Quinoa Soup

This is one of the easiest and yummiest things I have ever made.  Best thing about it?  It's healthy AND vegan!

It doesn't have an official name, but I just call it quinoa soup.

Here's what ya need:

Ingredients:
 --  4 cups of broth
 --  1 cup of quinoa (uncooked)
 --  1 cup of corn (canned or frozen)
 --  1/3 cup salsa
 --  Cilantro (we used about 1/4-1/3 cup of fresh cilantro)
 --  1 ripe avocado
 --  Lime (wedges or juice)

In a large pot boil the broth.


Once it's boiling, add in the quinoa.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes on low heat (cook until the quinoa is done).

After the quinoa is cooked add in the corn, salsa, and cilantro.  Bring to a boil.

You can either let it boil down or have it with a little more liquid.  It depends on what you want.  I liked it with just a little bit of broth, but not so much that it's runny.

Add in the avocado and lime juice in the pot or when you serve your soup (add to taste of course).

Serve it and eat it!  It's incredibly filling and so easy to make.  We made a double batch and froze it and it seems to be just fine.

Canning: Zucchini Relish

I have just realized that I have a million recipes that I have done that were supposed to be shared with you, but for some reason I have not shared them yet!  I'll try and span them out over time so you aren't bombarded and overloaded with FOOD.

Recipe #1 from the mass forgotten list/pictures of past recipes.

You may already know that Nick and I canned some salsa previously (that recipe will come as well), but we wanted to can something else.  After thinking about it for awhile (and maybe a little late in the canning season), we realized that zucchini was in season and so we decided to make a yummy zucchini relish (thank you mom!).


Canned Zucchini Relish

Ingredients:

  -  10 cups ground or shredded zucchini (I shred them in the food processor)

  -  4 cups ground or chopped onion

  -  2 or 3 green or red peppers chopped (red gives you more of a color contrast)

  -  5 Tbsp. salt

  -  5 cups sugar

  -  2 1/4 cups vinegar

  -  1 tsp. dry mustard

  -  1/2 tsp. pepper

  -  1 tsp. nutmeg

  -  1 tsp. tumeric

  -  2 tsp. celery seed

 

  -  2 Tbsp. corn starch

 

Take the first four items (zucchini, onion, peppers, and salt) and mix them together in a big bowl and let sit overnight on the counter.  You don't have to put them in the fridge.

 

In the morning rinse your mixture well with cold water and put aside.

In a large stock pot combine the remaining ingredients (minus corn starch) and bring to a boil.  Boil for 15 minutes.  

 

Mix in the drained zucchini mixture and bring back to a boil.  Boil for 15 minutes (15's the magic number).

 

Add 2 Tbsp. of corn starch to thicken the mixture. 

Put in jars and waterbath for 15-20 minutes.  I don't have anymore photos because, well, I was too excited about having more cans in my pantry!   I'll take a picture of all the cans and add them later :)

 

Makes 7-8 pints.

Enjoy!!

Pesto

Nick and I LOVE pesto. 

If we had to choose one pasta sauce to eat for the rest of our lives, it'd probably be pesto.

We're apart of a local community garden and they have a section in the greenhouse that has many gigantic basil plants.  Well, what can you do with a buttload of basil?!  MAKE PESTO!

Here's what you need (for about 2 1/2 servings of it - and by servings I mean pasta servings):

     ► 3 cups of Basil leaves
     ► 6 Tbsp. of pine nuts (we used cashews, but you can use walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.)
     ► 2-4 cloves of garlic  
     ► 3/4 tsp of sea salt 
     ► Dash of pepper
     ► 6 Tbsp. of olive oil

Throw everything into a food processor (a blender works, too) and let it go!

Make sure to scrape the sides down while it's going so you don't get any surprise chunks of garlic or basil.

 

Serve right away (on a pasta or even pizza) or make loads of it and freeze it in ziploc bags.  If you do freeze it, add a little extra olive oil to the bag to help it thaw faster and not solidify as much. 

We put enough for one meal of pesto pasta in each bag.  If you squish it down to make it flat, it freezes incredibly small in the freezer and doesn't take up a lot of space.

Fresh pesto is also amazing as a dip with Crostini or a nice baguette!

Enjoy!

Linking up with Angi!

Banana "ice cream"

I am so excited about this recipe.  I wanted to post this the day I tried it out!  I found it from Use Real Butter.  It's healthy banana "ice cream"! 

Yes, I said it.  Healthy banana "ice cream".  It's so simple and so wonderful.

Ingredients:
Bananas (as many as you want)
Peanut butter (just a spoonful)
Cocoa  (just a spoonful)

Sounds simple so far, huh?  It is!

First, cut up some bananas.  I cut around 6 bananas because I wanted to make a lot.  I think one servings worth would be around 3 bananas.  Your preference.  It's best to cut them up first because it will be very difficult to cut them later when they're frozen.

This is what the battlefield looked like after I was done.  Poor bananas.

Freeze the bananas.  You can freeze them however you want.  I froze them in a bowl and they weren't too stubborn getting out later.

