Buffalo Chicken Quinoa

Now that I'm sharing this dinner, I want to eat it immediately. We love Frank's buffalo sauce in this house but go through phases of eating a lot of it and then carelessly avoiding it for awhile. It's been in the cabinet too long at the moment. This quinoa is a perfect weeknight meal and the leftovers make a great lunch. This is easily transitioned to a vegetarian option by removing the chicken and adding more broccoli. If you like things extra spicy, you can change your hot sauce preference. I once (accidentally!) made this with the Frank's extra hot. It was just too much for me, especially when reheated. I'll stick with the delicious tang of buffalo wing sauce. This recipe was a Pinterest discover from Half Baked Harvest.

You will need:
*1 cup quinoa (be sure to rinse it well before cooking)
*2 cups water
*1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
*1 cup broccoli florets
*1 cup shredded carrots
*1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, plus more for serving
*4 green onions chopped, divided
*1/2 cup olive oil
*1/2 cup hot sauce (I recommend Frank's buffalo)
*1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1. Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer with the heat on low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Remove cooked quinoa from heat and fluff with a fork.

2. While the quinoa is simmering, cook the chicken pieces in a skillet. While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce by combining the olive oil, hot sauce, and seasoned salt in a measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Once the chicken is almost finished, add the broccoli and about 1/4 cup of the sauce.

3. Remove the skillet from the heat once the chicken is fully cooked and the broccoli has softened to your liking. (I prefer to leave it a little crunchy) Stir in the carrots, blue cheese crumbles, cooked quinoa, and half of the scallions. Mix in sauce until the dinner is coated. I like to use most, if not all of it. Serve topped with additional blue cheese and the remaining scallions.

Crockpot Chicken Gyros

Happy New Year!

Here's a healthy, delicious, and simple crockpot recipe to kick off 2014. We've enjoyed this meal a few times. Eating this dinner brings me back to enjoying gyros while basking in the Mykonos sun a few summers ago. That vacation was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us so I like to relive it whenever possible. This is a quick version of this popular Greek dish that can cook while you're at work all day. As soon as I spotted this on Kate's Recipe Box, I knew it would be a winner in our kitchen. I immediately doubled that recipe to yield more leftovers that we could enjoy in more wraps and over salads. This reheats well, and I think it would freeze well too. I need to find a good, authentic Greek style pita option to enjoy these in. Maybe I'll have to look into making my own.

You will need:
*2 pounds chicken breasts (frozen works well here, no need to thaw)
*6 cloves garlic, minced
*
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
*1 onion, diced
*
1/2 cup water
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
*2 teaspoons oregano

*1/2 teaspoon allspice
*2 teaspoons lemon pepper
*
Tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, romaine and pitas, for serving

1. Place the chicken breasts in the base of a slow cooker. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

2. Shred and serve in pitas with desired toppings.
Don't forget the tzatziki! I use Trader Joe's prepared or make my own.

Lasagna Cupcakes

Happy Holidays! I hope that everyone is enjoying time with family, friends, and good food. We've had a wonderful time celebrating and are ready to continue into the new year. I'm so thankful that I get school vacation around this time of year.  It fully allows me to enjoy a lot of time out and about, as well as time at home. I love cooking dinner when I'm not rushing around after work.

These individual lasagnas are a perfect dinner and an excellent potluck option. I first discovered this recipe in a Hungry Girl email a couple years ago. I've altered it slightly over time as we've enjoyed this meal. I decided it was finally time to photograph these and post the recipe here. This recipe makes about 12 cupcakes. Enjoy!

You will need:

*olive oil (eyeball about one tablespoon)

*1 pound ground turkey breast
*1/4 tsp. salt, divided

*1/8 tsp. black pepper

*1 cup onion
, chopped
*1/2 cup  mushrooms, chopped

*about 18oz of your favorite marinara sauce (or crushed tomatoes with garlic)
*1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

*1 clove garlic, minced
*10-oz. spinach, chopped (I rarely use frozen spinach. We prefer to sautee fresh, but frozen could definitely work hear if thawed and squeeezed dry)
*
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
*
1 egg
*1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
*
24 small square wonton wrappers
*1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 



1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.



