tipsy quinoa salad

I had a veggie burger tonight with grilled eggplant and zucchini for dinner and I had some leftover veggies, so I decided to whip up a quick pasta salad to pack for lunch this week.  Drunken noodles are made with alcohol, right?  Well I added just a little bit of white wine to the quinoa...not quite drunken, but tipsy at best.   
I think this recipe makes a great lunch or as a side dish too (paired with grilled shrimp, mmmm).  I think I'll probably cut up some left over fajita chicken from last night for tomorrow's lunch.  This salad has tons of veggies and even some fresh basil--remember my Earth Day herbs?!  They're growing beautifully :)
While we're on that topic, I just acquired some eggplant and pepper plants from a neighbor, I'll be transplanting later this week, watch for a post on vegetable gardens soon!  

Tipsy Quinoa Salad 
Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry red quinoa, rinsed 
1 1/2 cup water or broth
1/4 lg. eggplant, sliced & grilled 
1/3 lg. zucchini, sliced lengthwise & grilled 
1/4 lg. vidalia onion
1/4 red pepper
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
about 10-15 small, fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup white wine 
a shake of paprika
garlic powder, to taste (there is no such thing as too much garlic)
salt & pepper, to taste (but go easy with that salt shaker)


I started by drizzling the eggplant and zucchini a little bit of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cooking on medium heat on the grill (about 10-15 minutes).  You could skewer the onion, pepper, and mushrooms and grill them too, but I just cooked those in a pan after dinner.   When the veggies are done, chop them into bite size pieces and set them aside.

If you didn't grill the onions, peppers, and mushrooms, chop them and cook them on medium heat in a skillet with another small drizzle of olive oil.   

Once the veggies start cooking, add the grilled eggplant and zucchini to the pan too.  Add the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper now. 

While the veggies are cooking, prepare the quinoa.  Just rinse it, put it in a pan with the water/broth on high heat until it boils, cover and reduce it to a simmer until the water/broth is absorbed, it'll take about 10 minutes.  When the Quinoa is done, add it to the big pan of veggies.  Next add the white wine and basil leaves.  Stir for a minute or too and it's ready to go! 

 Like I said before, this makes a great side dish, or a light lunch meal.  Quinoa is rich in protein and the veggies add a ton of vitamins too.  The olive oil has healthy unsaturated fat which is great for skin and hair, and the wine... well that's just for fun ;)    Enjoy!

mango chicken stir-fry with red quinoa

Looking for a quick summer recipe?  Well you've come to the right place.  When it comes to stir-fry use any veggies you'd like.  Take advantage of the warm season, the quality of produce is peaking while prices are likely dropping.  Tonight I made a mango chicken stir-fry loaded with tons of fresh veggies on a bed of red quinoa.  

Mango Chicken Stir-fry with Red Quinoa (serves 4)
Ingredients:
 1/4 large eggplant, sliced into quarters
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 precooked rotisserie chicken breast
~1/8 cup pineapple flavored teriyaki marinate
1/2 cup thawed frozen mango chunks (found at Trader Joes)
Siracha sauce to taste (aka rooster sauce)
2 and 1/2 cup vegetable stalk, divided
1 cup dry red quinoa 


In a large wok or skillet, heat the oil on medium to high heat.  Add the eggplant and let soften a little bit.  Next add the zucchini, pepper and onion.  If the veggies start to stick, add a little of the 1/2 cup vegetable stalk, a few tablespoons at a time.  While these vegetables are cooking, prep the rotisserie chicken by peeling off the skin and chopping into medium sized chunks. Add the chicken to the pan and stir.  Next add the mango.  Add the marinate and siracha sauce and reduce the heat to medium-low.

While all of this is cooking, rinse the quinoa with cold running water.  Add 1 cup water, 1 cup vegetable stock and 1 cup rinsed quinoa in a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Then cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until soft.  The quinoa is done with the circular whites separate from the red quinoa. 

 The stir-fry will be done when the quinoa is ready.  Plate it up and enjoy!  Stir-fries make for great leftovers, so make extra and brown bag it for tomorrow's lunch :)

 

grilled vegetable stack and warm quinoa salad

I love summer, especially the heat... bring on the 90 degree weather!  There is one drawback though, even a self-proclaimed foodie like me finds it hard to have much of an appetite... and let's be real here, salads get old after a while.  Today I made a great heat-friendly summer lunch and it'd taste great hot or cold!  And my title might be a little deceitful, as I have mentioned before I don't have a grill at my apartment... but I do have a pan that makes marks on food sort of like a grill :)  If you do have a grill, that is a great way to cook veggies as it brings on a whole new flavor to the vegetable, yum!  Oh and a disclaimer-- I made this recipe up as I went so the order of doing things is a little weird, but since I didn't want to eat the sandwich or quinoa hot anyway it doesn't really matter I suppose.

Grilled Vegetable Stack (serves 1)
Ingredients:
1 small whole wheat pita
1 portabella mushroom cap
~1/2 zucchini
2 big onion slices 
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp italian-type dressing (I could have made a marinate but i was lazy) 
grilling seasoning to taste (I used Garlic & Onion Medley McCormick Grill Mates)

Warm Quinoa Salad (serves 1)
Ingredients:
cooking spray 
1-2 tbsp chopped onion
1 slice zucchini from the sandwich recipe
1/4 cup cooked broccoli 
1/2 cup cooked quinoa 
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp vegetable stock (broth or water would work too)


Start by slicing the zucchini the long way, about 1/4 inch thick-- you want to cut at least 5 slices.  Sprinkle a little bit of grilling seasoning on one side of the zuccini.  If you're using a grill, then you are going to want to brush your vegetables with oil so they don't stick.  If you are going to use a "grill pan" just put your oil right in the pan on high heat.  Once the grill or pan is nice and hot, add the zucchini, seasoning side face-down in the pan.  

