broth. While this is simmering away, prepare the rest of the vegetables by cleaning, chopping, and adding together in a large mixing bowl. Add the beans and the quinoa, stirring everything until combined. Season with salt and pepper, adjusting to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Half and gut the bell peppers, placing in a large baking dish. Scoop heaping spoonfuls of the filling into each pepper, finishing with a generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

Cover the dish with foil and bake approximately 30 minutes, until peppers and vegetables are tender. Reheats well. Also tasty at room temperature!




(Please excuse the photos, I didn't realize until I uploaded them that I changed my camera settings to take small format photos, instead of the usual high resolution ones.)

So, what has everybody been up to!? I try to check in on your blogs, but did I miss anything IMPORTANT you want to tell me about!?

Broccoli Cheese Quinoa

This was inspired wholeheartedly by Laura's broccoli cheese quinoa, posted earlier this summer. I bookmarked it until I had the time and kitchen to make it myself.

That time has finally come.

I kept mine really simple and strictly broccoli and cheese. Hers is a lot more inspired. This is one of those dishes you can add to based on your personal preferences.

Two of my favorite little girls, my God daughter and her sister are visiting. I gave them a vote of taco night or broccoli and cheese with a special new food said KEEN-WAH! Surprisingly, it was a unanimous vote against taco night! I didn't mind, though because I really wanted to try this!

2 cups quinoa
4 cups vegetable broth
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 heads broccoli, washed and cut into florets

In a large pot I cooked the quinoa and vegetable broth. Alongside, in a separate pot I steamed the broccoli.

When the quinoa had just a minute or two left, I stirred in 1 cup of the cheese, until fully melted and replaced the lid.

Drain the broccoli of any residual moisture from steaming and dump in the big pot. Fold everything together until incorporated.

Serve sprinkled with the additional cheese. Serves ~6 adults a dinner sized portion.

Yum, this was so good. All of us "big people" had two servings. I also served roasted buttercup squash alongside for more bulk to the meal.

Thankfully there's lots of leftovers for lunch today! I can't wait to dig into them!

Vegetable and Quinoa Bake

I've been turning to my health cookbooks more and more lately for inspiration. This Healthy Heart Cookbook had a recipe for a rice and broccoli bake. I thought it sounded like a really good idea, so I took it and ran with it. I changed the rice to quinoa, added way, way, wayyy more veggies, and left out some of the cheese.


Crust:
2 cups plain cooked quinoa
1 egg
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Filling:
1 cup frozen spinach
1 bell pepper
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 jarred, roasted red peppers
5 eggs
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Note: This can be made in a single 11 x 7" casserole dish, or separately in two pie plates.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg for the crust. Fold in the cheese and quinoa until evenly incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Spray your baking dish or pie plates with non-stick spray and turn the crust mix out into them. Using the back of a spatula or your hands, carefully form the crust along the bottom of the dish(es) and up the sides.

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large mixing bowl, add the veggies as you chop with the cheese. Feel free to add any combination of vegetables and cheese according to your individual tastes or preferences. You could even add beans, potatoes, or salsa - get creative! Reuse your medium bowl to beat the 5 eggs. Add to the large bowl and keep folding with the vegetables until everything is mixed. Season with salt and pepper.

Gently pour the egg and vegetable mixture into the crust(s), using a spatula to even out if necessary. Pop in the oven, uncovered for 20-30 minutes. Check the center for doneness with a knife. Let stand a few minutes before cutting. For breakfast or lunch, I would say this could serve 5-6. For dinner it serves closer to 3-4.

I was nervous about this one, but it really knocked our socks off! The quinoa crust was delicious. It held up really well, and the crunchy bits were really nutty and delicious.

I loved the combination of all of the vegetables. It was a really colorful meal, which always makes me feel like I'm eating healthy!

If you haven't already, could you please take a second to vote for my Lucia Buns? It's one-click to vote, no registration required. Thank you! (Voting ends March 4th)

Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash

Oops! I didn't realize when I posted Thursday there'd be two squash recipes in a row!