2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and season with 1/8 tsp. salt and pepper. Cook and crumble until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add onion and mushrooms, stirring often, and cook until veggies are soft and the turkey is cooked through. 

Reduce heat to low. Add marinara sauce and Italian seasoning to the skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

3. While turkey simmers, 

combine spinach, ricotta cheese, egg, nutmeg, remaining 1/8 tsp. salt, and garlic in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.

4. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Be sure the pan is well coated so that the muffins won't stick. Press a wonton wrapper into the bottom and shape up the sides of each cup of the pan. Evenly distribute about half of the spinach-ricotta mixture among the cups, smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon.

Next, add about half of the turkey mixture among the cups, smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle each turkey layer with about 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese. Place another wonton wrapper into each cup, lightly pressing it down on the cheese layer and along the sides of the cup, letting the edges fall over the pan. Repeat the layering by evenly distributing remaining spinach-ricotta mixture and turkey mixture among the cups. Top each cup with another tablespoon of mozzarella cheese.



5. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted and wrapper edges are browned. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

These are best after a few minutes out of the oven. They do reheat well for the filling, but I find that the bottom wrapper can get soggy. I usually try to make them close to serving time. We do still enjoy leftovers for lunch throughout the week when I make them for just the two of us.

Recipe Swap: Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

Sarah is hosting another What's Cooking Recipe Swap. For this swap I was assigned Simple Gourmet Cooking. I had fun browsing Dawn's blog, and it was difficult to decide which recipe to try first! I pulled Dave in to help sort through my narrowed down choices. This beef and broccoli was perfect. I love utilizing the crockpot to cook weekend dinners. We both really enjoyed this dinner and plan to repeat it again. It was the perfect amount for the two of us to enjoy dinner and lunch the next day.

You will need:
*1 cup beef broth
*1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
*1/3 cup brown sugar
*1 tablespoon sesame oil
*3 garlic cloves, minced
*1 pound stew beef or a sliced beef chuck roast
          (We can never get a roast under 3 pounds, so I used the butcher's precut stew beef)
*2 tablespoons cornstarch
*frozen broccoli florets (as many as desired-we used 16oz)
*Rice, cooked

1. Add the beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic to the insert of the crockpot. Stir together to combine.

2. Place the beef in the liquid and toss gently to coat. Cook on low 4-6 hours, until beef is completely cooked, but not shredding when touched.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons of the crockpot broth mixture and the cornstarch.  Add back into the crockpot and mix well. Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add in the broccoli to heat through.

4. Serve hot over rice.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Walnut Streusel

Thanksgiving is one week away. We are hosting yet again and I am frantically trying to get our menu put together. Every year I start saving recipes in magazines and pin many new ones with the intention to test drive them. Good intentions, but we often end up returning to favorites when we are a week out needing to make a decision. (And yup. That is happening again) These sweet potatoes worked really well last year and are worthy of a repeat. I love potatoes but tend to only make them around the holidays. With the amount of recipes I've collected, that might have to change this year. This recipe was found on Lauren's Latest.

For the potatoes, you will need:
*3 large sweet potatoes

*4 tablespoons brown sugar

*3 tablespoons butter

*pinch salt

*1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the streusel, you will need:
*
3 tablespoons flour
*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

*1/4 cup chopped walnuts
*
2 tablespoons butter
*
3 tablespoons brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Fork the sweet potatoes to create numerous holes. a Bake for about 40 minutes, or until soft.

2. Allow cooked sweet potatoes to cool slightly. Then slice in half, scooping out the centers into a bowl, leaving about a 1/4 inch border of sweet potato with the skin. Place the potato skins back on the baking sheet.

