Quinoa For One, Please!

 

As a stay at home mom, sometimes hot dogs or peanut butter and jelly just don't cut it at lunch time!

And since I'm trying to eat healthier AND save money, eating out isn't really an option...

So, this was a pretty quick and easy meal to throw together! And it's a good source of protein**, veggies, and fiber.

And it's delicious!

Avocado Tomato Quinoa for One

1/4 cup Quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 cup Water
A Sprinkle of Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp. Onion Flakes
1 Small Roma Tomato, diced
1/4 Avocado, cut into chunks
3 Tbsp. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan or Romano
Fresh Ground Pepper
Drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar

In a small saucepan, combine the rinsed quinoa, water, garlic salt, and onion flake. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the quinoa is translucent and soft, and the water is absorbed.

Stir in diced tomatoes. Transfer to your bowl or plate of choice. Add the cheeses and avocado, and top with fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Ta-da!! It's that easy...

**Quinoa is the only plant-based complete protein, or so I've heard...

(Note: Quinoa is much like rice... always use 1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid ratio. And always make sure it's rinsed well first. I don't know why. That's just part of the "quinoa cooking rules".)

Overnight Oatmeal!

Mornings always come too soon in our house. Especially during the school year.

I always make sure my kids eat, but I don't always eat myself, and therefore become grumpy and easily irritated.

I'm like a walking Snickers commercial when I don't eat a good breakfast.

This make-ahead oatmeal is yummy and filling, and with the added fruit and yogurt, it's pretty darn healthy too! And it's ready pretty much as soon as you get up!

I like it cold, but it would be good heated as well. And really, the toppings are endless...
Peanut (or Sun, or almond, or cashew... or COOKIE) butter and jelly, Nutella, dried fruit, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, wheat germ or ground flax seed... do with it as you please!

Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal

3/4 C. Old Fashioned Oats (not quick oats... they'll get too mushy)

1 Tbsp Agave Syrup (or Real Maple Syrup, or 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar... or no sweetener if you aren't a fan of sweets. Whatevs.)

3/4 C. Milk (I use nonfat, but sub any kind you use, or water even, but milk makes it more rich and creamy)

A Sprinkle of Cinnamon (Optional)

After the oatmeal is ready...
1/2 C. Yogurt of your choice (optional)
Toppings of your choice. I used fresh mango, raspberries and blackberries.


In a container with a lid, combine the oats and the agave. Pour the milk over it so the oats are covered. Cover with the lid, and put in the fridge.

Go to bed. Sleep.

Get up.

In the morning, take it out.

(*If you want it hot, heat it now, before you put toppings on it. You know your microwave better than I do, so you can decide how long you need to heat it, but my guess is about a minute.)

Top with the yogurt, and whatever other toppings you like.

Eat.

Enjoy.

Yum.

Ain't Yo Mamma's Meatloaf... Cake?!

April Fools Day. A day for being a trickster. Really, that seem like every day in our house! And no, this post isn't a joke, though it's probably been close to a year since my last post!

My kids were super excited when I told them we were having cake for dinner... little did they know it was meatloaf (full of veggies no less!) and mashed potatoes!

My 7 year old daughter thought it was hilarious!
My 3 year old son was not very happy with me!
Muahahaha!!

This meatloaf recipe is one I get asked for ALL THE TIME! It's made people who claim to hate meatloaf into believers again. And goes great with mac & cheese, as well as the classic mashed potatoes.

And if my kids (and hubby) have no idea the dreaded veggies are all up in this, then I'm guessing yours won't either...

Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef, pork or turkey (or combine 2 different kinds, or all 3... whatever...)
1 smallish zucchini -super diced in a food processor
a handful of baby carrots- super diced in a food processor
1/2 of a yellow onion- super diced in a food processor
About a 1/2 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
2 eggs
A couple teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4-1/2 cup ketchup
A few Tablespoons A-1 sauce
A couple teaspoons 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's
A generous sprinkle of Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper

Combine it all (I use my hands, that way it doesn't get tough...)
Form it into a loaf in a baking dish, bake for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes at 375.

If you're making it into cake form, like what is shown in the pictures, spread the meat mixture evenly into two 9in cake pans, bake at 375 for an hour, let "rest" for about 10 minutes before transferring the first meatloaf cake-patty to a cake stand. Evenly spread mashed potatoes over it, enough so that it's about an inch thick. Add the second meatloaf cake-patty, and put the rest of the potatoes on top, and spread evenly around, covering all the way down the sides. Top with diced steamed carrots for decoration.

