Quinoaaaaa

Quinoa is a funny word. No one knows how to say it, but when you figure it out, its fun! Keeeennnnnwaaaaaa. I asked Skinny Fat Kid if he liked quinoa. He said he didn't know what it was. I told him it was a plant that acted like a grain, was low in sodium, high in vitamins and had fiber and he was sold!

I couldn't find quinoa at the big grocery store probably because I had no idea where to look and refused to ask someone. I stopped at the fancy organic healthy store on my walk home and found multiple kinds of quinoa. I picked up a bag and started walking to the register when I turned it over and realized it was $14.99! For 12 ounces! Ugh! I ran back and found the cheapest bag I could find, because I'm cheap! All of them were organic and in about the same size package. Why was one $4.99 and the other $14.99!

For an easy, quick meal, I whipped up this quinoa stir fry from Self Magazine:

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 cups snow peas
• Various stir fry veggies. I used a pre-cut mix from the store with chinese cabbage, onions, peppers, mushrooms and broccoli. 
• 2 chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Sriracha to taste

Directions:

• Cook quinoa to package directions
• Heat oil in skillet and add chicken breasts. Add in garlic and ginger. Saute until chicken is cooked. put chicken aside and keep warm.
• Add in veggies and soy sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add in chicken and sriracha. 
• Serve over quinoa

One thing I'd like to know is how you rinse quinoa. I have a strainer that I thought would work great but the quinoa poured right through it! About an 1/8 of it ended up in the sink. Good thing it wasn't the $14.99 bag!

Izzy and I love lazy Sundays!

Skinny Fat Kid snapped this pic unknowingly to us...we were having a great nap!

I love guac!

I love guacamole. I really do. I make it any time I get a chance. Avocados are not that bad for you, in moderation. They have that "good fat", monounsaturated and are high in potassium, B, E and K vitamins. Not to mention they're high in fiber and can help lower cholesterol! Ok, now I've convinced myself that I can eat guac any time I want!

I bought avocados on my bi-weekly shopping trip, waiting for them to ripen. On my walk home from work, I picked up some mulit-grain chips with flax seeds (yum!) and was ready to enjoy my guac. I cut into it and it was brown. All brown. Gross! One benefit to living in a city is that I threw my coat on and ran out the door to find me some more avocados! Three stores (but only 5 minutes) later, I had found no ripe Haas avocados. I settled on a Florida avocado because I needed my guac! It was good, but I would definitely stick with the Haas for guac! 

Ingredients: 

• 2 or 3 avocados
• Couple tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 plum tomato, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 lime
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Mash up the avocados in a bowl. Add in the tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Squeeze the lime over and add salt to taste. 

Pumpkin Banana Bread

I love pumpkin. Cookies, cakes, pies, coffee, anything! I had made some pumpkin whoopie pies for Thanksgiving (not healthy) and had some extra pumpkin. There were three ripened bananas in the freezer just waiting to be used, so I decided to whip up pumpkin banana bread. This is an adaptation from Rebecca Scritchfield's Balanced Health & Nutrition Blog

Ingredients: 

• 3 mashed ripe bananas
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup Splenda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray.
• Mix together wet ingredients. Then combine dry. 
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

That's it! Skinny Fat Kid ate most of this, as always. He put some almond butter on there and gobbled it up. 

Easy Peasy Paella

Its another seafood fest! We love seafood, or at least I do. I don't think Skinny Fat Kid had ever eaten clams or mussels before he met me. My sister lived in Spain for a year and during that time, we kind of all fell in love with Spanish food. We love tapas and paella and of course Sangria. I've only tried to make paella at home once and it was from a mix. I didn't know until I opened it, but the mix had the seafood included. Grosssssss. When I came across this simple recipe, I had to give it a whirl. Did it taste like paella?? Ehhh, I don't know if I would go that far. But it tasted good! This is another Cooking Light adaptation.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 6 oz Spanish chorizo, sliced (if you can't find Spanish chorizo, a nice spicy, smoked sausage will work)
• 1 1/4 cups brown rice
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Dash red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 14.5 oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame
• 2 dozen mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 1 dozen clams, cleaned

Directions:

• Cook rice per directions on package, but cut time to 15 minutes.
• Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chorizo and red onion to pan. Saute until lightly browned.
• Drop in rice after it has cooked for 15 minutes. Add paprika, red pepper and pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add in water and canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover for 10 more minutes, or until rice is cooked. 
• Add in edamame and seafood. Cook until the mussels and clams open up. 

