Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

I threw this together at the last minute one night to add a different taste to the table, and it hit the spot. So good! Justin liked it too. 

 

Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

Adapted from this blog

 Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup minced carrots
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

 

Directions: 

Pour the water into a saucepan, and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then pour in the quinoa, recover, and continue to simmer over low heat until the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and chill in the refrigerator until cold. Once cold, stir in the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red onion, curry powder, cilantro, lime juice, sliced almonds, carrots, and cranberries. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill before serving.  Notes: I didn't chill it all the way before serving, and it was good a little warm. The only pepper I used was a yellow one. Again, really, really, good.

 

Sweet and Spicy Pork Enchiladas

This was said to be as good as Cafe Rio. It's not. But it is the most delicious pork I've had at home. Justin loved it as well. You could serve this pork in more ways than enchilada-style. I'll be having it in a salad tomorrow. Mmmm.

Sweet and Spicy Pork
Adapted from this blog

Ingredients:

• 1 (2.5-3lb) pork loin roast
• 1 can yellow El Pato sauce
• 1 can green El Pato sauce
• 1 can tomato sauce (I use no salt added)
• 3/4c brown sugar 

For Enchiladas:

• Rice (I flavored mine with cilantro, lime juice, ranch dressing mix, and the broth from the pork)
• 1 can black beans
• Green enchilada sauce.
• Cheese
• Tortillas

Directions:
Put roast in a slow cooker with about 2c water. Cook on high 8-10 hours. Remove roast and shred with forks, removing any fat. Drain and quickly rinse crock pot (don’t worry about getting everything out, just a quick rinse to remove any extra fat hanging around). Return shredded pork to slow cooker with remaining ingredients. Stir to combine well and heat through till warm (about 1 hour on high).
To serve:
In a flour tortilla, add a layer of rice, pork, and black beans. Roll up like a burrito, and spoon green enchilada sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheddar (or other) cheese. Broil until cheese is melty.

Notes: I bought a huge can of green enchilada sauce and used a few spoonfuls. I need to just buy a smaller can. 

French Dip Sandwiches

French Dip Sandwiches
Adapted from Our Best Bites

• 1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
• 2 c. water
• 2 cans beef broth (I used vegetable, it was fine)
• 6-8 large buns (make sure they are thick, I just used thick slices of ciabatta bread.)
• White cheese of preference, I used vegan, Justin used swiss

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.
2. When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.
3. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onions soup mix. Pour water and beef broth over roast.
4. Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. The longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. 
5. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.
6. Place meat in rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!


Notes: The boys loved this! Make sure to stand next to the bread when it's in the broiler, it can burn quick. I almost made that mistake...

Coconut Tres Leches

A sad effect of childbirth was my body decided dairy was no longer acceptable. I am always looking for substitutes for my favorite dairy foods now. This is a winner. I am not a vegan, but vegan recipes often fit my needs for dairylessness. I used a cake box with eggs for this recipe, so it wasn't vegan. And it was really yummy for all who tried it.

It's a little complicated, like you start doing some of these steps TWO DAYS before you actually want to eat the cake, but it's worth the effort.

Coconut Tres Leches
adapted from this blog

Ingredients:
For the milk topping:

• 1/3 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk
• 1 2/3 cups Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Original, divided

 For the cake:

• A box. Pick a favorite that would taste good with coconut.

For the whipped topping:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled in the refrigerator for 24 hours
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

 First, get a can of full fat coconut milk and chill it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Second, you have to make your own sweetened coconut condensed milk, as explained in this recipe. You can do this a few days ahead of time if you need. I think it lasts a couple weeks in the fridge.

Brown Sugar Sweetened Condensed Milk
adapted from this blog

• 2 cans full fat coconut milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Heat coconut milk and brown sugar together in a medium sized pot over medium heat whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reduces to about 1/2-2/3 of original. This takes about 30 minutes. When milk is finished, it will coat the back of a spoon as seen in the above pictures. Let cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Note: When I made this I totally spaced putting in the brown sugar (only two ingredients, and I forgot one! Pregnancy brain). So at the end I squirted some agave syrup in and it was just fine. I'm curious to find out what it tastes like when I make it the way I'm supposed to. . . 

Third, you make the evaporated almond milk.
Evaporated Almond Milk   

• 1 1/3 cup unsweetened original almond milk (I use Blue Diamond)

Heat 1 1/3 cup Silk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 volume, whisking constantly. Set aside and cool completely. (Don't overcook it like I did the first time and leave yourself with an almond paste. Honestly. I can't believe this tasted as good as it did with all the mistakes I made. The second attempt at evaporated almond milk turned out great.)

Fourth, bake the cake in a square pan. Get a box. This is complicated enough. Cool cake completely.

Fifth, (so many steps!) assemble the goodness (some of this you can do while the cake is in the oven and cooling):

• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk, 1/3 cup evaporated almond milk, and remaining 2/3 cup almond milk. Pierce cooled cake several times with a fork (I recommend spraying the fork with nonstick spray), and pour mixture on top. Cover dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 24 hours. Place remaining can of coconut milk (for the whipped topping) in the refrigerator at this time as well if you haven’t already.

• To make the whipped topping, place a metal bowl and beaters in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. Turn chilled coconut milk can upside down and open. Pour out the liquid (you can save it for an other recipe!) and use a spatula to transfer the rest to your chilled bowl. Add 1 tbsp sugar and vanilla and beat on high until fluffy. Spread evenly over chilled cake.

Notes: Strawberries taste very nice on top of this. Or pineapples. 

Sesame Noodles

Whaaaaat?!?! A new post?! I know. My life has been bouncing around this country in single parent fashion for about a year. Now I am settled, husband is home for a while, and I have normalcy. That does not mean I haven't been cooking REALLY GREAT FOOD! Get ready to be buried in delicious recipes.

This particular recipe was super fast, delicious (I ate a serving or two before it actually made it to the table. I couldn't stop!), and it tastes like you're in a good chinese restaurant. We ate it with some grilled teriyaki chicken. Justin grilled it in a foot of snow.

Sesame Noodles

adapted from this blog

• 12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
• ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
• ½ teaspoons Hot Chili Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Hot Water
• 4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with green onions and toss.

Notes: I used Sriracha for the hot chili sauce, I chopped instead of minced the garlic, and I wish I'd have minced it. I also did not find Thin Noodles, or "soup noodles" so I just used linguine and it did great. 

PJ Banana Bread

Banana bread from Deep Issue #1, Justin's favorite:

1 egg
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
3 bananas, mashed fine
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Beat egg in bowl; add sugar and butter. Cream mixture together; add mashed bananas and vanilla. Mix all together. Sift flour, soda and salt; add to banana mixture and stir until well blended. Turn into 6 x 10 in. loaf pan. Bake at 325 to 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Kale Chips! (yum)

This is how most of the kale disappeared. My almost 3-yr-old said it tastes like popcorn. We went through half of the huge bag in one meal. This stuff tastes 1000x better than it looks.

Kale Chips
by Brooke

• Kale leaves (1-2 inches wide)
  
• olive oil
• salt

Preheat oven to 300-325. In a bowl, toss kale in olive oil. Spread onto a baking sheet. sprinkle with salt. Bake about 15 minutes, turning it halfway. It will turn dark green and very crispy.

Note: I added paprika to one batch, but couldn't taste much difference.