Your taste buds will smile: {Mexican Quinoa Bake + Shrimp Tacos}

Would you like something for dinner that is easy, healthy, zesty, and super tasty? Then this quinoa bake is for you! Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (if you like that kind of thing), drained {I used Hunts}
• 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
• 1/2 chopped vidella onion
• 1 diced zucchini {feel free to add any other veggies that might strike your fancy}
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 Tablespoon of cumin
• 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook your quinoa according to instructions. (I rinsed it, then cooked it in 2 1/2 cups of water with one swanson concentrated stock "pod".) Once the quinoa is cooked, combine in casserole dish (if you've got one with a lid, use it!) with black beans, zucchini, & chopped onion. In a separate bowl combine tomatoes, salsa, 1/2 of your cheese, eggs, & cumin. Stir to combine, then pour over quinoa/veggie mixture. 

Bake on the middle rack, covered, for 25 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until cheese has browned. I turned on the broiler to aid in this process.

I suggest you let it rest once you've pulled it from the oven for a few minutes so it has time to loose a little bit of that molten heat. At this point your house is going to smell amazing.

I decided to serve my Mexican quinoa bake with shrimp tacos. Since we were mid-summer-thunderstorm I quickly sauteed my shrimp in a non-stick skillet stove top. I would have preferred the grill but you know, lighting + grilling = danger. I mixed up a little bit of bang-bang inspired sauce to brush on my cooked shrimp before they landed in the tortilla blanket. Want to try this one too? 

• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Mayo
• 2 Tablespoons of Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (you can do this part to taste if you don't like lots of spice)
• Small squeeze of lime juice (added bonus, but not 100% necessary)

Stir to combine. Brush on cooked shrimp. Bang. It's really tasty. (This is enough sauce for about 40 shrimp, and will keep for a little bit in your fridge in a sealed container.) 

{yes, that is a giant sized jar of Dukes. yes, that lives in my fridge. hubby + costco w/ bbq partner=trouble}

{Bang-Bang-Esq} Shrimp Taco w/ avocado & sauteed peppers & onions

Watermelon-Blueberry Fruit Salad

Mexican Quinoa Bake

Have I made you hungry? 

What's Cooking: Curried Mussel Pan Roast

I'd say were pretty adventurous in the kitchen. I keep a notebook full of ripped out pages from various sources and put them on the weekly meal plan to try. There are always hits or misses. This was a hit from last week!

Curried Mussel Pan Roast adapted from Cooking Light

1 lb Sweet Potatoes, cut into bite sized but still substantial pieces

2 T olive oil

1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1 package sungold (my favorite) or cherry tomatoes

1/2 c light coconut milk

1 T curry powder, we like spicy so we used a Tablespoon instead of a teaspoon of Madras Curry Powder

4 ears of corn shucked and cut into 2 pieces 

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1 pound of muscles, scrubbed

1/2 cup chopped green onions

3 T chopped fresh mint

Lime Wedges

We added snow peas this time, but feel free to add any other veggies you like. I think eggplant or carrots would be an excellent addition! 

Preheat Oven to 400. Combine potatoes, onions, oil, salt, and pepper in a large roasting pan. Toss well to coat. Arrange in a single layer and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Stir once halfway through. Stir in coconut milk, curry powder, and corn. Roast for about 10 minutes. Nestle mussels into veggies and roast until mussels open, about 5-10 minutes.

Serve with crusty french bread and lime wedges.

The first time we tried this, we followed the recipe exactly and it was lovely. This time we added our own flair with the additions mentioned above!

Butternut Squash Soup

It got cold this past weekend. Unseasonably cold. No, we did not get snow like a good number of you did but breaking out the down jacket & wellie socks in October is very out of the ordinary around here!

When it's chilly outside I always get a hankering to cook and bake and just be in the kitchen in general. This coming week is going to be crazy with our Junior League "holiday market." I'll be tied up through next weekend so I decided to stock up on a few things in the fridge for the badger & myself to "grab-and-go" this week. First up, butternut squash soup!

Here's what you'll need:

4 Leeks (white & light green parts only), chopped
3 Lbs of butternut squash, peeled & cut into 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
5 Cups low-sodium veggie broth (you can use chicken too!)
kosher salt & black pepper
1 tsp. "sweet and spicy" Tabasco sauce

Here's how you'll do it:

1. Place leeks, squash, bay leaf, broth, & pepper in a dutch oven. (If you don't have one, a large sauce pan will do!) and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook until the squash is tender, about 10 or so minutes.
3. Remove bay leaf.
4. I don't have a large food processor or a stick blender (which you could absolutely use) so I pureed the mixture in batches in my blender.
5. Stir in salt & Tabasco sauce to taste.

Enjoy!

I enjoyed this immensely, but I am a squash lover. The badger, he said he'd like me to try and roast the squash in the oven next time so it will be more caramelized. Are you a squashy person? How do you like your butternut soup?

Mannnnnnnny, Diiiiiiiiiner.

Imagine I said that in my bery best Gloria (from Modern Family) voice, mmmmkay?
My latin accent is just about as horrible as my salsa dance moves as illustrated in my zumba class this week. (That is a whole different post.)