What can I say? We really like stuffed squash! Here are some featured on the blog in the past:

Spaghetti Squash Boats
Acorn Squash with Corn Pudding
Couscous Stuffed Acorn Squash
Brown Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tonight's recipe used one of my favorite squash, Butternut and a revisit with the quinoa salad I made this summer.

1 small butternut squash
4 cups cooked quinoa (using vegetarian bouillon instead of water)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 small onion
1 elephant clove garlic
5 carrots
4 stalks celery
half head of cauliflower
head of broccoli

To begin, cut the butternut squash in half and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and strands. Place in a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. (Ordinarily I would bake this, but I started dinner very late tonight.)

Preheat the oven to 450°. Wash and cut all of the vegetables and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the olive oil, salt, and pepper over top. Toss until everything is coated and pour out onto a baking pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.

Turn the roasted vegetables out into a large serving bowl.

Add the quinoa and toss gently to incorporate, taking care not to mush the vegetables.


Place the squash half on a plate and fill the cavity with a generous helping of the quinoa salad.

This meal is vegan and gluten free so could be safely served to most following a special diet! There will be about half of the quinoa salad for leftovers which are tasty served warm or cold!

Quinoa Salad

I invented this dish in my head and it couldn't have turned out more perfect!

July 3rd is Johnny's brother, Mark's, birthday. Since they live on the northside, we usually have people over here for his party to cut down on everybody's travel time. This year is a BBQ and everybody's bringing a dish to share.

Mark doesn't eat any dairy and isn't big on anything unhealthy. He loves quinoa and vegetables, so I decided to make a quinoa salad with a bunch of roasted vegetables.

To start, I put 2 cups of quinoa in a pot with 4 cups of water and 1 vegetarian vegetable bouillion. Just enough to give the otherwise bland quinoa a little bit of flavor, but not become overpowering. This made SO much. I got scared at this point! I spread it in a big bowl to cool some, and got started on the veggies.


I cut up:

1/2 onion
1 green pepper
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
2 stalks of celery
1 large carrot
~1 cup broccoli
~1 cup cauliflower
~1 cup asparagus spears

And tossed in a bowl with about 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. I spread this out on a baking pan and they went into a 425° oven for just over 20 minutes.


Once the vegetables were done, I slid them from the baking pan overtop of the now-cooled quinoa in the big bowl. This looked like even more, and I was even more scared!

Using a rubber spatula, I gently folded the quinoa over the veggies and incorporated everything together without clumping the quinoa or breaking the vegetables up.

I forgot to get a picture before I put it in the serving bowl with plastic wrap over! Oops! I also might have snuck a small bowl to "test" and had to re-fill in the hole so it didn't look like anybody had any yet.

I'm so happy about this, it came out better than I expected. It's vegan, dairy free, and gluten free. A great dish for a group event, especially when you have more than one allergy sufferer! And, it also makes a TON. This filled a huge serving dish - I'd say maybe 10 cups? If you aren't feeding an army, I'd half it!

And the winner is...

The winner of my first give-away, receiving a box of Incan red quinoa, is Erica Hami!

Erica was surprisingly close with her guess of 290, off by only 18 seeds! Believe it or not, there were 308 seeds in that glass! I didn't believe it myself, so I counted two times with Johnny as a witness the second time.

Congratulations, Erica! Email me at mystinamarie@gmail.com with your address and I'll get your prize out to you.

Give-away!

Since entering the food blogging world I've won two great giveaways - salad dressings and cupcakes. (Don't worry, I ate them separately.) I've been paying attention to recipes that I cook, recipes that you cook, and my comments section for a good gift idea.

Finally, I decided on Incan red quinoa. All of us seem to be in love with this ingredient and it's allergy friendly. Some of you are unable to find it in your area, and if you are, usually you haven't seen the red version.