3. In the bowl of sweet potato, stir in brown sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon until smooth. Spoon or pipe the filling back into the potato skin shells. (We stopped at this step when prepping ahead of time. We made the streusel and warmed the potato skins shortly before serving)

4. In another small bowl, combine all ingredients for the streusel. Mix together until all the ingredients start sticking together. You might want to use a fork to help blend the butter as it warms. Top the filled sweet potatoes with the streusel. Bake 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe Swap: Lighter Creamy Garlic Pasta

It's recipe swap time again. I'm thankful to participate in these swaps since they remind me about this little old blog I have here. Sarah over at Taste of Home Cooking hosts these What's Cooking swaps. This month's theme was vegetarian recipes. I was assigned the blog Cookaholic Wife and decided to try this pasta recipe. I didn't make a true vegetarian recipe because I used chicken stock since it's what we had on hand and what the original recipe called for. That could easily be swapped out for a vegetable stock to keep this vegetarian. This pasta dish came together quickly and was a perfect comfort dish. It would thicken more with a heavier milk, but I loved it just the way it was.

You will need:
*1 tablespoon butter
*4 cloves garlic, minced
*1 teaspoon olive oil
*pinch of salt and pepper
*3 cups fat-free low sodium chicken broth
*3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
*1/2 pound linguine
*1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
*fresh parsley, minced, optional (I ended up using some dried parsley topping)

1. Heat the butter, garlic and olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Stir frequently so the garlic doesn't burn.
2. Once the butter has melted fully, add the salt, pepper, chicken broth, and milk. Bring to a boil.
3. Add the linguine and allow to cook according to package directions, stirring frequently so the mixture doesn't boil over.
4. Once fully cooked, stir in the cheese then remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Serve with additional cheese and parsley if desired.

Pumpkin Fettuccine Alfredo

Here's another fall pumpkin fix that comes in a comforting pasta dinner. When How Sweet It Is posted this recipe last year, I was immediately interested because of the mascarpone cheese. I love this ingredient in cream sauces. Even though this recipe uses a small amount, I recommend not skipping this creamy addition. We weren't fans of the fried sage leaves. I think in the future I would just add the ones that are baked with the pasta. I tend to be a little boring when it comes to certain herbs as a little often goes a long way for me.

You will need:
*1 pound whole wheat fettuccine
 (I used the usual box I find that is about 14oz)
*2 tablespoons unsalted butter
*
2 tablespoons flour

*2 garlic cloves, minced
*
4 cups low-fat milk
*
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

*1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

*3/4 cups pumpkin puree
*
1 tablespoons freshly chopped sage leaves
*
1/4 teaspoon salt

*1/4 teaspoon pepper

*1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
*freshly grated fontina (optional)
*breadcrumbs (optional)
*extra sage leaves if desired
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray or oil.

2. Boil water and cook pasta according to the product directions. Leave about 1 minute off the cooking time since you will be baking the pasta with the sauce. Drain and keep aside until needed.

3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once sizzling, whisk in flour and stir continuously until bubbly and golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

4. Stir the milk into the roux you just created. You want to keep stirring and steadily raise the heat as needed, until the mixture bubbles and starts to thicken-about 5-7 minutes. Next, mix in the mascarpone, parmesan, pumpkin, sage, salt, pepper and pumpkin pie spice. Mix until all ingredients blend and the sauce is thickened.

5. Add pasta to the prepared baking dish. Pour sauce on top and toss well to coat. If desired, add some grated fontina and a sprinkling of bread crumbs. Bake for for about 20 minutes, or until it is bubbly. Serve pasta immediately and top with sage leaves-listed in step 6.

6. If you'd like the fried sage leaves topping,  heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add a few sage leaves at a time to the hot pan and fry for about 30 seconds. Remove and place on a paper towel.

Pumpkin Danish

This year is absolutely flying. I found myself shocked that it's October. The school year is in full swing, and we have a ton of apple and pumpkin treats to bake. I am trying to catch up because I love fall. It's always marked for me by the return of football and cool mornings. One thing I could do without is the loss of daylight, but I guess I can be too picky. This pumpkin danish is the perfect treat for a fall morning. I found this recipe on Lauren's Latest.

for the danish, you will need:
*1 tube crescent rolls
*
6 oz. softened cream cheese

*1/2 cup pumpkin
 puree
*1/2 cup granulated sugar

*1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
*
1 teaspoon vanilla

*2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

for the glaze, you will need:
*
2/3 cup powdered sugar

*4 tablespoons heavy cream or 1 tablespoon milk

*splash vanilla

1. 
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare a baking sheet with a silipat or foil lining.