Freeze them for about an hour or more.  We froze ours for about 5 hours.  It doesn't matter.

Put your frozen bananas in the food processor.  A blender will work just fine, too.

Turn it on and let it do its thang (or thing).

 
When I first turned it on it chopped the bananas pretty well, but then it seemed to just stay there.  I was thinking that maybe I had to let it thaw out, but my husband said "let it go!" 

So, I let it go and eventually it started working.  Just give it time.  This is where I say "patience is a virtue".

Just make sure to let your food processor/blender breathe a bit so that you don't overheat it.

Be sure to mix around as well from time to time.

I think we blended ours for about 10 minutes (or it seemed that long).

Once it's all done it will look and feel like soft serve ice cream.  It tastes incredibly delicious, too (I dare you to stick your finger in and taste it!).

Now, you may leave it as is (I may come back and do this), or you can doctor it up.  Taste it as you go!

We added 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter (I think 2 would have been plenty, oops!  A little overexcited.)

Then we added some cocoa powder.  We didn't have that much left, probably about 2 spoonfuls, so I just dumped it out.

Mix it up and taste it!

I'm sure you can add anything you want.  My husband wants to try just cocoa next time.   Any good banana combo suggestions?

Enjoy it!  I can't believe that it's actually not ice cream.   
 

You can put leftovers in a container in the freeze, but be careful because it will freeze rock-hard.  We just let it sit in the fridge for a few hours (I'm sure you could even let it sit out on the counter for awhile).

Let me know if you make any alterations!  I'd love to hear it.  I'm sure we'll be making this a lot more.

A lemony tip + salad dressing recipe!

Our house has gone crazy these past 2 weeks!  We have been cooking, creating, and making way too many things.  My husband has been doing most of these, but still, it's insane!

I want to share two things with you today and then I'll share the rest later (including homemade beef jerky,  kombucha, and hiking candy bars)

 First!  I found this fabulous idea from an even more fabulous blogger. 

Check out this series from Carolina Charm about all these handy homemaker tips. 
I looked at some of these and went, what?!  Why didn't I think of that?

For example, putting plastic wrap under the lids of bottles when you travel (duh!) and even using toothpaste on the backs of picture frames to mark where to nail/screw in the wall!

Anyways, you should go check out those tips because they are amazing.

I stole borrowed one and decided to try it out myself. 

Here it is.

You slice up lemons and freeze them in muffin tins with water.  Then all you do is drop it in a glass of water and viola!  You have lemon water whenever you want.  You don't have to have fresh lemons cut up all the time and you can buy a whole bunch of lemons when they're in season and freeze 'em!

I love it.  It works so well!

.....


Pinterest has provided me with even more goodies.   This time it's another salad dressing!

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

This dressing was amazing!   I found it from Our Best Bites and made it for myself.

Here it is:
1/4 c. lime juice (about 2-3 limes) I added a little extra squirt on top of this
1/4 c. white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic (we used a little extra because we LOVE garlic)
1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt (we used sea salt)
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. canola oil (we used vegetable oil)
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed (I also added a little extra because we love more flavor)

Put it all in a blender and blend!  Taste it after you blend it and see if it needs anything (I added extra cilantro part way through)

Ours was pretty runny, but still really tasty!

Enjoy!

Creamy Parsley Salad Dressing

I love a good salad.  Especially one with a really good dressing!

I am going to share with you an awesome salad dressing recipe that my grandpa gave me (he is pretty ingenious when it comes to dressings).

The best part of this dressing is that it can be vegan (I'll label the changes in purplish pink)!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic - minced (or just make sure it's thoroughly blended in the blender)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2/3-3/4 cup of mayonnaise (can be substituted for veganaise - which is actually really good even if you aren't vegan)
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley (actually as much as you want.  We put in a handful of parsley and didn't really measure it)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Put everything into the blender (you can mince the parsley and garlic before, but we just throw them in the blender and make sure there aren't any chunks)

That's it!  You may want to see what your consistency is first.  You can add water if it is too thick (usually I add a little because it thickens a little in the fridge)

Enjoy your new salad dressing over an awesome salad.

Lately we've been making our own salads with some tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and goat cheese (I can't get enough goat cheese)

Have a great weekend!

The weekend + a recipe!

We had such an awesome weekend visiting old friends and the in-laws.

We spent Friday night out at the bar visiting with a couple friends and then watched Tombstone at our friend's house.  Slumber party!

On Saturday we went to Nick's younger brother and sister's karate tournament.  It was actually  pretty sweet.  Have you ever been to a karate tournament?  Nick's sister took 2nd and 3rd in her division.  2nd for fighting and 3rd for her Kata.  WOOHOO!

Also, we were shown this awesome recipe for 2-minute coffee mug brownies.  They are so delicious!  I took a picture of the recipe for you.

Here it is:
-- 1/4 cup of flour
-- 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
-- 2 Tbsp. of cocoa
-- Pinch of salt
-- 2 Tbsp. of canola oil
-- 2 Tbsp. of milk or coffee (we used coconut milk)

Mix all the dry ingredients and then mix in the wet ingredients. 

