Parmesan Garlic Quinoa

Today was the day I finally decided to do something with the Quinoa that's been sitting in my cupboard for a couple of weeks. I've never had quinoa, I've never made quinoa, I don't know what it's suppose to taste like, or what the texture is suppose to feel like either! I decided to follow this recipe at Canopi.com first, since I was testing it on my daughter and she loves mac&cheese. I thought it could possibly be a nice alternative to that since it's a creamy, cheesy dish.

To be honest, I was being a bit of a skeptic about the whole thing. I'm a texture freakazoid, and was pretty positive this would be a gloppy disgusting mess. So when I finally decided to try it after my daughter had already started eating it, I was really surprised to actually enjoy it! It really was a creamy, cheesy, sophisticated version of mac&cheese. I'm excited to start testing out other recipe's using quinoa now!

I still don't know if I made it correctly, but here is a close up, so if anyone can tell just by looking if I didn't cook it long enough, or too long, let me know!

What you will need:

• 1 C Quinoa, rinsed
• 2 C water
• 1 medium white onion (I minced mine so my daughter wouldn't notice them too much)
• 2 cloves garlic (I grated mine, and used 3)
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese (I also added a little grated mozzarella)

Directions:

• Rinse the quinoa
• Over medium-high heat, saute' the onions in the olive oil for about 4-5 minutes
• Add garlic and cook for a minute while stirring
• Add in water and quinoa
• Cover and bring to a boil
• Turn down heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until there is a ring on the outside and the center is clear
• Fluff with fork and mix in salt, pepper, red pepper, basil and cheeses
• Top with fresh grated Parmesan and a sprinkle of basil

Chex Scotcheroos

Would you believe I'm actually starting to have a little fun with this gluten-free thing? I just get so excited when I find out something I know I like is gluten-free! I found this awesome recipe at Yammies Gluten Freedom and have absolutely fallen in love with her site! It's like all of my "WHY MEEEEEEE! THIS IS TOO HAAARRRDDD" prayers were finally answered when I found her. I spent way too long her site ignoring my screaming child throwing a tantrum on the floor because one of her socks wasn't on right.

Really, though. Who wouldn't love these? Gluten or not, they are delicious. And I feel like I could say the name over and over. It's so cute. SCOTCHEROOS! Scotcheroos. SCOTCHerOOOOOsss! Even though I admit that in the time between when I saved the recipe and actually made the recipe I was calling them "scootcheroos." Whoops.

What you will need:

• 6 C Chex cereal 
• 1 C corn syrup
• 1 C sugar
• 2 C peanut butter, divided
• 2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 C butterscotch chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

• Grease a large bowl and measure out your Chex into it; set aside
• Grease a 13x9 baking dish and set aside
• Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil and remove from heat
• Immediately mix 1 1/2 C of the peanut butter into the corn syrup/sugar mixture and mix well
• Pour over the Chex and coat the cereal evenly
• Spread the Chex into the 13x9 dish
• Place chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, 1/2 C peanut butter and vanilla into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until all is melted
• Pour over the Chex and let sit until cooled completely

Cooking Challenge; Sweet Potato, Cinnamon & Chicken

I posted my first Cooking Challenge up on my Facebook page last week (like my page so you can chime in with your ideas, too!). I asked people to choose any 3 ingredients to try and make a meal out of; Chopped style, if you will. I chose at random, and it was Veronica's ingredients I was challenged with!

Sweet potato

Cinnamon

Chicken

My biggest problem with those ingredients? I HATE sweet potatoes! And cinnamon? To me, that belongs in desserts. It is very rare that I would find that to be acceptable spice in a savory dish. However, this wasn't entirely a "savory" meal I'd be putting together, because although it dealt with potatoes, it was a sweet potato. So it was a comforty, savory, sweet meal I'd need to put together.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I did take the safe route and tried to come up with a soup. And guess what? I'd honestly give myself a 7 out of 10 for this one. Let me tell you why..

I'll go ahead and take you through my head during this process...
1. I used the cinnamon to flavor the sweet potato as it was boiling. My entire home smelled like cinnamon and sweet potato while it cooked and it was surprisingly heavenly.
2. I felt like a bit of a "nutty" flavor would go well with this, so instead of using olive oil or water to help smooth out my sweet potato in the food processor, I used browned butter instead.
3. I typically like soups to be smooth, so I went ahead and blended the grated garlic and minced onions into the sweet potato puree before mixing it with the broth

What I'd change: 

1. The chicken. I chose to do a soup, so my options for how to incorporate the chicken was a little bit limited for my knowledge, and having it just mixed in didn't fit well. I think croutons would be a better fit to top this off.
2. I am convinced that if I'd blended some roasted red bell peppers into it and kept it thick like a spread for some baguette slices, it would be ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I will be testing that idea out soon.
3. I feel like I copped out with the cinnamon. I could not taste it at all, so I think I'd try and be a little more bold with it next time around.

Bottom Line:

1. It was pretty darn good for someone that doesn't even like sweet potato. But again, omit the chicken and turn it into a spread with some roasted red peppers and it would be to die for.

