Buffalo Quinoa Casserole

It is no secret that I love buffalo sauce. A buffalo sauce pool? Let me grab my swimsuit and floaties. A buffalo flavored cocktail? I'll have a double! A buffalo fountain at my wedding one day? Um.. hello?! Is that the best idea or what? There is just something about that orange sauce that makes my heart jump up and down.

You've probably noticed though that most buffalo recipes involve chicken. Although I have been known to thrown it on a burger or into an enchilada before. Regardless, I was starting to feel bad for all of those vegetarians out there... you are all missing out on this delicious buffalo sauce. Unless of course you're drinking it by the spoonful, then I'm just standing in awe of your greatness. Right now is the time for you to trade your spoon for a baking dish and fork and MAKE THIS QUINOA CASSEROLE. Oh my, so delicious I CANNOT stand it. Why oh why is this not on my dinner plans again for tonight? The cauliflower adds some body to the casserole and the quinoa all the goodie good nutrients. The buffalo sauce, yogurt and mix of blue and cheddar cheeses makes the flavor out of this world.

Now, don't ask me what to do if you are a vegan. I'm not sure yet. I'll get back to you.... but we'll get a little buffalo into your life sooner or later ;)

Buffalo Quinoa Casserole (adapted from Back to her Roots)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable broth (homemade or low-sodium store-bought)
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tbsp buffalo sauce
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
2 tbsp diced onion
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 cup roughly chopped cauliflower
1/8 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat an individual baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the quinoa and broth in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, approximately 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the buffalo sauce, yogurt, onion, garlic salt, cauliflower, blue cheese, and 1/8 cup cheddar cheese in a medium bowl. After the quinoa finishes cooking, add it to the bowl and mix until combined. Spoon into baking dish and top with the remaining 1/8 cup cheddar cheese.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until cheese is browned and cauliflower is soft.

Serves 1.

Pizza Quinoa Casserole

Confession time.

Last Friday I picked up a pizza on my way home from work. What can I say: I was just craving a thick-crusted, gooey cheese, and piping hot mushroom pizza. But that isn't my confession. I don't judge if you order pizza or get takeout, especially after a long week at work. I confess instead that it took all of my will power to not scarf down a piece on my way home. The garlic, cheese and tomato smell filling my car was so irresistible that I could barely make it the whole 10 minutes to my apartment. Granted it had been awhile since I had consumed pizza but still pretty ridiculous, right?

So moral of the story-- there is no way I could be a pizza delivery person. I do not have enough self-control to ride around with that smell everyday.

Although it had been awhile since I eaten a slice of pizza, I did have a little bit of a fix a few weeks ago with this pizza quinoa casserole. I doctored it up with green peppers and onions and would have added mushrooms if they had been in my fridge, but you could certainly use any of your fav pizza toppings. The quinoa is a great base for any flavoring and the tomato and Italian seasoning do not disappoint. Top it off with some mozzarella cheese and your house will smell like you have a fresh baked pizza.... but without the guilt of the calories and fat.

It's not delivery nor DiGiorno! It's quinoa!

Pizza Quinoa Casserole (adapted from Gloria of Food)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
3/4 cup water
1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp tomato juice or sauce
1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning (or a combination of basil, oregano, garlic and parsley)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/8 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat an individual baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the water and quinoa in a small pot; bring to a boil, turn down to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is completely cooked.

Combine the onion, green pepper, tomato paste, tomato juice and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Add the quinoa and stir to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Pour into the baking dish. Top with the cheese.

Bake 30-35 minutes until heated through and the cheese is browned.

Serves 1.

Quinoa and Nut Granola

Saturday was an up-and-down type of a day. I was invested in two very important sporting events. Duke basketball vs cross-triangle rivals NC State and Ravens vs Broncos football playoff game. Unfortunately only one of those had the outcome that I desired. The Ravens are moving on to the AFC championship this coming Sunday night. Bdddddd (in case you are wondering, that is a bird sound). Both games were up and down, nail biting, pacing the living room types of games. I will spare you all my thoughts on the Duke loss and just take a moment of silence for R. Kelly and Spice to heal rapidly and get back on the floor (for a detailed recap of the game and my thoughts on how the team is doing this year, feel free to email me). 

Since I knew I was going to be spending the majority of the afternoon yelling at the TV, I figured I would treat myself to a nice breakfast. I debated pancakes or waffles or eggs but I decided instead on homemade granola. I always enjoy yogurt topped with granola and since I had seen one my regular food bloggers post about quinoa granola, I knew I had to try it out. I changed around a few things to use what I had on hand. You could certainly use any combination of nuts and dried fruit that you like the most. I think the quinoa gives it an extra crunch (and a boost of protein) over "normal" granola, and the sweetness of the sugar combines well with the tartness of the applesauce. I have been enjoying it all week so far.

As I've told you with many of my DIY recipes, I enjoy making things at home that you can easily purchase at the store. Sometimes it takes about the same amount of time as a trip to the store; others may take a little bit of effort, but the ability to customize to your likes and dislikes and to control the additives (salt, MSG, etc) wins out for me. Many times it will also save you some money (especially when it comes to granola which I find is over-priced). I'm not strict about my homemade things because sometimes I'm lazy or in a rush or craving something that mass production just does better, but I would encourage you to try out a new homemade thing or two this year.