 

 

 

Potato Corn Chowdah!

It's been ridiculously hot here in SoCal for the past few weeks, so when it finally cooled down a couple weekends ago (you know, to about 70 degrees instead of 90+...) it was soup time!

Even though the weather was back up in the 90's the next day, this soup was still great as leftovers. And it's low-ish in fat, so there ya go.

Now bring on the Fall weather so I can make it again! And also so I can wear sweaters without dying!

Potato Corn Chowder

4 Strips Thick Cut Bacon, cut into 1/8 in. pieces
3/4 C. Diced Onion*
3/4 C. Diced Carrot*
3/4 C. Diced Celery*
6-8 Potatoes, peeled and diced small
4 Ears of Fresh White Corn, cut off the cob** (or a bag of frozen white corn if you can't get fresh)
1 32 oz. Box All Natural Chicken Stock
1 tsp. Salt (more to taste)
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
Pepper to Taste
2 C. Fat Free Half and Half
1/4 C. Corn Starch and 1/4 C. water mixed
Shredded Cheddar-Jack Cheese for topping


*Trader Joe's sells tubs of  Mirepoix (aka already diced onions, carrots, and celery) in their refrigerated produce section... it's a real time saver! Go get some for all your soup needs! ;)
** I use my trusty Kernel Cutter from Pampered Chef... it's fabulous!!

In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp.

Remove the cooked bacon, but leave at least 2 Tbsp of the drippings. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the drippings, and cook until tender.

Add diced potatoes, corn, salt, Old Bay, pepper, and chicken stock. Cook until the potatoes are soft.

Add the Fat Free Half and Half.

Bring to a boil, then add the cornstarch and water mixture, and bring it back to a boil to thicken the chowder. (You can make more of this mixture if you want it even thicker.)

Top with shredded cheddar and the cooked bacon.

Makes 4-6 servings, depending on the size of your bowl...

Oh, you know, just winning a cupcake bake-off...

Holy mackerel people... has it really been almost three months since my last post! Seriously, where did the time (and our whole summer) go?!

Well, since I'm so behind and all, let's backtrack to one thing that happened right before summer even started...

I won first place in a cupcake baking contest!!

I know, crazy, huh?! Who would have thought that this girl, who really doesn't bake, could pull something like that off? Especially when the other two bakers I was baking against made a creme brule flavor and a "Summer's Passion" citrus tea-strawberry lemonade flavor? (I didn't get to try the creme brule, but the Summer's Passion was delicious!)

It all started out as a bunch of my Facebook friends convincing me to submit a cupcake recipe to Little Cake Cupcake Kitchen's (our local cupcake shop) recipe contest, since they know how much I love this place, and they know I like to cook (which is nothing like liking to bake, which I don't as much, but I did it for them). Little Cakes is fabulous, and just to prove it, they went onto Food Network's Cupcake Wars and WON THE WHOLE DARN THING!!

So this cupcakery decided to host their own version of Cupcake Wars, where they asked anyone who wanted to enter to send in their recipe. If your recipe was chosen, you got to move onto phase two.

For phase two, they chose the top 25 best sounding cupcake recipes from all the submissions, and those who's recipes were chosen had to bring in a sample of their cupcakes for a taste test. I had actually submitted 2 recipes (the second was an Italian Lemonade) and they wanted to try both... so I actually had to bake, which is not something I do very often. I can do it, I just don't... basically because I'm lazy.

So out of the 25 samples they "had" to to taste test, my little submission was one of the top three, which meant I went on to phase three: An actual LIVE bake-off!

So I gathered up all my stuff, and my trusty baking sidekick Courtney (aka my cousin... we were allowed to have one person to help us bake.) and we went to the Vista Strawberry Festival, where Little Cakes had a kitchen area all set up for us to bake our cupcakes in front of a bunch of people, outside, in the middle of a street.

Other than the convection ovens not cooking quite the same as regular ovens, and the wind that liked to swoop in and blow our cupcake liners all over the place, it wasn't so bad. Much better than I thought actually.