I added red onion in this for no reason. I read the ingredients and directions before I started. As I pulled out the ingredients, I took out a red onion and chopped it. Not sure why, but it happened, and it seemed to work!

Antipasto Pasta

I'm going to start out by saying this isn't the most healthy meal I've ever made. But its also not the worst. It came from Cooking Light, so can it be all that bad?! I used a whole box of whole wheat pasta to make sure we had enough for leftovers. Skinny Fat Kid ate 3 helpings, and we still have enough! I whipped up some broccoli rabe too per Cooking Light's suggestion. Stay tuned for my adaptation!

Check out this recipe on EKat's Kitchen's Friday Potluck!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated parm cheese
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• Whole wheat pasta

Directions:

• Preheat broiler and broil prosciutto until crispy
• Put olives, pesto, prosciutto, cheese, tomatoes and artichokes in a bowl.
• Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and mix with the prosciutto mixture. That's it!

Serves: 6

What Every Kitchen Needs: Dutch Oven

I'm immature. I laugh every time I say "Dutch Oven". But seriously, every kitchen needs one. What is better than being able to take a pot from the stove to the oven. I love one pot meals because it makes for easy clean-up. Even though Skinny Fat Kid usually does the dishes, I typically end up putting them away.

I have an awesome Calphalon non-stick Dutch Oven. Makes for super quick cleanup and I often use it to make chili or other stove-top only goodies. Its big enough to hold larger meals but not so big that its difficult to clean.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potatoes

Skinny Fat Kid loves sweet potatoes.  I mean loves. Right now we have 10 pounds of sweet potatoes sitting on the counter because he told me we need to eat more of them. Since we hadn't eaten enough turkey recently, I figured I would whip up some sweet potato shepherd's pie. Here's how its done:

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 4 carrots, grated and chopped (I used baby carrots)
• Pepper to taste
• Poultry seasoning
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Worcestershire sauce
• Frozen corn
• Frozen peas
• Frank's hot sauce

Directions:

• Wash sweet potatoes and put in a large pot to boil. Depending on size of potatoes, should be about 20 minutes until tender. Drain and let cool in pot. 
• Preheat oven to 425. In a pan, saute turkey until cooked. Add in onion, carrots, poultry seasoning and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add in the frozen corn and peas. 
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until combined. Drop in the chicken broth and Worcestershire and cook until thick. Combine with turkey mixture. 
• Once sweet potatoes are cool, peel off the skin. It should come right off. Mash up the sweet potatoes in a bowl, adding in as much hot sauce as you desire. 
• In a 9" x 13" baking dish, drop in the turkey mixture. Cover with the sweet potatoes. 
• Cook for about 20 - 25 minutes until sweet potatoes have formed a nice crust. 

Smokin' Chili

As the weather gets colder, I want filling, hearty meals. I've been craving chili, but didn't have any recipe that I loved. I recently bought a bottle of liquid smoke and had searched allrecipes.com for any other recipes using this delicious treat. I came across Smokin' Scovilles Chili. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but its well worth it! Here is my adaptation:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon paprika (I didn't use the full tablespoon because I ran out!)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 packet sugar free instant hot chocolate mix
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt (Vermont Country!)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans fire roasted tomatoes with diced chile peppers
• 1 (8 oz) can no salt added tomato sauce
• 2 (15 oz) cans of kidney beans, black beans, whatever you want to use
• 1/2 cup beer (Yuengling for me!)
• 1/2 cup canned whole kernel corn
• 1 tablespoon Frank's hot sauce

Directions:

• Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, green pepper and jalepeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. 
• Push veggies to one side of the pot and add in the meat. Cook for about 5 minutes until the meat is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. 
• Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, oregano, pepper, hot chocolate and seasoned salt. Add in Worcestershire, liquid smoke, canned tomatoes with chiles, tomato sauce, beer and beans.
• Simmer as long as you can wait. Skinny Fat Kid could only wait 30 minutes. The longer you can simmer, the more the flavors will meld together and enhance.
• Mix in corn and hot sauce. Simmer for a few more minutes

I added cheese and light sour cream to mine, but feel free to add whatever you prefer!



