Category — Dinner

I adapted this recipe after seeing it on How To: Simplify, where it was adapted from Cooking Light magazine’s recipe. It’s goeey and cheesy and delicious!

I had a little bit of trouble finding the ingredients in the right quantities. I guess cans of enchilada sauce come bigger at my store than others, for instance. Still, I think being flexible when cooking is important and when it comes to how much sauce or cheese or chiles to include in a casserole, going with what you have on hand what fits your preferences is essential!So if you don’t have the exact variety or amount that I used, or you prefer to use a different type of cheese, go for it, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1  cup broth—I used bean broth I saved after cooking dried beans earlier in the week for Three-Bean Bake
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2  tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 can black beans (approx. 1.5 cups)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese
• 1 can red enchilada sauce (10, 12, 14 ounces—whatever you find! I used about 12 oz. from a 14-ounce can)
• 12  (6-inch) corn tortillas—I bought a package of 12 sprouted corn tortillas but only used 10!
• 1 cup (4 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1  ounce tortilla chips, crushed (about 6 chips)—mine were blue…thus the dark spots in the photos!

Directions:

1. Combine broth and chiles in a large skillet and bring to a boil.
2. Add chicken breasts. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.
3. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid; cool chicken. Shred meat and set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350°.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes or until soft.
6. Add reserved cooking liquid, beans, evaporated milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce and stir well. S
7. Stir in shredded chicken and cook 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
8. Place 3-4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray.
9. Spoon approx 1/3 chicken mixture over tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture.
10. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips.
11. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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Today I tried a new green for the first time: chard. I was looking for Swiss chard, but none of the greens at the store said Swiss chard. This chard’s label said it was green chard from Pennsylvania (local-ish!) so I decided it would have to do. After extensive research online this afternoon, I have come to the conclusion that if it wasn’t the same thing, it was close enough!

I was hunting for Swiss chard for two reasons…first, I recently listened to a lecture about Ayurvedic practices, and one of the principles is eating seasonally, and it mentioned Swiss chard specifically for summer. When I heard that, it occurred to me that it was the only green on the list from Cameron that I never got around to trying! Second, on Saturday at the farmer’s market one of my favorite farmers talked me into buying some grass-fed lamb, and suggested cooking it on the stove with squash and serving over steamed Swiss chard. So that’s (basically) what I did for dinner tonight!

I took just under half a pound of the ground lamb and sauteed it in a pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and chopped onion, garlic, and zucchini. While I cooked that, I steamed the chard and some fresh green beans from my father’s garden. The green beans were, of course, the “old friend” green veggie that ended up on our dinner plates.

The chard didn’t have a distinct flavor, maybe because I served the other things on top of it, but it did hold up better than steamed spinach without being quite as tough as the texture of kale, which I love but my husband still isn’t a huge fan of. He actually thought the chard was spinach, and still liked it even when I told him it wasn’t!

What new “friend” have you made lately on your dinner plate? What old friends do you find yourself coming back to time and again?

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This casserole recipe gets a thumbs up for tastiness and ease. I served it with a large green salad and a sizable portion of green beans, because although it may seem like a casserole should be a main dish, it’s really best for your rice to come in side dish portions, especially when baked in a creamy, cheesy way like this!

It’s a simple dish to make, especially if you already cooked brown rice and/or chicken on hand. The recipe calls for cooking the chicken with the onions and garlic, but I had my husband throw ours on the grill last night and just cut it up to use in my casserole tonight. I did add it to the saute pan with the garlic and onions for a few minutes, though, after I took them off the heat, just to try to get the flavors to meld together a bit before I added them to all of the other ingredients.

I found this recipe on Honoring Health, where it had been modified from Paula Deen’s Deen Family Cookbook. I modified it further and have noted options you may want to take.

Serves 8 (or more!)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil (if you only have olive oil, don’t let that stop you! It will work fine)
• 4 cups cooked brown rice (I used short-grain but would be interested to try this with other types of brown rice)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese (the original recipe called for goat cheese, but I used raw milk cheddar that I shredded myself. I used about half of a .7 lb block to yield about 2 cups once shredded)
• 3/4 cups dried cherries (I omitted these)
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans
• 1 cup milk (the original recipe calls for cream but I just used whole milk)
• zest of 1 orange, ideally organic!
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (I used a half cup of each)

Directions:

1. Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet and once it is hot, add the onions and the garlic.
2. Cook the onions and garlic until tender and then add the chicken cubes.
3. Cook the chicken until it is golden brown on all sides.
4. While the onions, garlic, and chicken are cooking, combine the remaining ingredients, except for the mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, into a large bowl and set it aside.
5. Grease a large casserole dish and preheat the oven to 400.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, combine the chicken, onions, and garlic with the rice mixture and stir well.
7. Pour into the greased casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes until heated through.
8. Top with the mozzarella or Parmesan and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.

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When my dad was generous enough to give me his garden’s first massive zucchini of the season (in the photo below, it is sitting on a dinner plate!), I decided I would stuff it and bake it for dinner one night this week. I knew I wanted to stuff it with onions, garlic, and tomato sauce and top with cheese, but I wasn’t sure what else would be good in the stuffing.

