Quinoa Pasta with Pomodoro Sauce

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Back from a lovely 4 weeks in Vegas with my family and friends.  It was so nice to be able to go out to eat at fun restaurants.  I devoured tons of sushi.  Did a bit of cooking, but not much.  But, I did buy some great items to bring back with me for cooking.  One big one was quinoa and quinoa pasta.  (I also brought back panko bread crumbs, some hot sauces, saffron, and wild rice)  So, now I'm back here in Saudi and my cooking cap is on and raring to go!
I couldn't wait to cook up the quinoa pasta and I wanted to find a nice sauce to go with it.  This was just perfect.  I amped up the protein even more by adding cannellini beans.
An incredibly simple sauce with monster flavor.  The hubby likened it a bit to vodka sauce...minus the vodka and cream.  
Leftovers were great too!  Happy cooking!

Recipe adapted from Epicurious


Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes, puréed in a food processor
Kosher salt
3 large fresh basil sprigs
12 ounces quinoa pasta
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons cubed unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino



Directions:
Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a 12" skillet over medium-low heat. Add minced onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 2-4 minutes. Add crushed red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute more. Increase heat to medium, add puréed tomatoes and season lightly with kosher salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly and the flavors meld, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in basil sprigs, and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 5-quart pot. Season with salt; add spaghetti or bucatini and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.

Discard basil and heat skillet over high heat. Stir in reserved pasta water to loosen sauce; bring to a boil. Add beans and toss to coat, next add pasta and cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat; add butter and cheese; toss until cheese melts. Transfer to warm bowls; serve with more cheese, if desired.

Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes

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Last week the hubby and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary.  It's been an amazing seven years...with babies, new homes, travels, moving abroad...the roller coaster called life.  We love the ride.  Since there isn't anywhere even close to being worthy of a celebration spot here in Yanbu, I knew I would be cooking my own dinner.  I didn't really mind...well, a little...I mean, who doesn't want to get all fancy dressed and head out with the one you love for a night on the town.  But, yeah, well, real world here, and that just ain't happenin' for this anniversary.  We'll celebrate properly when we are in Italy in August (now that's the way to have an anniversary dinner!)  
So, time to find something to cook for the four of us.  (well, what was I going to do with the kids?...guess I could have banished them to their room with chicken nuggets and a movie...but nah, we decided to celebrate as a family) anyway....
I found this awesome blog by a chef who takes killer food pix.  I was just roaming around, checking out his recipes, when I found this one.  I love tomatoes...in all shapes and forms.  I've never made a stuffed tomato before, but his recipe made it seem so simple.  
I had to switch it up a bit seeing as how I can't get my hands on any sausage here, so instead of lamb and sausage, I used lamb and leftover quinoa that I had.  I was worried it would lose some of the flavor...but oh man...these were some tasty bites!
You can do a couple of variations...use all quinoa and make it vegetarian...or go all T-Rex and use both sausage and lamb.  If you're a bit fearful of lamb (which you shouldn't be because it's fabulous) sub in some good ground beef.  You could also add a bit of cheese to the top for extra gooeyness... ;)
I rounded out the meal with a nice tossed salad and some oven roasted green beans (my fave way to cook fresh green beans)  It was perfect.  Happy 7 years baby!  Here's to many, many more!  

• For the tomatoes:

• 6-8 medium tomatoes (mine made 8...depends on the size of your tomatoes)
• salt
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (or 1/2 lb ground sausage or ground beef)
• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 3-4 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (your preference here)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 sprig rosemary, leaves chopped
• 1/2 sprig thyme, leaves chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (use 3 if cooking with quinoa)
• hot pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F

Slice the top off the tomatoes, scoop the inside out (discard seeds, but chop and keep the pulp).  Sprinkle the inside of each tomato with salt and set upside down on a rack to drain.

Sautee the chopped onions in olive oil until soft and translucent.  In a bowl, combine the onions, chopped tomato pulp, quinoa, lamb, breadcrumbs, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, thyme, hot pepper flakes, olive oil and a bit of salt.  Stuff the mixture into the tomatoes and put the top back on.

Place the tomatoes on a tray and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 30 minutes and serve!