2. Combine cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, spices, flour and vanilla in a small bowl.

3. 
Unroll crescents keeping them shaped as rectangles (not individual triangles) and they them width wise on the baing sheet. (This should cover almost the entire length of a half sheet pan) Press to seal any holes. Cut 1/2 inch diagonal strips up each side of the dough. Next, carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough so that it is about 2-3 inches wide. Fold 1/2 inch dough pieces you cut so they are up and over filling, alternating sides will give you the braided pattern. (Remove any excess dough)

4. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until filling is set and dough is golden in color. Cool on the baking sheet. Once danish has cooled, remove and add icing as listed below.

5. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream/milk. You may need to add more cream/milk to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish. Cut into pieces and serve.

Recipe Swap: Quinoa Chicken

It's time for another recipe swap hosted by Sarah at A Taste of Home Cooking. This month's theme was blogger's choice. I was assigned to read through and select a recipe from The Jey of Cooking. I've visited Jey's blog before and was excited for the opportunity to try another recipe from her selection. It was a tough choice and I plan on pinning some of my many options. After much debating, I decided to make the Quinoa Chicken. I hadn't made quinoa in awhile and was eager to use the bag in my pantry. This chicken dish was fabulous! To make the recipe more weeknight friendly, I cooked the quinoa on the stovetop the day before and kept it in the fridge before roasting. If you are looking for a healthier alternative to a crispy breaded chicken, I suggest you give this a try. It was a great change of pace dinner for us and it'll surely be a repeat in our kitchen.

You will need:
*1 Cup Quinoa, rinsed
*2 Cups Chicken Broth
*4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
*1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
*1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme, chopped, plus additional for serving
*Olive Oil Cooking Spray

1. Preheat oven to 300.

2. Combine the rinsed quinoa and chicken broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.  (This is the step I did the night before)

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread cooked quinoa onto the sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 30 minutes. Cool a bit, then transfer to a shallow bowl.

 

4. Increase the oven temperature to 425. Place a baking rack over the previously used baking sheet. 

5. Combine the chicken, Dijon mustard, and thyme in a bowl; mix to coat. Place the coated chicken into the quinoa, one piece at a time, pressing to coat both sides then transfer to the baking rack. Spray the chicken lightly with olive oil and bake about 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with additional thyme if desired.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken

The school year is now in full swing. We're back to later dinners, earlier sunsets, and quick fix recipes for busy nights. There are some nights a recipe like this takes too long during the week, but I enjoy dedicating time to cooking on other days when I get home earlier. I am still trying to keep our goal of trying at least one new recipe a week in our menu plan. I'm so behind on blogging, that I'm rediscovering things we tried and loved last school year. This chicken is one of those dinners that I'll be repeating soon. I like jalapeno poppers but I rarely eat them. What's not to love when something is cheesy with a bit of a kick? I found this delicious dinner on Elly Says Opa. We doubled Elly's recipe  and it worked out well. The chicken is best the day you make it, but we did still enjoy having a lunch portion as well.

 You will need:
*1 cup panko
*4 teaspoons canola oil
*3 teaspoons taco seasoning
*
1 egg
 (start with 1, add a second if needed)
*4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
*
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
*
2-3 jalapeño peppers, minced-seeds removed
*
4 chicken breasts

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a baking rack over a foil lined rimmed baking pan. Spray/spead the rack with cooking oil.
 
2. Combine the panko and canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook until the panko is crispy and golden in color. Transfer the panko to a shallow dish and mix in the taco seasoning. Lightly beat the egg in another shallow dish.

3. Combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and minced jalapeño in a small bowl. 

4. Cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast (this is where the stuffing will go). I found it worked best to cut horizontally into the chicken like you were butterflying it. Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper, and then divide the cream cheese mixture evenly into the chicken's pocket you created. Use toothpicks to secure, if necessary.

5. Dip the stuffed chicken breasts one at a time, first into the egg and then into the panko mixture. Press to coat completely. Place the chicken on the oiled baking rack and cook for about 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.