When I thought of quinoa, I felt absolutely brilliant! Of course, after doing a little bit of internet research to find out how long to bake the zucchini and at what temperature, I realized that of course I was not the first person to think of this. But still, I was proud of myself for thinking of it, and I did wing the recipe on my own instead of following any that I found.

First, I had to carve up the huge zucchini. Since I was only serving myself and my husband, I cut it lengthwise and scooped the soft middle out of just one side. I saved the “guts” to add to my filling.

Next, I sliced up some onions and garlic and sauteed them on the stove in a little bit of olive oil. Once this was done, I combined the onion, garlic, and zucchini guts with some cooked quinoa that I made and saved earlier in the week. I added some marinara sauce and some extra basil to the mix, and I had my stuffing!

I placed my “zucchini boat” in a glass pan that I had greased just a little with olive oil, and I rubbed a little bit on the outside of the zucchini, too. Then I filled it with the stuffing and put freshly grated mozzarella cheese and fresh basil on top.

I covered the pan with foil (I had to make a tent because the zucchini was so high!) and baked it at 375 for about 30 minutes, then took off the foil and cooked it for another 15.

The result was beautiful and delicious! I think the zucchini was a little thick, so if I do it again with such a large one I will probably bake it longer and/or do what some of the recipes I found suggested, which was to boil the zucchini “boat” in a pot on the stove for just 5 minutes or so before filling and baking it. I also noticed the stuffing got very watery even before I got it into the oven, and more so after it was baked. I am not sure if this was moisture coming out of the zucchini itself or out of the guts that were in the filling, but I think I would want to maybe squeeze some of the moisture of the guts the next time before adding them to my stuffing.

Even with some notes for next time, I was happy with the way it turned out, and my husband was, too, which is fortunate since he couldn’t possibly finish the serving I carved up for him (see photo!), and will be enjoying it again as leftovers!

Quinoa-Stuffed Zucchini

This recipe is very flexible! Try adding more veggies like peppers, olives, or tomatoes.

Ingredients:
(amounts will vary based on the size of your zucchini)

• 1 large zucchini
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup marinara/spaghetti/tomato sauce
• basil, salt, and pepper to taste
• mozzarella cheese to cover

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice zucchini lengthwise and carve out middle of one or both sides, depending on size and servings desired. Reserve insides of zucchini to use in filling.
3. Chop onion and garlic and saute in olive oil just until translucent.
4. Chop insides of zucchini and squeeze to remove excess moisture.
5. Combine onion, garlic, zucchini “guts,” quinoa, and tomato sauce in a bowl. Add additional spices and vegetables as desired.
6. Fill zucchini with filling.
7. Top with mozzarella cheese and additional basil if desired.
8. Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
10. Carve into individual servings and enjoy!

Here are some similar recipes I found but have not tried. Some don’t require the quinoa to be cooked ahead of time, and one is on the grill…which sounds pretty good in the summer! If you try making stuffed zucchini using my method or any of these, please leave a comment and share how it went!

• Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing from Real Simple
• Stuffed Zucchini from italianfood.about.com
• Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini from Green Lite Bites
• Grilled Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing from Serious Eats

Quinoa-Stuffed Zucchini

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I’ve been craving pizza for weeks, and haven’t had any since before Lent, but I didn’t want to settle for delivery or restaurant pizza, so I decided to make it from scratch, including the crust! I got the crust recipe from our Healthful Cooking cookbook, but instead of making the “Pizza with Potatoes, Mushrooms, and Tomato-Basil Pesto” I went a little more traditional with the toppings, using organic tomato sauce and fresh onions, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, and basil. It was delicious and worth the effort.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2.5 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1.5 cups (organic unbleached) all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring surface and hands
• 1/2 cup (organic) whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup lukewarm water, the honey, and 1 tsp. of the olive oil.
2. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, and sea salt.
4. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir, adding enough of the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or more if needed, to form a soft dough.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until the surface of the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes, adding more all-purpose flour as needed. The dough should be soft, but not sticky.
6. Lightly oil a large bowl with the remaining 1 tsp. of olive oil.
7. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl.
8. Turn to coat with the oil.
9. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (It took mine 1.5 hours)
10. Punch the dough down and let rest for 10 more minutes. (You can make the dough up to 1 day in advance, place it in a plastic bag, and refrigerate it until ready to shape and bake.) If making individual pizzas, divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
11. Position a rack in the lowest position in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
12. Lightly oil one 14″ x 16″ baking sheet, one 14″ pizza pan, or four 9″ pizza pans or cake or tart pans.
13. On a lightly floured work surface, gently stretch or roll out the dough to fit the prepared pan(s).
14. Transfer to the pan(s) and put into oven.
15. Bake until the crust(s) are nicely browned, 20-25 minutes. Spray the bottom of the oven with water at regular intervals 3 times during the first 5-10 minutes of baking.
16. Remove the pans from oven and serve!

