Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

My friend Paige and I were overdue for a cooking night. Our choice? Stuffed bell peppers! Since neither of us had ever made this dish, we decided it would be safest to follow a recipe. Next time I'll definitely create my own! This yummy recipe is protein packed and was really delicious. I added a little extra heat to up the Mexican-style feel of the dish. It would still taste great without the spice, which I why I put "to taste" next to the cayenne. I can't wait to create my own fillings in the future!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 T olive oil
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 T ground cumin
Cayenne pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, partly thawed
2 15-oz  cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
15 oz can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained
3/4 c dry quinoa
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1 c shredded cheese (I used vegan cheese)
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Step 1: Heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion, celery, and garlic until tender and fragrant. Add cumin and cayenne and saute for another minute. Reduce heat to medium, add tomatoes and spinach and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is mostly evaporated (there will still be some, which is ok).

Step 2: Stir in beans, quinoa, and carrots, as well as 2 cups water. You can use a little less water is there is still a lot of water from the spinach and tomatoes. Bring this to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Quinoa should be tender. Stir in cheese.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour tomato juice in the bottom of a baking pan. Fill each pepper half  as full as possible with quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Hearty Vegetable Soup

It's a snow day today! That means I can post some of the stuff I've been accumulating!

I haven't made soup from scratch in a very long time. On Sunday, I decided it was time to change that. The result was a hearty (and easy!) soup packed with colorful veggies in a flavorful broth!

Note: This makes a LOT of soup. I won't have to cook at all this week, as a result. I also thought the soup tasted even better after sitting in the fridge overnight, since the flavors had time to come together; so don't be afraid of leftovers!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients: 

4 c low sodium vegetable broth

1 can low sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

10 asparagus spears, chopped

1.5 c broccoli florets, broken into smaller pieces

1 c sliced white mushrooms

1  14-oz can diced, no salt added tomatoes in juice

1/2 c chopped fresh basil

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 t chili powder

1t ground cumin

1 1/4 t salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/2 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic marinade

Step 1: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add all vegetables and garlic and saute until they begin to tenderize and onions turn translucent. This may take a little while, due to the large amount of veggies. 

Step 2: Add chili powder, cumin and basil and stir for another 2-3 minutes. 

Step 3: Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Add salt and Trinidad marinade. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Step 4: Serve warm! Refrigerate remaining soup for delicious leftovers.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Caprese Eggplant

This recipe is looong overdue. Even though I have cooked lots and lots of recipes, I haven't prepared many for more than a couple people at a time. This Caprese Eggplant was one of the first dishes I made for an entire party of people! Might I add that my creation was very successful? 

My inspiration for this tasty finger food was a traditional Italian caprese panini. I've yet to meet someone who doesn't like the classic grilled mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich. My adaptation was to remove the bread and instead place the fillings on thin slices of grilled eggplant. The result was a healthy, colorful, and flavorful side dish!

Caprese Eggplant

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

1-2 large eggplants, thinly sliced

1 roll of fresh marinated mozzarella cheese, sliced (make sure there are enough pieces for each slice of eggplant. My favorite is the Trader Joe's brand)

Enough fresh basil leaves to top each eggplant slice with 1 or 2 leaves

1 package fresh mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced

Olive oil

Italian seasoning to taste

Step 1: Brush both sides of an eggplant slice with olive oil. Place on a grill or pan over medium-high heat. Grill first side until it begins to brown. 

Step 2: Flip the slice and immediately top with mozzarella and seasoning. Continue to grill until cheese begins to melt and eggplant begins to brown on second side. Remove from heat and place 1-2 basil leaves and 1-2 tomato slices on the eggplant.

Step 3: Repeat for every slice. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

It's pumpkin season! One of my favorite seasons, to say the least. I'll leave my description of this recipe to a few words: It turned out to be absolutely delicious! This is a great alternative to macaroni and cheese and is a wonderful seasonal dish.

Pumpkin "Mac and Cheese"
Adapted from Peachy Palate

Ingredients:
1 box Quinoa pasta
2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed, 4 T reserved
1c cherry tomatoes
1t whole grain mustard
Lemon pepper to taste
Dash of Italian seasoning
1/4t salt
1-2 T olive oil

Step 1: Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside

Step 2: Blend pumpkin, milk, 4T beans, mustard, and all seasoning in a blender until smooth. Set aside.

Step 3: Saute tomatoes and the rest of the cannellini beans in olive oil until tomatoes are juicy and tender

Step 4: Combine noodles, sauce, and tomatoes and beans in a pan and heat on low until heated through. Serve Warm

Enjoy!