Category — Protein

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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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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When I found this recipe in a magazine recently, I knew I’d have to try it soon. Chickpeas have become a recent favorite ingredient (or snack, all alone!) of mine recently, and I have 2 mint plants that have been growing quite well and deserve to be part of a recipe other than mojitos!

I served this cold as a main dish, but it occurred to me later that it might have been intend to be hot! It would work both ways, and certainly works as a main or as a tasty side dish for lamb, chicken, or fish.

P.S. To learn more about quinoa, check out the first post in my Great Grains series!

Yield: 6 servings (1 cup each)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 8 large cherry tomatoes or 4 small tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp stone-ground or Dijon mustard
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked, cooked, and drained OR 2 (10 oz.) cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• optional: 1/4 cup kalamata olives, drained
• optional: 3 ounces goat’s feta cheese

Directions:

1. If cooking dried and soaked chickpeas, add them to a pot of fresh water and bring to a boil. Strain foam off the top, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook with lid on for approximately one hour. Drain and refrigerate if not ready to proceed with following steps yet.
2. Bring 1 cup of water to a gentle boil, then add quinoa. Turn heat down to medium-high to keep a gentle boil going for 12-15 minutes. Pour quinoa into a fine sieve to drain, then tip into a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
3. Cut the tomatoes into bite-size pieces and set aside.
4. Add chickpeas and olives (if including) to quinoa.
5. Mix the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl using a whisk.
6. Pour dressing over chickpeas and quinoa, lightly tossing to coat.
7. Just before serving, add the tomatoes and mint.
8. If using feta, crumble it into the salad as well.
9. Toss gently and serve.

Adapted from Living Without magazine, June/July 2010 issue

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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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