Note: After about 22 minutes, my pizza crust looked was ready but the top didn’t look quite browned enough so I turned on the broiler and moved the pizza to a higher rack for 2 minutes and that did the trick!

Source: Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Healthful Cooking Cookbook

Another new favorite! This was like making a (yummy) casserole on the stovetop, and it could definitely serve 6 (or more) people. This was the first time I saw a recipe that said to “dry-toast” the quinoa but I looked it up–you just cook the quinoa in a pan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Quinoa is a superfood that has all 8 amino acids and couldn’t be easier to prepare. It is also high in protein. Toasting the quinoa in a dry pan then rinsing it gives more depth to the flavor.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups quinoa, dry toasted and rinsed
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Dash salt and pepper
• 2 zucchini, cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 cup basil leaves, torn up
• 2 lemons, juiced
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup slivered raw almonds

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil in a medium sized pot. Add quinoa, chicken, a pinch of salt, pepper, and broth.
2. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.
3. After 15 minutes remove lid and stir in zucchini, lemon juice, almonds and ¾ of the basil.
4. Turn heat off and replace lid for two minutes.
5. Finish with the remaining basil and Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Mom-A-Licious

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I’ve never been a meatloaf fan, so I was not looking for a substitute, but if I needed one, this would be it! I’ll basically try any recipe with quinoa now, I love it!

I really liked this, even though I had to leave out the sun-dried tomatoes because my husband does not care for them, and I did not have a full 1/2 cup of parsley, so those probably would have given it a bit more flavor. “Salt and pepper to taste” is something I am still trying to master, and I don’t think I added enough before baking, but I added a little sea salt and pepper on top when eating it and really enjoyed it. My husband ate his with ketchup and gave it a thumbs up too.

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas

Welcome spring–or vegetarian guests–to your table with this delicious main-course recipe that is destined to become a favorite for family and feasts alike. For killer veggie burgers, serve any leftover slices on toasted whole wheat buns with lettuce and spicy mustard.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
• 1 cup (about 1 onion) chopped red onion

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put beans, oats and 1/2 cup water into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: Whole Foods

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For dinner tonight I tried the Garlic Gingered Broccoli recipe but with lots of other stuff thrown in with the broccoli. I added onions, bean sprouts, cooked shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms to the broccoli and used an extra tablespoon or two of tamari. The last thing I added was a handful of cashews…yum!

To go with it, I boiled quinoa per package directions, but I tossed in some green onions and minced garlic (sauteed briefly first) and toward the end of the quinoa cooking time, some frozen peas.

Basically I got all of these ingredients and the idea for the quinoa from my recipes I followed over the weekend, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fennel and Shiitake Mushrooms, and Warm Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus. I don’t have an actual recipe to share, but it was easy and turned out great. The photo above is of my husband’s plate, but since he had his stir fry on top of the quinoa, here’s a photo of the quinoa cooking too.

By the way, this made a TON of food…I guess without a recipe I am not so great at judging amounts yet. But we don’t mind leftovers around here, so we have some yummy stuff for lunch and/or dinner later this week!

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My husband really like Brussels sprouts, and I love mushrooms, so this was an easy choice for the first recipe to try from my new cookbook. It was tasty, but I wonder if we missed out by not using the rosemary or tarragon (didn’t have any and didn’t want to buy it just for this). The flavor of each ingredient was good but the flavors didn’t really mix. Strategically taking bites that incorporated different items helped.

I used rough math to reduce the recipe by 1/3, and we ended up eating about half of what I made since I didn’t serve it with anything else.

One thing I really loved about this recipe was that once I put it in the oven I could clean up while it roasted…I do enjoy the more complicated dishes that require constant attention, but I also love the chance to clean as I go, so that by the time we sit down to eat most of the clean-up is done!

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs Brussels sprouts
• 4 shallots, quartered
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 lb shiitake mushroom caps
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon or rosemary—omitted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare Brussels spouts by cutting away tough root ends and removing any blemished outer leaves. Slice in half through the base and place in large bowl. Add shallots, garlic and mushroom caps.
3. Prepare fennel by trimming off dried root end and slicing bulb thinly widthwise. Add to vegetables and toss with olive oil, vinegar, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Place in a 9×12-inch glass or ceramic baking dish and roast uncovered 25 minutes. Stir vegetables and roast 25 minutes more. Remove from oven and serve.

Source: Clean Food

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This turned out really, really, good! I want to make it sometime for friends. It had a great sweet-savory flavor. I had mine with broccoli, and my husband got green beans (he hates broccoli)! I’m already looking forward to enjoying the leftovers.

Serves: 4-8, depending on size of breasts and each person’s appetite!

Ingredients:

• 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (free range preferable)
• 1 medium size onion, sliced
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup filtered (pure) water

Directions:

1. Make a marinade by combining 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt and cumin. Add chicken and marinate 10 minutes.
2. Broil chicken till tender. Turn as needed.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion slices in the olive oil till golden brown or transparent; add in the water, the garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from the heat. Beat in the almond butter until melted.
5. Pour over the chicken and serve warm. Goes great with any salad or steamed vegetables.

Source: Cameron Rupprecht

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