Buffalo Blue Cheese Quinoa and Cauliflower Bake

I love recipes that can be made the night before, and just heated up when you have people over. I also love Buffalo things and blue cheese, so this recipe was a winner. We sipped some Chardonnay while it was in the oven, then ate it with a side of garlic/Parmesan green beans. It was a comforting winter casserole, without being too heavy. I'm sure it would also be delicious if you added some cubed chicken. Enjoy!

Buffalo Blue Cheese Quinoa and Cauliflower Bake

Adapted from Back to Her Roots

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup quinoa
• 3 cups vegetable broth (I thought this was too much liquid. One can of broth, with some water if you need it, should be sufficient)
• 1/2 large head cauliflower, chopped roughly
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I love garlic, so I used about 3-4 cloves)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (add more if you want more spice)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I just used one 6 oz container)
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley (I skipped this garnish)
• 1-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray six ramekins with cooking spray, or an 8x8" baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine quinoa and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. (I think quinoa needs about 20 minutes)
3. Mix quinoa with cauliflower, garlic, onion, blue cheese, buffalo sauce, yogurt and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese until well-combined.
4. Spoon mixture into ramekins or baking dish. Sprinkle tops with remaining cheddar cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until cheese on top is browned and bubbly and cauliflower is softened.

Note: The casserole can be prepared in advance. Just let the quinoa cool before mixing it in with the other ingredients. Cover with tin foil and refrigerate until ready to heat.

 

Kumara (Sweet Potato) Tandoori Salad

I know it's been years since I've posted on the Cookery Nookery, but funemployment = cooking for/with people! I've tried some new recipes, made some old favorites, and this is the first one that is post-worthy. I made it for dinner with a friend, and it turned out great, and was super easy. Here it goes!

Kumara (Sweet Potato) Tandoori Salad
From Skinnytaste.com

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 20 oz (2 medium) sweet potato, peeled and diced 1-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil) - I used olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced in fine strips
• 1/4 small red onion, sliced fine
• 4 cups baby spinach

For the salad dressing:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Mix the sweet potato with 2 tbsp of oil, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, cumin and curry powder. Make sure the sweet potato is well coated, then them onto a large non-stick baking tray.

Bake 15-17 minutes, toss then bake for additional 15-17 minutes, or until cooked through.

While the sweet potato is cooking, mix the salad dressing together in a large bowl and add the onions.

Remove the roasted sweet potatoes from the oven and while still hot, toss them into the large bowl with the salad dressing and let them cool before tossing with the bell pepper and spinach.

Divide equally between 4 plates. Serve with Coconut Rice (recipe below)

Coconut Rice

Adapted from Sandra Lee (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/semi-homemade-cooking-with-sandra-lee/coconut-rice-recipe/index.html)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup jasmine or basmati rice 
1/2 cup water 
3/4 cup canned light unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed

Cilantro

Directions

Rinse and drain rice in cold water. Place in a saucepan with water, coconut milk, and salt. Place the pot over high heat and, bring the liquid to a boil. Stir and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let stand 10 minutes, covered. Fluff with fork, stir in peas and cilantro, and serve.

Light guacamole

I tried out this recipe mostly because I was intrigued. For a lot of get-togethers, we make guacamole because it's easy and delicious. And while there's nothing really unhealthy in there, the avocados do have a lot of fat (the good kind). I found this recipe that replaces some of the avocados with skinned lima beans. This is the part that intrigued me. I wasn't sure if you would be able to tell the difference, and I wanted to find out.

It was generally easy to make, though probably not as easy as real guacamole. I could only find 1.5 cup packages of lima beans, so I used them all and then added 2 (instead of 1) avocados. I also didn't use a jalepeno because I didn't want to buy one and I didn't use cumin because I didn't have it. I did use taco seasoning in it, a tip from my friend's mom. Overall it turned out pretty well, I couldn't really taste the lima beans and it didn't make a huge difference. I told the people I was serving it to that it had the beans in there, some were weirded out a bit but ate a bunch of it anyways.

Light guacamole

1 medium tomato (about 5 ounces), cored, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 cup) (can use canned)
1 cup frozen mature lima beans (about 5 ounces) (you can use baby lima beans but they're hard to skin and your dip will be a bit grainy)
1 medium ripe avocado
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 medium jalepeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 Tbs. minced red onion or shallot
1 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
fresh ground black pepper

1. Place the tomato in a small colander set inside a bowl and set aside to drain while preparing the rest of the guacamole.

