Friday, July 22, 2011

~Quinoa Recipes~

My family has fallen in love with quinoa.  My friend Lori gave it to Ellie one day while she was at her house playing and Ellie came home wanting me to make it.  So of course I had to get the recipe from her.

So what is it?
Quinoa (pronounced ‘keen-wah’) is a grain-like crop that is grown for its seeds.  When cooked in water, it fluffs up sort of like couscous or rice and can be used in a lot of recipes where you would normally use those two things.  You can buy red quinoa, and this lighter colored white quinoa which is cheaper at Costco.  It looks like this when cooked...
You basically cook quinoa just like you would rice. 
Here is Lori's recipe and than I found another mango one from Our Best Bites (LOVE their website and cookbook!!).  They also have more tips on how to cook it on there too.

Quinoa and Black Bean Vegetable Salad

For the salad:
1 C uncooked quinoa
1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, chopped ( I usually use about 3 chopped tomatoes instead but both ways are awesome)
1/4 C fresh cilantro, finely chopped
green onions chopped
1 C fresh corn
1 small avocado, chopped into 1 in. pieces

For the Dressing:
4-5 tbs. of fresh lime juice (juice from two limes or I have used bottled too)
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 C fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste

Directions:
1. cook 1 cup quinoa in two cups of water (just like you would cook rice) usually about 15 mins, covered until all water is absorbed.
2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.
3.  Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 mins.  Fluff with a fork.  Add the beans and vegetables and toss well
4.  Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring salad to room temperature before serving.  Keep fresh in a sealed container for 1-2 days.  Makes about 5 cups.
I actually like this salad hot but it is really good cold too.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

~Nutella Cupcakes~

Our family LOVES Nutella!!  So my husband is making me try these:)  They sound so yummy....
Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature
Preheat the oven to 325F.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick. It needs to be in order to swirl in the Nutella!
Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool. Makes a dozen cupcakes.