Here's what you have to do to win! Leave a comment below with your guess as to how many pumpkin seeds are in this glass! The nearest guess, without going over, will win! In the event of a tie, the person who left their comment first will win. Contest will end Sunday, January 11th at 8 p.m. (central time) Please only continental US residents!

Spaghetti Squash and Quinoa Casserole

I love spaghetti squash and I love quinoa. Check, check. I also LOVE casseroles, so seeing this dish on Biz's blog made me really, really happy. Unless seeing it with my own eyes, I would have never combined these ingredients and thought to make something this innovative.

Biz hates onions with a passion, so she omitted them and made changes based on what she had on hand, from Artsy-Foodie's original recipe. Since onions don't bother me and we haven't found a (local) Ricotta cheese that agrees with Johnny (he's fine eating it in dishes my parents cook, though!), I followed a version closer to Artsy-Foodie's original post.

First, I cut my medium-large sized, raw spaghetti squash into quarters and scooped out the seeds and membranes with a spoon. Next, I placed the pieces flesh side down in a glass baking pan with about 1/2 inch of water. I covered the pan with foil and baked in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes, until the flesh was tender and easily slid off of the skin. In Biz's honor, I tried desperately to get a "good" picture of spaghetti squash. You be the judge!

Next, I cooked 2 cups of traditional, white quinoa and also carmalized 1/4 cup of onions and 1/4 cup of green pepper in a drizzle of olive oil. Personally, I think the smell of carmalizing vegetables is one of the top three scents in a kitchen. Absolutely delicious!

Once these three cooking stages were done, it was smooth sailing! Dump the squash, quinoa and carmalized vegetables into a large bowl. Then add 2 cups of lowfat cottage cheese (oddly, the original cottage cheese contained whey, while the reduced fat version did not!), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup shredded cheese (Mexican blend), 4 eggs beaten, 1/2 cup egg whites, and spices and herbs to taste.

The next time making this, I think I'd just use 5 whole eggs, as it took 2 eggs to equal 1/2 cup of egg whites for me. I think if you've already added 2 cups of cottage cheese, 1 cup shredded cheese and 4 whole eggs, another egg yolk won't kill you! I also just used a blend of spices and herbs I had on hand, instead of the dill. I just don't cook with it regularly and it's not in my cabinets.

Once this mixture is stirred thorougly, spread it evenly in a greased casserole dish and bake at 375° for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until set in the middle and golden brown.


I forgot to mention in my last post of items received for the kitchen that I bought myself this adorable, little garlic storage container. I found it in a thrift store by my grandparents' house in Florida for only $1.50! It didn't say anything on the bottom, so I held my breath and ran it through the dishwasher. It survived, thankfully, and now my garlic has a nice, cozy home instead of sitting on the base of our banana hook!


Used the old camera for this post - need to get a memory card reader for the new one, first! I didn't know how to sort through the 500+ pictures on the printer to select the ones I needed for the blog!

BSI: Carrot (Mixed Veggie Quinoa with Chicken)

I love carrots and always, always have them on hand. Baby carrots, or regular carrots - you'll find either in my fridge. I eat them raw as snacks with dip or hummus and I add them to a lot of dishes, not only for the taste, but the color. They're a great BSI choice, in my opinion!

Tonight's dinner is a simple one that we eat quite often, but I love mixing it up each time with different vegetables and marinades. Tonight, I made sure to include the BSI ingredient of the week - carrots!

I cut up the following vegetables and threw them in a medium saucepan:



1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 stalk celery
1 small head of broccoli florets
1 large carrot
1 spoonful of pre-minced garlic
4 sun-dried tomatoes



I then added a 1 cup mixture of heirloom red quinoa and traditional quinoa, a splash of olive oil, dashes of onion and garlic powder, and 2 cups of water. This simmered for 15 minutes until the quinoa and vegetables were tender and the water was absorbed.