Put it in the microwave for about 2 minutes (it will vary depending on your microwave).  The top will look a little gooey, but it's nice and fluffy on the inside!

That's it!  It's so good :)



Anyways... we played lots of Boggle.

And my husband played at our good friend's jazz recital on Sunday. 

Such a good weekend.  I missed our friends and Nick's family.  I can't wait to go back and visit again.  Until then, I shall have to work.  Bummer.

How was your weekend? 

Cleansing update

This cleanse is pretty good actually.  I've survived each day with some big cravings here and there, but I definitely eat some pretty great food.

Day 1 went pretty well.  I went a little crazy at work because my lunch wasn't that fantastic and in the staff room there was a huge cake for someone's birthday and a bag of crackers.  I wanted so bad to just reach over and take a bite.  I instead fought my desires and wants and got lost in my book.  Thank you Hunger Games!

We had Vindaloo Vegetables for dinner on Monday.  It was pretty good.  I think it'd be better with some rice or something, but whatever.  Ha!


I also snuck in some air-popped popcorn.  My husband is still a little on the edge with this.  I say it's a vegetable because it's corn, but he's not too keen on the idea.  Oh well.  It was great and I'm not complaining!


The juice I'm drinking today is a Pear-Grape-Cucumber-Lime juice and it is AMAZING.  Seriously.  You should try it.

You just need to juice:

• 1 cup of green grapes
• 1 pear
• 1 lime
• 2 cucumbers

That's it.  It's awesome!

____________________________________________________________________________

Here's the Vindaloo Vegetables recipe found here.  You can definitely change things around.  We didn't use peas (my husband doesn't like them so we used corn) or cauliflower or kidney beans.  It still tasted great!

3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp. ginger, peeled and chopped
1 small date, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
2 small carrots, thinly sliced
1 sm. green or red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 cups small cauliflower florets
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans (or one 15.5 ounce canned beans, rinsed and drained)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
Water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (salt is optional)
1 cup frozen green peas (or a can of corn), thawed

In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, ginger, date, coriander, cumin, mustard, cayenne, turmeric, vinegar, and 1/2 cup water; process until smooth and set aside.

Heat a large non-stick pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots and one tablespoon of water, cover, and cook until softened, stirring often and adding more water as necessary to prevent burning–about 5 minutes.

Add the spice paste from the blender and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, cauliflower, zucchini, and kidney beans. Cover and turn heat to low.

Put the tomato paste and 1 1/4 cup water in the blender and blend thoroughly. Add the tomato paste mixture to the vegetables, season with pepper and salt (if using), cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, about 20 minutes.

Add the peas and allow to heat through for about 5 minutes. Serve alone or over basmati rice or other grain.

Juice, juice, juice!

For the past 5 hours we have been busy bees.  We made a game plan and went to the store.  This is what happened.

This is all the fruits and veggies for one week.  Actually, we are probably going to need more!

We got super excited and decided to juice.  We actually made a LOT of juice for snacking on during work.

Check out our fridge!

Crazy, right?  Yeah.

I'll share the two recipes that we found from the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and jointhereboot.com.


The first one is an Apple-Beet-Carrot Juice.

In a juicer you need to juice:

• 1 apple
• 2 beets
• 3 large carrots
• 1 piece ginger (thumb sized)
• 4 cups spinach/kale

This is enough to fill up one person, but if you water it down a bit it can last quite awhile.  We doubled it and it made quite a bit.

Sidenote:  If you don't have a juicer, you can put all these ingredients in a blender with some extra water to get a similar taste.  Just make sure to use some sort of strainer like a nut milk bag to get the unwanted pulp/junk from the juice.


The other juice is called a Mean Green Juice.

Juice:

• 1 cucumber
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 apples
• 6-8 leaves of kale
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp. ginger (we did a little small than thumb size)

There you go!  I've heard/read that for this cleanse it's best to eat smaller meals throughout the day.  That's why we're juicing so we can drink it throughout the day.

Also, while creating these juices we did have one fatality.

Yup.  The lemon juicer died.  My husband doesn't know his own strength.

Oh well.  Good night all.  I hope your Monday is better than most!

Don't mind my overly happy smile.  Juicing is quite fun.

Hummus

We have successfully made some delicious hummus!  I have to share it with you all because it's too good not to pass up.  Also, this only cost us around $3.00 to make!

Here is what you will need to make it:
   - 1 can of garbanzo beans
   - 2 tbsp of tahini (we made tahini with sesame seeds and a little olive oil)
   - 4 tsp of lemon juice
   - 2 or 3 medium-sized cloves of garlic finely minced (2 or 3 depending on how garlicey you like it)
   - 3/4 tsp ground cumin
   - 1 tsp parsley
   - salt to taste

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor.  SAVE THE GARBANZO BEAN WATER.  (you'll need it for the texture later).

Blend everything in a food processor until everything is smooth.  Add little amounts of the garbanzo bean water for texture.  You'll want it smooth, but not runny.

That's it!  You're done!  We love to eat it with pita chips. I hope you enjoy it because we love to eat it and it's really inexpensive and easy to make!