Anything in particular you want to see "homemade"? Let me know, I'll add it to my list!

Quinoa and Nut Granola (adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa (I used a combination of white and red)
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup pepitas
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup applesauce (I used granny smith flavored)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Rinse and drain the quinoa. Combine the quinoa, oats, pepitas, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Toss to mix.

Melt the butter in a small bowl. Whisk in the applesauce, honey and vanilla. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix to coat completely. Dump out on the prepared baking sheet and spread in an even layer.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes, until everything is golden brown. Remove from the oven and mix in the cranberries. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Sunchoke, Edamame and Quinoa Pilaf

I have spoken many times about my love for cookbooks and cooking magazines. Every month I look forward to reading through the new issues of the magazines but there are certain sections within each one that get me particularly excited. In "Everyday with Rachael Ray", she always has a section labeled "seasonal superfood". I love eating seasonal foods and I'm always willing to try out a new vegetable or fruit. So when the October issue donned my mailbox a few weeks ago, I was intrigued by these little guys:

They may look like ginger root, but, no, they are sunchokes! For those of you who have never heard of sunchokes before, you are not alone; they are new to me too! Sunchokes are the root of sunflowers and are also known as jerusalem artichokes. Their peak season is October to February. They are less starchy than potatoes and are loaded full of iron and potassium.

Imagine my excitement when last weekend I found sunchokes at the farmer's market! I immediately purchased a couple and added them to my menu for the week. Although Rachael had some interesting recipes in her magazine, I did some internet searching to see if there was anything else that jumped out at me. I came across a quinoa pilaf that contained sunchokes and I knew I had a winner. I changed a number of things around, added a little bit of garlic for extra flavor, removed the chickpeas and replaced the peas with edamame. Between the sunchokes, edamame and quinoa, I would say this is quite a nutritious and delicious meal. The sunchokes reminded me of softer water chestnuts with a sweeter flavor. I also used a combination of red and white quinoa because I had them both and they added a little extra color pop. :)

Try out sunchokes! They get my full endorsement.

Any vegetables or fruit you'd like to see me try and report back? Any unique seasonal vegetables that you love?

Sunchoke, Edamame and Quinoa Pilaf (adapted from about.com)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa (I used a combination of white and red quinoa)
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth (low sodium store bought or homemade like corn broth)
3/4 cup scrubbed clean and chopped sunchokes
1 cup frozen edamame
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Rinse quinoa thoroughly until cold water.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring frequently, until it crackles, about 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add the sunchokes and edamame and bring back to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked completely. Fluff.

Serves 2-3 as a main dish or 5-6 as a side side.

A long time coming…

Or so I’ve been told. 

Over the past few years, actually mostly during my graduate studies, I have become quite “food-obsessed.” I love to cook and more than anything I love to read recipes. How weird it that? When I open up the mailbox and a new Food Network magazine is there, my heart jumps and I can wait to get to my couch, cuddle up with a blanket and get to reading! Food blogs have more recently become a big part of my life; there are certain ones that I read at least a few times a week (depending the week, maybe even every day). With the invention of Pinterest (I was definitely a little late to this game—just started after the new year), my scope of food blogs has expanded and I keep finding recipes everywhere. So that brings us to today. Today is the day that I start my own food blog. The timing seems right because now I’m done with my Ph.D., have moved cross country to the cornfields of Illinois, and am spending a lot more of my evening with my nose in a good book (or cookbook) or watching television. That means my schedule has relaxed a little bit and I have time to experiment a little more in the kitchen. So when I proposed that I might start a food blog, my boyfriend said “I’m surprised you hadn’t already done that.” So here goes nothing. Thanks for reading and for coming with me on this adventure!

Please note that I’m taking the pictures from my phone and so there is no way the food will look as good as it tastes. Please no judgments.

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Let’s jump in head first with a recipe I made the other day. My first experience with quinoa last summer was not the best… I wasn’t sure how I felt despite all the great reviews of this little nutrient-packed grain. But since it’s not in my nature to give up, I tried again (and again and again…) and now I’m falling in love. It is super easy to make and can soak up lots of flavor. Especially in the following recipe with a honey lemon vinaigrette that was just perfect the other day when I left work at 7:00 pm and the temperature outside was a very humid 84. To add more, corn has been on sale for the past few weeks so it really is a perfect summer meal.

Honey Lemon Quinoa with Corn (adapted slightly from Iowa Girl Eats)

Ingredients:
½ cup dry quinoa
1 cup water
½ tbsp unsalted butter
1 green onion (green and white), sliced thinly
1 ear sweet corn, kernels cut off
Honey Lemon Vinaigrette:
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tbsp honey
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Rinse quinoa with cold water and then combine with the 1 cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the water is absorbed approximately 15 min.
Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a mason jar and shake to mix.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and sweet corn and saute until corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Add cooked quinoa and vinaigrette to pan and stir mix. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

**This makes 2 servings. I had the leftovers for the lunch the following day and I didn’t bother to heat it back up and it was just as good!