What you will need:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled, washed and cubed
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 T butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 C onions, minced
• 1 T flour
• 1 C Chicken stock or broth (I had broth on hand)
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 1 tsp. thyme
• Shredded chicken to top (but....lesbianest, you don't need it)

Directions:

• Boil the cubes of sweet potato with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Using 2 T of butter, make some browned butter and set aside
• When the sweet potatoes are tender, add to a blender, food processor or mixer of some kind and blend, adding in the browned butter until smooth
• Add in garlic and onions and blend again until smooth
• Using the other 2 T of butter, mix with the flour over medium heat with a whisk until it's smooth and has turned to a light caramel shade to make a roux
• Add chicken stock/broth and brown sugar into the roux and bring to a boil
• Turn down heat and let simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring often
• Add the sweet potato puree to the broth and blend well
• Add in heavy cream until it reaches desired consistency
• Add in thyme and simmer until it's blended well and warm
• Top with chicken (but don't)
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Cilantro Lime Dressing

This recipe is adapted from Our Best Bites. It's super delicious! The garlic, cilantro and green salsa amount is a little different but not a ton so try it either way and you'll love it!

 I wasn't going to bother posting this on my recipe site but I need to pull up the recipe so often and it is surprisingly difficult to find it on their site for some reason? So, I finally caved and decided to just put it on here so I could pull it up faster every time.

Try it with the Cafe' Rio Shredded Chicken and you'll fall in love. Pinky swear!

What you will need:

• 1 pkg hidden valley ranch dressing mix (or 1 1/2 T)
• 1 C mayo
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 lime
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3/4 C cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 C green salsa
• hot sauce

Directions:

• Place milk, ranch mix and mayo in a blender and blend and juice the lime into it
• Add garlic, cilantro and salsa and blend
• Add hot sauce to taste

Tostada Pizza

Once again, on my quest to find gluten free things my daughter will eat. The biggest challenge for me has been lunches. I can't take very long to cook a real meal, but I don't have the luxury of throwing together a sandwich anymore because we have yet to find a gluten free bread she likes.

 I tested this idea out and it was GREAT! Much better than I thought it would be. I've been getting very annoyed by the fact that I feel like I end up having to make a less healthy meal than I normally would have because of gluten. I made my dinner menu a few days ago and actually had "hot dogs" listed for dinner because she doesn't eat the buns with her hot dogs. Uugh. So, yeah, this idea did get under my skin a little bit because isn't some nutritional goddess of any kind, but at least I can serve it with a size of fruit and feel a little better.

I couldn't stop eating this thing. It's just a giant chip with sauce and cheese on it for crying out loud. So why is it soooo good?

What you will need:

• Tostadas (I didn't even know where to find these when I went to get them.  How sad. They're just by all of the other tortilla's. Duh.)
• Your favorite marinara/pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese (I used cheddar as well)
• Pepperoni slices (My kids like the little baby ones because of their cuteness?)
• Any other toppings you like on a regular pizza

Directions:

• Spread the marinara sauce on before adding your cheese and toppings
• Turn oven on to 350 degree's and warm tostadas until cheese is melted and toppings are hot

Gluten Free Grasshopper Trifle Dessert

I'm on a little bit of a gluten-free buzz right now trying to find things my daughter likes. I made her some gluten free brownies a while back and she really liked them, so I made them again and wanted to use them in something.

I'll be honest, at first when I made the gluten free brownies I wanted to throw up when I was making them. They were NOT appealing when I was mixing the batter and I was pretty sure they would be disgusting. It didn't help that I am the biggest skeptic of gluten free foods in the universe either. But those brownies were actually really really good I tell ya what. It's weird because I absolutely loathe dark chocolate, and they tasted like dark chocolate brownies. So it's weird that I like them..??

Anyways, I threw this together to add to my list of desserts my kiddo can have! I didn't follow a recipe, so I have a couple of, "or you could do this instead..." thoughts.

What you will need:

• 1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free brownies, baked and cooled (or use regular brownies, it doesn't have to be gluten free)
• 1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
• 2 C milk (to make the pudding)
• 1 carton cool whip, divided
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 bag baking Ande's Mints
• Optional- green food coloring (I put a tiny drop in so it was a nice shade of light green, but you can't really tell in the picture)

Directions:

• Prepare chocolate pudding and store in the fridge
• Bake brownies and cool
• Mix 1/4 C of the cool whip into the chocolate pudding
• In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the cool whip with the Ande's mints and mint extract (you could add the extract to the chocolate instead, or to both!)
• Cube up the brownies
• In a trifle dish, layer the chocolate pudding, brownies, and mint whip (or any layer you want I guess)
• Top with Ande's Mints

Muddy Buddies

I needed myself a nice little snack tonight. It was quite the day! Anybody that's ever been standing in line at the Post Office with a box with heavy and fragile things while your toddler is with you knows what I mean. And that's what started my day! Yiikes!

So, here's to the Mama's out there that need a nice little somethin' somethin'. I adapted my recipe from Betty Crocker's. I just tend to like an even chocolate to peanut butter ratio in most things so I switched a few things up. And don't you love that these are gluten free? I 100% hate having a daughter with Celiac's, but things like this make it a little easier!

What you will need:

• 1 box Chex mix cereal
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 C peanut butter
• 1/3 C butter
• 1 tsp. coconut
• 1/2 C coconut
• 2 C powdered sugar

Directions:

• Add chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a microwave safe bowl and heat for one minute
• While that's going, pour the Chex cereal into a large bowl
• Stir together the chocolate, peanut butter and butter until creamy and well blended (it won't look like it's all melted, but after you stir it, it will all melt together)
• Mix in vanilla
• Pour chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the Chex and mix well
• Add in coconut
• Add in powdered sugar