Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole

My friend Shannon shared this recipe with my online mom's board. I've talked about my mom's board before but I just need to reiterate how important they are in my life. I've been friends with these girls for a little over 4 years. I know how can you be friends with people you've never met and only talk on the Internet. It's much more than that. I've meet close to 50 of the girls through traveling for work and get-togethers. We're behind each other through any time of situation you can imagine - births, deaths, marriage, divorce and everything in between. It's beyond amazing to have such a great support system! I love my OOF girls!

So back to food, the real reason you're here. I've cooked with quinoa before and it's growing on me more and more. It's such a great, nutritious grain and a way for me to get protein into my daughter. I love the nutty flavor it has when it's cooked.

10 oz can low-sodium condensed cream of mushroom or broccoli soup
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp milk
1 1/4 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese (I use monterey jack)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash of grated nutmeg
2 cups cooked broccoli
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
panko bread crumbs
parmesan cheese

Rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve until the water runs clear. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa, water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes or until the quinoa is fluffy (or the white ring is visible). Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. I used 4 medium sized ramekins.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, mayo, milk, cheese, sugar, pepper and nutmeg. Stir until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and cooked broccoli.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish(es). Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese on top of quinoa. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or 20 to 25 minutes for ramekins or until the edges are bubbly and golden. Let cool slightly before eating, otherwise you'll burn you tongue...trust me.

Slightly adapted from: Eating Well, Living Thin


Recipe made by: The Jey of Cooking

The Secret Recipe Club - Nutella Gelato

It’s that time again…The Secret Recipe Club!!! This is my fifth month participating and I’m really enjoying it. Each month, I’m challenged to narrow it down to one recipe and this month’s blog was challenging. This is the second time I’ve been assigned a blog that focused on vegan eating. I think someone’s trying to tell me something! Trust me, we eat vegetables, I just don’t blog about it that often since I usually just steam some fresh veggies and I’m sure you all know about steaming veggies.
 

Here’s my previous SRC recipes:

• French Toast Casserole
• Turkey Macaroni Skillet
• Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake
• Honey Balsamic Chicken Thighs with CranberryWild Rice

So back to the SRC – this month’s assignment was from Baking & Biking. Sarah is the foodie behind this blog. We have lots of things in common – both of us are “at-home” cooks who learned to cook by growing up in the kitchen with our moms and then experimenting on our own while in college. Sarah has lots of great smoothie recipes but since my blender is on the fritz, I had to skip trying one of them. Instead I opted for her recipe for Nutella Gelato Shake. I figured you can’t go wrong with Nutella and gelato – plus I hadn’t make ice cream in over a month and it was due time I make a batch. Sarah added butterscotch chips and toffee bits to her gelato, but I opted for semi-sweet chocolate chips. The gelato is so creamy and rich – perfect for when you’re craving a sweet treat!

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Nutella
Pinch of salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


In a saucepan, combine the milk, cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves.

In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture until the eggs have been thick and pale yellow in color. It takes about 4-5 minutes.

Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture into the whipped egg yolks. Stir and then add this mixture to the saucepan. Cook over very low heat; stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.


Stir in the vanilla, Nutella and salt until it is completely dissolved. Transfer the mixture to bowl with a spout. Chill the mixture completely before pouring it into your ice cream maker. Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker to freeze the mixture. Add the chocolate chips (or other add-ins) about 10 minutes before the gelato is done. Freeze until the mixture firms up.


Want to be part of The Secret Recipe Club? Join here!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Frosting

Here's my next attempt at baking with beer! My coworker was having an Oktoberfest party and I knew the entire party would focus around beer and drinking. I have learned so much about beer by going out to lunch with a group of them on Fridays. It has definitely opened my eyes into the world of craft beers!

Back to the cupcakes...my town hosted their annual Oktoberfest event in September and we walked over to check out the event. While I didn't visit the beer garden, we wandered around looking at all the vendors selling crafts and food. I live in an area full of German history and the event doesn't disappoint. There was lots of food and great performances from the Auerhahn Schuhplatter Dancers. While I was there, I ate a chocolate-stoudt cupcake. It was ok, but the cake was really dry and I knew I could make something better. LOL...isn't that always how it starts?

Sorry the picture isn't the best quality, but you get the idea. I suggest not drinking while trying to take pictures...whoops! The cupcakes were so moist and they went over well at the party.

Cupcakes
1 cup Guinness
1 stick, plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, chopped into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper lines.

Combine the beer and the butter in a large sauce pan. Heat to melt the butter. Once it's melted, remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla. Once combined, add to the beer mixture. Sift the flour and baking soda together and fold into the batter. Divide the batter among the prepared pans (I made 2 dozen cupcakes). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan. Cool completely on a rack.

Frosting
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove clumps
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 - 4 Tbsp Bailey's Irish cream

In the bowl of stand mixer, whip the butter. Once light and fluffy, slowly add in the powdered sugar. When the frosting is thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Bailey's and whip until combined. Frost the cupcakes and get ready to enjoy them!

Cupcake recipe from: Big City, Little Kitchen

Frosting recipe from: Smitten Kitchen


Recipe made by: This is How We Eat

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Pasta and Chicken

I'm behind on my blogging, work has been so crazy and I've been exhausted by the time I get home that I rarely have been spending much time on the computer when I get home. Don't worry....I'm still cooking and baking. And now I have a long list of recipes to blog about so I'll busy once again this week.

We received a bunch of swiss chard in our CSA basket - another green that I've never used before. Once again, a great feature of partipicating in a CSA. I'm sad last week was our last pick up, but I stocked up and have many new recipes planned for our goodies. Swiss chard is one of the good for dark green veggies.

What's your favorite way to eat it?

1 bunch swiss chard
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb chicken breast, cut into cubes
1/2 pound pasta, cooked

In a large pan, saute the chicken until fully cooked. Remove from pan and place in a bowl. Tent the bowl with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Trim the tough ends of the swiss chard and slice the stems and leaves into thin strips. Heat the olive oil in the pan used for the chicken. Add the swiss chard and onions. Saute until the onions are softened, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the cooked pasta and chicken with the swiss chard and a little extra virgin oil to loosen the pasta.

Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese and serve.

Recipe adapted from Jeannette's Healthy Living

Harvest Pumpkin Ale Bread

Now that it's October and feeling like fall here, I'm ready to start making breads, chili and anything with pumpkin. Fall is my most favorite time of the year! I love the crispness in the air, the leaves changing colors and wearing warm, cozy sweaters.

My first fall creation is a harvest pumpkin ale bread. I've done a little baking with bread before but after trying a chocolate guinness cupcake at our town's Oktoberfest last month, I knew I could make a cupcake way better that. Don't worry, I'll be blogging about the cupcakes later this week, but back to the bread. I came home one evening to a cold 6 pack of Sam Adams Octoberfest beer in my fridge. PERFECT!

I made this recipe twice, tweaking as I went and the second time it was just right. My coworkers were definitely happy this week trying both varieties. The first one was too moist, but a few changes and it worked out great.

Pumpkin Puree

15 oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)

2/3 cup sugar

1 bottle beer

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Slowly stir to combine all the ingredients. Divide puree into two containers. You'll use one now and the other should be refrigerated in an air-tight container to make a second loaf.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1/2 (approx. 2 cups) pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time. Once combined, stop the mixer and add the reserved pumpkin puree. Turn the mixer to medium-low and run for 5 minutes to fully combine the wet ingredients.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix slowly on low until well combined.

Pour the mixture in the prepared pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and completely cool in the pan.

Adapted: Samuel Adams Brewing The American Dream

Recipe swapped on: The Grocery Cart Challenge