Smokin' Chili

Moules Mariniere

How's that for 5 years of French class! That's about all I know. Here is my recipe for my version of Moules Mariniere or Mussels:

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, chopped
• At least 1 clove of minced garlic (depends on if you have plans that night)
• Splash of low sodium, low fat chicken broth
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• White wine - always use something you'd like to drink. Will enhance the flavor of your food and of course you'll want to enjoy a glass with dinner!
• Bag of mussels - Be sure to clean and debeard these guys. Not the most glamorous job, but there are worse things. I rinse mine, drop them in a colander to soak and then scrub and debeard. Let them sit in the colander in water until you are ready to go. Discard any that are already open or broken.

Directions:

•  Heat olive oil in bottom of pan. Add shallots and garlic and saute until shallots are translucent, being careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add white wine and chicken broth. I didn't measure this, but did about twice around the pan of the wine and once around of the broth. You want to make sure you have enough liquid to steam the mussels and enough for dipping!
• Add black pepper to taste
• Bring liquid to a boil and drop in the mussels. Lower heat and cover. I periodically shake my pot to make sure the mussels are getting even heat distribution. They're ready once they're all open. Any that don't open should be discarded. 

Best to serve with some good, fresh bread. I didn't get any bread this time since I didn't want to overload on carbs and we were already having potatoes.

Seafood Fest

Saturday night was seafood fest. I was craving something rich even after the full Thanksgiving meal and leftovers we had consumed the past few days. I walked past the seafood counter and saw a tank full of lobsters calling my name. I grabbed two along with a bag of mussels and some red potatoes.

Izzy, who is always up for a playmate, got in on the fun with the lobsters. She was curious as to why this dog had a hard shell and smelled funny. After checking for its scent, she was a bit confused and we ended the playdate before it got out of hand.

The potatoes went in the oven first. Washed and chopped up and roasted in the oven with some olive oil, pepper, paprika and my old standby, Vermont Country Seasoning.

The lobsters would be simply boiled in a big pot of salted water. Boiled for about 15 minutes (for 1.5 pounders) and they would be ready to go!

Stay tuned for my mussels recipe!

Fun Kitchen Toys: Fred & Friends Silicone Pot Holder

Potholders are boring. We need them (although my grandfather begs to differ), but they're dull. I have some from Target, some that my Uncle made, and my personal favorite, the Fred Silicone dog potholder. My mother loves giving me dog related things to the point where I feel like I am going to become a crazy dog lady (if I'm not already). At least this one is somewhat useful!

The Fred dog is easy to use, always protects my hand and is great for lifting sheet pans out of the oven. He's flexible, so he's easy to store in the drawer. And he's fun too. Even Izzy likes him.

I see Amazon.com has some other "characters" including a Pac Man! Check these out for some cool holiday gift ideas that are fun and useful!

What is this?

I recently decided to start a blog. I love cooking and eating so I was naturally drawn to the idea of a food blog. I noticed I was spending a lot of time looking through other food blogs as well as sharing my recipes with family and friends and figured this was the best outlet.

While I will be mostly featuring recipes, I love to share fun kitchen gadgets and toys, my favorite restaurants and of course, our puppy Izzy. Like most pups, she is a character and just is too cute not to share.

Please bear with me. I am not a photographer nor do I have a great camera. And with the Skinny Fat Kid (SFK) around, food doesn't stay uneaten for very long. I'm quickly learning valuable html skills as well as how to keep SFK occupied while I'm trying to snap the shots!