Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

Have you tried to quinoa yet? It's becoming one of my favorite side dishes. It's also a super healthy food. It's a grain thats a protein.... Go Figure!! This dish is great as either a side, or for me a meal. The hubby might give me a funny look if I just serve this. I got this recipe from a great blog called Proceed with Caution, which has all kinds of great recipes, so go check it out.

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cups chopped red onions
  
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
  
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed, drained
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• feta cheese

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in next 4 ingredients. Add water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 14 minutes. Add beans and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro and cheese.

You have probably thought I am such a slacker with this blog, but I have a ton of things going on right now. We are in the process of moving to Michigan while my hubby is in between jobs. Plus I am Prego, so that doesn't help with cooking motivation. I promise things will get better here. I'm going to take a little break, but will update with family holiday get together recipes when the time comes. Thanks for understanding, and I will see you all soon. Guess I should say y'all since I'm still in Texas for two more days!!

Mayan Hot Chocolate

This is just a quick yummy hot cocoa recipe. I found it on the side of the SILK Chocolate Soy Milk Light container. It was just too good!

1 cup chocolate soy milk

1 T. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

pinch of cayenne

Pumpkin Cupcakes

It's officially pumpkin baking season. So I decided to start it off with these moist pumpkin cup cakes by Martha Stewart. I did not change the recipe at all and they were perfect. I topped them with cream cheese frosting, which I totally cheated on, and did not make from scratch(gasp). But I had a coupon for that new frosting in a can that already has a decorating tip on it, so I bought it, and it's good. The recipe for Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcakes can be found here!

Chili Stew

This is my go to chili on a cold fall day! Right now we are just pretending its cold, when its 90 out. But come on its fall...so we are eating chili, and cranking up the air:) You can throw this together and have good chili in about 25 minutes, or you can throw it in the crock pot on low for a few hours and have great chili. This makes a big batch, so have some friends over, watch some football, and ENJOY!

1 lb. ground beef ( sometimes I use bison or turkey)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

2 cans hot chili beans

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion

1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)

1 can chopped green chiles

2 T. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1. In a dutch oven, cook beef, onion, and green pepper over medium heat. When beef is cooked through, remove from heat and drain.
2. Return beef mixture to medium heat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can mix up the beans, beef, and tomato combo to suit your needs. I use bison, beef, turkey or a mix depending what I have on hand. I also substitute black beans for one of the chili beans sometimes. Play with it to make it your own.

Healthy Fruit Dipper

Thought all you Mac user would enjoy this pic! Any how, I found this great recipe for a fruit dip, that you can just whip up and keep in the fridge for a afternoon snack with your favorite fruit. I have been enjoying this with strawberries, apples and pears.

2 T. ground flax seeds

6 oz. creamy low fat vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Blend all together in a bowl and enjoy!

GOOD FRUIT COMBOS:

Winter: Orange and kiwi

Spring: Strawberries and pineapple

Summer: Blueberries and peaches

Fall: Apples, pears, and grapes

Marinated Salmon Steaks

You won't even have to buy the new Martha Stewart magazine when I'm done here! There were so many good recipes this time. Including this amazing salmon dish. We usually just grill salmon fillets with a little seasoning, so a salmon steak was a whole new adventure. My only disappointment was that I couldn't get smaller steaks....these were huge! I made a the whole amount of marinade for only 2 steaks and it worked out perfectly,even the recipe calls for 4 steaks.

1 bunch cilantro, thick stems removed

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 cup plus 1 T. olive oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice

4 salmon steaks

1. In a food processor, pulse cilantro, garlic, chile, ginger, paprika, and cumin until finely chopped. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and lemon juice and pulse to combine.
2. Arrange salmon in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Rub both sides with cilantro mixture. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Bake salmon, uncovered, until opaque throughout, 12 to 14 minutes.

We ended up sharing 1 steak due to the size, then for lunch the next day, I flaked the salmon off the bone and made salmon patties!!! Double bonus dinner!!