Quinoa and Roasted Beet Tabouli

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I don't know how I stumbled upon this recipe, but I'm so so glad I did.  This was actually my first time cooking with quinoa and I had no idea what to expect.  The roasted beets were the reason I wanted to cook this in the first place (we're beet freaks)  And I was even more lucky that the store had cherry tomatoes in stock.  (yeah, you never know what will be at the store on a daily basis here in Saudi)
I enjoyed this recipe so much I was upset that I had to share it with my family.  Luckily (ok, well not really) my girls weren't gaga over it...so more for me!  (selfish, I know)
I added a bit more beet than the recipe called for and the original recipe had you boil the beets instead of roasting...which just isn't good enough for me.  I adore the taste of roasted beets...so, I planned out the extra time needed.  (feel free to boil away if you're short on time)
Excellent recipe and I can't wait to make it again...maybe once we're growing our own cherry tomatoes and I can get some whenever I want.  :)

Ingredients:
For the vinaigrette: 
Sea salt and pepper 
Juice of 1 lemon or lime 
6 Tbs. olive oil 
2 Tbs. chopped flat-leaf parsley 
1 Tbs. chopped cilantro 
1 Tbs. chopped chives 1 Tbs. chopped mint 


For the tabouli: 
2 Tbs. pine nuts 
1 cup (7 oz) uncooked white quinoa 
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 
Sea salt 
1 large beet
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 
1/4 red onion, finely chopped 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled 


Make the beets:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
*note: do not wash the beets!
Rub the beets with a bit of olive oil and wrap in foil.
Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45-60 min (less or more depending on the size of your beet)
Remove from the oven and let cool.  Then peel the skin and chop into chunks.  (yes, your fingers will turn pink, but it washes off)  


While the beet(s) roast(s), make the dressing and cook the quinoa.

Make the vinaigrette:In a small bowl, combine the sea salt and pepper with the lemon juice and oil, and whisk to emulsify. Stir in the herbs. Dress the salad with this vinaigrette and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Add more dressing if you like and serve with the pine nuts.

Make the tabouli:Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until lightly colored and fragrant; remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain it in a colander. Add it to a pot and cover with the broth and a pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 12 to 14 minutes, or until all of the water or broth is absorbed. Remove from the heat and keep covered for 5 more minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl and fluff it with a fork; let cool. Add the beet and toss gently. The quinoa will take on a pretty pink color. Add the tomatoes, onion, and cheese. 

Enchilada Quinoa and Chicken Stuffed Peppers

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Found this great blog...Ambitious Kitchen.  She's got all kinds of great recipes, and many very healthy ones.  When I found this recipe...for the stuffed peppers, well, I couldn't make them fast enough!  I'm being very stingy with my quinoa...I only brought back two boxes from France...so I want to use it with a dish I know I'm going to like.  (and I did)

This would work great as a vegetarian dish as well...just use all quinoa.  I made these following her recipe, but the recipe below shows how I would make it next time...mine came out a bit dry this first round.  It was a hit with the whole family...I use a very mild (homemade) enchilada sauce, so the hubby had to spice his up a bit.  The girls really liked the filling but weren't big fans of eating the pepper...though they both took three bites.  Rules are rules and all.  ;)

We served it up with a side of chips and homemade guacamole (hubby's recipe).  Great dinner!

Ingredients

3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish

1/2 onion, diced

1/3 cup egg whites

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup red enchilada sauce

1 cup reduced fat cheese of your choice, divided (we used gouda because it was all I had...tasted great too!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl combine chicken, quinoa, egg whites, onion, cilantro, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, and enchilada sauce. Mix well.
3. Stuff each pepper half with the mixture. Top pepper with 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce and 1 tablespoon of cheese. Bake for 45 minutes.

Bean Bolognese with Quinoa Pasta

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While we were in France, we went to a local farmers market where I picked up a package of quinoa pasta.  I've never even eaten quinoa before and you can't find it here in Saudi.  So, when I found this great veggie bolognese recipe, I thought it would be a great time to try the pasta too.
The bolognese was simple to make with lots of flavor.  The quinoa pasta actually had a bit of a sweet taste to it and went really well with the sauce.  All in all it was a great dish that the whole family enjoyed.  Another veggie dish on the rotation!

Ingredients:

• 1 14-ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
• 1 14-ounce can cannellini beans (or other white bean), rinsed
• 1 14-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup white wine (I had to use chicken broth which therefore nixed the vegetarian aspect)
• 1 14-ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 8 ounces Quinoa pasta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

**Note: you are going to have more beans than you need.  Either go ahead and toss them in or set aside and have with eggs for breakfast!  :)

Directions:

1. After rinsing the beans, combine them together in a bowl.
2. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Scoop out 1/2 cup beans and mash in a small bowl with a fork.
3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and salt; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaf; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add wine; increase heat to high and boil until most of the liquid evaporates, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices, 2 tablespoons parsley and the mashed beans. Bring to a lively simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add a cup of the whole beans (or add them all); cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta in the boiling water until just tender, according to package directions. Drain.
5. Divide the pasta among 4 bowls. Discard the bay leaf and top the pasta with the sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan and the remaining parsley.