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Next you're going to add the onion.  I just sliced an onion in half, then cut out two rings, maybe just a little thinner than the zucchini.  Make some room and add those to the pan too.

When the zucchini starts to really get cooking on one side, give them a flip.  While the zucchini cooks, slice a portabella mushroom cap in half horizontally to make two 'mushroom patties'. If the pan is full, wait for the zucchini to finish up.  When the zucchini and onion is done, just remove from heat and set aside. Add the mushroom to the pan or grill, and drizzle the dressing on the mushroom.  The advantage of cooking in a pan is that it holds the oil/seasoning from the zucchini. The mushrooms have a great flavor on their own so you don't need a lot dressing... I used a Greek vinaigrette dressing, but any oil-based dressing would work well.   

As the mushroom cooks, you can start working on the quinoa salad.  My camera battery died half way through the cooking process so I charged it while I made the quinoa, sorry!  I made a big batch of quinoa a couple nights ago just to have on hand.  If you don't have any already made, just follow the recipe on the box, simple as that!  Spray a small pan with a little cooking spray and add the chopped onion and garlic on medium heat.  Next add the cooked broccoli--I steamed extra this morning when I made my broccoli and cheddar omelet.  If you have frozen broccoli, that would work well too.  Take one of the cooked zucchini slices and chop it up and add to the pan.  When the onions get soft and become translucent, add the balsamic vinegar.  Next ad the cooked quinoa.  If you think it looks dry, add some broth, stock or even a little bit of water. Bring the heat down to low and let this hang out while the mushroom finishes cooking.  When the mushroom is done, you're ready to start stacking! I used pita bread because it's what I had on hand, but a nice roll would make a good sandwich too.  I sliced the pita in half to get two circles and warmed it in my pan before I started stacking.  Start with the bottom bun or pita half and add a couple slices of zucchini. 

  Next add one mushroom half.

 Next add one ring of onions.

And now repeat once more: zucchini, mushroom, and onion.  

You'll probably have some zucchini left over... you can snack on that later.  I hope you like it!!

winner winner (orange) chicken dinner!

This is a super healthy dish and it's full of summer flavors, you just HAVE to try it!  Tonight I made orange teriyaki chicken thighs with vegetable quinoa pilaf.  In all honesty, even me, the girl who eats "weird food" has been skeptical of this funny sounding grain.   But the fact of the matter is, everybody should be eating this stuff!!  Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a SUPER grain.  It's packed with protein, with eight grams of protein per serving-- that is double the amount of protein in other grains.  Quinoa is also rich in other vitamins and minerals including zinc, vitamin E, and selenium.  

Orange Teriyaki Chicken thighs (serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs (I bought boneless/skinless just to make things easy)
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp crushed garlic
~2 tbsp grated orange peel
juice from 1/4 orange
orange slices from 1/4 orange 
2 tsp canola oil


Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf (serves 2)
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 large white mushroom, finely chopped
1/2 carrot, grated and chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp ginger root, freshly grated
1 tbsp grated orange peel


First, trim the chicken thighs of most visible fat.  If you bought chicken with the skin on, remove the skin before marinating.  Place the trimmed chicken thighs in a ziplock bag.  

 Next, add the teriyaki sauce, honey, and garlic to the bag.  If you have a zester then great, but if not you can use a knife to peel back the very first layer of orange peel.  Don't cut too thick because the white of the peel gives off a bitter flavor.  You'll use more orange zest in the quinoa so take off more than you need, about 1/2 of a large orange.  Once you've removed the top layer, chop it into smaller pieces and add it (approx. 2 tbsp) to the bag. 

Cut the orange in half, and then cut one half in half again.  squeeze 1 quarter into the bag, and slice the other quarter and put it in the bag.  Now, seal it up and mix the contents by massaging the ingredients into the chicken.  Let it marinate in the fridge for about 1/2 hour.  

If I had a grill, I definitely would have grilled this, but alas I made due with what I had and used a large skillet on the stove top.  I heated 2 tsp canola oil in the skillet and dumped the entire contents of the bag in the pan, orange peels and all.  

While the chicken is cooking, you can prep your vegetables for the quinoa.  Using a spoon, peel back the tough skin of the ginger root, then thinly slice & dice (sorry I didn't take any pictures of this!) The mushrooms and carrots should look like this... 

Place the chopped mushroom, carrots, onion, ginger, and orange peel in a small bowl and set aside.  


If you don't already have a metal strainer, it'd be a solid investment... I am not sure how else you could rinse the quinoa... And I'm not exactly sure what you're rinsing off, but I just do what the box tells me!  Some quinoa comes pre-rinsed, just make sure you read the box.  Add 1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup vegetable stock to a tall-sided pot and cook on high until it comes to a boil.  I use vegetable stalk to add more flavor.  You could also use chicken or beef broth or even bullion, just be aware that some of those are REALLY high in sodium.  Add the bowl of veggies, cover and reduce heat to low until water is absorbed (about 10-15 minutes).

Meanwhile, check your chicken.  When it starts to turn from pink to white, it's ready to flip.  My chicken thighs were all different sizes so I decided to cut them into smaller chunks to make it easier to split the portions evenly, but if yours all look about the same, leave 'em whole if you so choose. 

Once the chicken is no longer pink, it's all ready!  By now, the quinoa should be done too.  You'll know the quinoa is done because it changes it's appearance from little round balls to translucent circles with a little opaque ring on the outside.  Scoop the quinoa onto a plate and pour the chicken right on top... If you are feeling fancy, garnish with a fresh orange slice :)

And remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share or if you'd like me to try to put a healthy spin on a not-so-healthy favorite, email me at jillianpollock87@gmail.com!