2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a small sauce pan over high heat. Add the frozen lima beans and cook until creamy, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry with paper towels then remove the skins by pinching the beans so the skins slide off.

3. Halve the avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out a quarter of the flesh. Puree a quarter of the avocado, skinned lima beans, lime juice, mayo, and salt together in a food processor until smooth, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

4. Cube the remaining three-quarters of the avocado into 1/2-inch pieces, and scrape into a medium bowl. Add the pureed lima mixture, drained tomato, cilantro, jalepeno, onion, garlic, and cumin, and stir gently to combine. Season to taste with pepper. Transfer the guacamole to a serving bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the flavors meld, about 1 hour.

Easy (fake) Pad Thai

As promised, I bring you a recipe for Pad Thai that doesn't use traditional Pad Thai ingredients. If you're like me, you like Pad Thai but can't bring yourself to purchase fish sauce, tamarind, rice wine vinegar, etc. So while flipping through my month's issue of Everyday Food, imagine my surprise to find this recipe for vegetable Pad Thai that doesn't use any of the previously mentioned ingredients. However, I got a bit indignant while at the grocery store once I discovered the rice noodles cost 5 bucks for a 16-ounce box. I saw "rice spaghetti" in the gluten-free foods for a couple bucks but didn't know if that was an acceptable substitute. Since I had just gotten a free $10 gift certificate for transferring a prescription, I sucked it up and got the rice noodles.

A word to the wise, like authentic Pad Thai you gotta do your prep work. This dish comes together so fast it borders on hectic. So soak your noodles, chop and portion out all your veggies and be ready to throw them in the pan in a matter of minutes.

I also added some variations to this dish, I cut a carrot into matchsticks and sauteed it with the garlic and green onion. I also added a handful of shrimp right before I added the noodles (I also never removed the egg mixture, I didn't want to dirty up an extra plate). Good stuff. I also halved the recipe (it makes 4 servings) because I didn't want a lot of leftovers as Pad Thai never quite reheats well.

Anyways, to the important part, the verdict. It doesn't taste quite like real Pad Thai, but based on the ease and lack of exotic ingredients, I didn't really care. It was tasty, reminded me of Pad Thai, and I liked it. So if you like Pad Thai, but hate buying stuff, give it a go!

Edit: After thinking about this dish for most of this past week, I made it again for dinner tonight. Let me just say this: delicious. It was better than I remembered. It had that party in my mouth thing that real Pad Thai has going on. Brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, who knew.


Vegetable Pad Thai

8 ounces dried, wide, and flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs (optional), lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

1. Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add eggs (if using) and cook, scraping skillet with a rubber spatula, until eggs are almost set, about 30 seconds. Transfer egg mixture to a plate. Add noodles and soy-sauce mixture to skillet; cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft and coated with sauce, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.

Chickpeas with Broccoli Rabe and BACON!

Hello friends - this was my recipe of the week! I loved the fact that I got to throw a package of center-cut bacon in my cart at the grocery store. I went on an epic quest to find broccoli rabe...and failed. I went to three stores, and got shut down by their meager produce departments. I just said "screw it!" and used regular broccoli. Also, I already had a can of grated Parmesan cheese in my fridge, so I didn't go all out and buy me some shavin' cheese. In the end, it all tasted fine by me!

Ingredients

• 1 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Cook broccoli rabe in a large pot of boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add bacon; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in onion, oregano, and red pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chickpeas; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broccoli rabe, salt, and black pepper; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, tossing to combine.

3. Place about 1 1/2 cups chickpea mixture on each of 4 plates; shave 1/2 ounce cheese evenly over each serving.

Verdict? Aromatic and delicious. I love the flavor combination of bacon, onions, and garlic. It refrigerated and reheated well. When I got down to the end of the leftovers, there wasn't enough for a whole serving so I mixed in a wee bit of rotini pasta, which took it to a whole new level of awesomeness. Gold star recipe? Hmmm...perhaps. I'm still on the fence about giving it the honor of the golden sticker in my recipe binder. But this recipe is further proof that bacon makes everything better.