For the chicken, I used 2 Perdue thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They're often buy one get one free and I prefer them over the regular chicken breasts. The thinner meat is easier to trim, cooks faster, and you usually get 5 or 6 pieces, versus a regular breast package that has 3 huge breasts. I can usually get two meals out of one thin sliced package. I mixed up about a tablespoon each of Annie's Goddess Dressing, lemon juice, and olive oil to marinate the chicken in. When the quinoa had about 5 minutes left, I sauteed the chicken breasts in a dry pan, over medium heat for 2 and a half minutes each side.

These two components paired together beautifully! I love the mixture of red and plain quinoa, they have a slight difference in taste, the red a little nuttier. Cooking the vegetables right in with the grains gives them great flavor - almost infused with vegetable broth and all the vitamins and minerals that otherwise would have steamed or boiled out of the veggies. The chicken was very juicy and tender, the Annie's dressing giving it a nice, flavorful kick. Just a bit of a background flavor, caused by the marinade, not too overpowering of the other flavors.


I also got another gift magazine subscription in the mail today! First, Guideposts from my grandmother, and now Taste of Home from my aunt! I've never gotten gift subscriptions before, so this is a nice treat! My old job in North Carolina used to have Taste of Home for people waiting at the office and I'd flip through and snag recipes every once in awhile. Now I have my own! I'm looking forward to getting a couple magazines on a regular basis. I haven't sat down to read it in depth yet, but I always love getting inspiration from nice, color pictures, which they definitely have.

Southwestern Quinoa

I had read about quinoa in a few recipes and the Trader Joe's newsletter. I just never really got around to trying it. Then my cousin mentioned it to me and I read about it in Skinny Bitch. I googled some and was intrigued enough to try it. I set to work looking around the grains and rice in Trader Joe's but couldn't find it. Why didn't I just ask somebody? Well - I was embarrassed I'd say it wrong and look like an idiot! So I put it off again. Then one day while perusing the organic aisles of Jewel I found it! I literally lept for joy, grabbed it and threw it in the cart. The traditional one because it was white and looked less scary. They had an heirloom option that is a purpley red, that I waited to try later and is just as good.

I'm sad it took me so long to find this! It is SUCH a great addition to the grain family in your pantry. Hailed as the "mother grain" it is very high in protein and contains all amino acids, making it a complete protein. A lot of vegans and vegetarians eat it because of those benefits, but it's also gluten (and whey!) free for those allergen sufferers out there.

I usually make a quinoa pilaf of sorts by throwing in carrots, onions, broccoli and garlic at the beginning with a few dashes of spices and water. Tonight I was feeling a little more inspired.

I started with one cup of the traditional white quinoa. To that I added two big spoonfuls of Newman's Own mild salsa, a small spoonful of pre-minced garlic and about 1/4 cup (give or take) each of tiny chopped onions and green peppers. A splash of olive oil and dashes of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper and Old Bay. I know it's weird, but I love Old Bay and my cousin and I just had a huge love-fest conversation about it the other day so I was inspired to throw him in there.

Typically you add two parts water for one part quinoa. I've found that if you're putting fresh veggies in from the beginning it's still a little moist at the end, so cut back just a bit. This time I also had the moistness of the salsa, so I put maybe 1 and 4/5ths (?) of water in the pot. I brought it up to a boil, lowered it to a simmer, put the lid on and set the timer for the full 15 minutes of cook time.






The end result was a colorful bowlful of quinoa. Despite it's much-altered appearance, the flavor was still pretty mild and not spicey. Almost a warm comforting level of salsa in the background.








To continue with the southwestern theme we topped our bowls with a small sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese (low-fat!), a dollup of sour cream and a few chunks of avacado. We ate really late tonight, but it was still a hearty meal that left us satisfied, but not in that "I over-ate" kind of way. Which was my intention with choosing quinoa-- because who wants to feel all bloated and stuffed after a really late dinner?


Compliments to Johnny for taking the pictures as I prepared the plates and being brave enough to try it, no questions asked!


Oh and P.S. I have got to try this:



(Be warned - he uses a PG-13 word in there once if you're at work or around the kiddies.)