And so we baked. Then we walked around and ate really delicious, really bad-for-you street fair food, until the final baker (I baked second) was finished, and they deliberated for a bit, and then it was time for the results.
I was totally expecting to come in second or third, just because my cupcake was so simple, so I was completely shocked when they announced the other two as the second and third placers. Totally. Shocked. I still don't know how it happened.

So my cupcake is now the new flavor at Little Cakes, and I also got a $100 gift card to the shop, as well as a Little Cakes t-shirt for Courtney and one for  myself.

And you get the recipe, since they didn't say I couldn't share it. And if they don't want me to share it, I suppose I'll have to remove this post, which would totally suck, since it took me like an hour to write it in between my kids fighting over a pillow.

Rosemary Olive Oil Cupcakes

3 cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
¼ tsp. Salt
1 cup Olive Oil
½ cups Butter
4 Eggs
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Milk
½ cup Sour Cream
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 ½ Tbsp. very finely chopped Fresh Rosemary


Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

16 oz. Cream Cheese
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, plus ¼ cup powdered sugar, whipped into peaks

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, milk, sour cream, vanilla and rosemary until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixture until it is all well incorporated, and beat on medium speed for another couple of minutes or so.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers, and fill them about ¾ of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the frosting, whip the cream cheese with the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Slowly add the whipped cream until combined.

Frost the cupcakes as desired.

"Hamburger Helper".... Unboxed!

My husband LOVES Hamburger Helper. He asks for it all the time.

Nas-Tay! It totally grosses me out... and I don't want to serve that to my kids.

So, I made up my own version.

And it's easy.... and fast!

You could probably change up the seasonings to give it different flavors , but tonight we went with "Cheesy Taco".

Homemade "Hamburger Helper"

1 Lb. Ground Beef or Turkey
2 Tbsp (or one envelope) Taco Seasoning (you can make your own of this too, but I just use the kind with no MSG 'cause I'm lazy.)
1 Tbsp Onion Soup Mix
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp. 21 Seasoning Salute (Salt Free Seasoning From Trader Joe's... you can sub another salt free seasoning if you want, or just add a little extra pepper.)
1/2 tsp. pepper
Seasoning Salt to taste (I just used a little sprinkle, so I have no clue how much to tell you...)
1 1/2 cups Fat Free Half and Half, or Milk
4 oz Light Cream Cheese
1 cup Shredded Cheese (I used Cheddar-Jack) + 1/4 cup more for the top
1/4 Grated Parmesan Cheese
12 oz. Wide Egg Noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add you noodles.

Cook the meat in a large-ish skillet with all of the seasonings until the meat is browned and cooked through. Add the half and half/milk, cream cheese, Cheddar-Jack cheese and Parmesan cheese.  Let it cook until cheeses are all melted. When your noodles are done, drain them and add them to your meat/cheese sauce, and stir until all the noodles are coated. You can add an extra splash of milk if you think it needs to be creamier. Top with 1/4 cup of cheese, and cover, until the cheese is melted.

The End.... You're Welcome.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Who doesn't love Mac and Cheese?! Seriously, it's so good.

When I was pregnant with my son, I actually craved the Kraft boxed kind, with it's funky orange powder sauce mix...

When my hormones are somewhat normal, I go for the homemade kind.

This is a recipe I came up with right after my hubs and I got married. It's so simple, an yet it's probably the recipe people ask me for the most.

It's very versatile. You can use regular Cheddar-Jack mix, Pepper Jack for a little kick, or you can go all out and use cheese from the fancy cheese section... it's ALL good!

Sometimes, when I'm lazy (OK... that's pretty much all the time...) I just get one of those rotisserie chickens from Costco and add the meat to this, as well as some frozen veggies (I add them to the pasta while it's boiling) and then dinner is done, and I don't have to worry about preparing anything else.

Laziness or genius... you decide!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

16 oz macaroni (shells or elbow) cooked

1- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided (You can sub and cheese you like here...)

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2  8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp butter melted

1/2 - 3/4 cup milk or fat free half and half (To make it easier to stir and keep the moisture in)

Dash of salt and fresh ground pepper

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs or crushed potato chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the butter and the cream cheese together in a microwave, and stir until pretty much combined.

In a large mixing bowl combine cooked macaroni, ricotta, garlic and onion powders, 2 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and butter mixture, milk., salt and pepper (you can add he chicken here too, if your going for a casserole type of dish). Pour into a 9x13 baking pan or casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until topping is browned and crispy. Serve with your favorite veggies and enjoy!