We celebrate MF and it's hilarity on Wednesday evenings in our household so I channeled my inner Gloria and made sweet corn & bacon empanadas. And they were delish. Want to try them yourself?

Sweet Corn & Bacon Empanadas
{Her photos are way better than mine}

Since Gloria is my 2nd favorite character on tv next to Ron Swanson of Parks and Rec, what should tonight's dinner be in his honor..breakfast buffet?

Love people. Cook them good food.

On our way home from a Savannah wedding we stopped at the Le Cruset distribution outlet. While I loved oogling at all of the beautiful enamel colors, a large pot was not in our budget at the present moment. There was a tiny pot that was, and I have a feeling it will make me happy every morning for a very long time. A cheery little yellow honey pot sits below our hanging mugs awaiting a twirl of the honey comb in my morning tea!

I'm a big believer in the little things, the little details, that make all the difference. I spotted this bumper sticker on the front door upon visiting a spice store on the hunt for star anise to brine pork chops with and I loved it and decided it shall live on my fridge. "Love people. Cook them tasty food." Love it.

Love the store from which it came: Penzy's Spices. If you have one near you, it's worth a visit. Star anise at my local grocery store was almost $10 for a bottle but at the spice store it was a little over $2 for a packet. I've found this to be true with lots of spices, especially the pricier ones like Saffron & real vanilla extract. Love to cook? It's worth a trip!

If you love risotto....

Raise your hands...

I love this dish that takes a lot of love & stirring to make! Over the weekend we celebrated my Dad's birthday and I fixed fresh grilled cobia that I served with Spring Risotto. It was A+, you should definitely put it on your must try list (especially with spring peas & asparagus in season!)

Black is the new White. {rice edition}

{image credit}

After visiting with some friends in downtown Charleston a few weekends ago, the husband and I decided to grab a little dinner at a new spot, Rice Market. With still a few kinks to work out in their concept, there was one shining star of our dinner: my black risotto. Call me crazy, but I'm a sucker for risotto of pretty much any kind. I'd never heard of black risotto before and funny enough, while listening to NPR on the way home they did a story all about the new "superfood" that is black rice. Intrigued, I did a little research and sure enough, foodies everywhere are incorporating black rice into their menus for its vast health benefits. A starch that can prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, & heart attacks? Sign me up!



I have yet to try and locate some to cook at home but I'm guessing a trip to whole foods is in my future. Have you ever cooked with black rice? I can't wait to try black rice risotto & black rice & soy salad in my kitchen soon!

best brownie ever.

i'll let you in on a little secret. while i'm a proponent to scratch made, i'm a big fan of the good ole dunkin hines brownie mixes. quick, easy, & never fail they're a sure fire way to cheer me up. when i received our February glossy edition of bon apetit magazine in my mailbox i was greeted with a cover that touts "best-ever brownies. warning you will eat the entire tray." wouldn't that peek any brownie lovers interest?

challenge accepted, bon appetit, challenge accepted. i whipped up a batch of
Coco Brownies with Brown Butter and Walnuts .

What you'll need to gather:

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, chilled
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnut pieces (if you want, i left these out)

Now go here and print your recipe and whisk away.

In the end you'll get this:

& you'll be happy, & have a happy husband, & have an empty pan (as promised.)

Bon Appetit - 1
Bird - 0

you win this time, foodie magazine. this time.

menu for the week

{veggies for the week from the farmer's market}

Monday:
Crock Pot Roast Chicken w/ roasted sweet potatoes, butternut squash, onions, & brussels sprouts

Tuesday:
Chicken Pot Pie with the leftover chicken from above
{are these not the most adorable pot pies you've ever seen?}

Wednesday:
Spaghetti + a green salad

Thursday:
Philly Cheese Steaks on homemade bread w/ brown sugar chipotle butternut squash

Friday:
Sausage +Tomato Risotto
{talked about this little delight here}

Saturday:
Ribs & Slaw

___________
Last week, I got stuck at work late a few nights so the planned menu was pushed back a bit! The highlights & lowlights of the week were:

Monday: Cider Glazed Chicken (that everyone is blogging about.)
I think we did something wrong so will certainly try again! The chicken breasts we used I think were too big thus making the dish very dry. I LOVED the rice ... the badger, not so much. I'll put it on the rotation again using the proper cut of chicken and see if it's any better!

Tuesday & Wednesday we fell off the bandwagon and foraged for our suppers.

Thursday: My first foray into the Pioneer Woman cookbook my sister gave me for Christmas. 1 word on Penne alla Betsy: FANTASTIC! The girls I had over for dinner loved it! I made homemade bread & my friend J brought a yummy salad. It was perfect!{perfecting my bread recipe}

{thanks for the yummy salad (and taking of the photos) J!}

{penne alla betsy ... nom nom nom}

Friday: The pushed back marinated flat iron steak was great and the roasted veggies are a new winter favorite in our house! Highly recommend roasting sweet potatoes (we used white ones) and butternut squash.

we interrupt the wine for ....

home-made marshmallows!

we had a mini-ice storm the past few days & i decided it was high time to try another recpie from Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it. The winner for a cold icy night: marshmallows!


{hot sugar, water, corn syrup, & a pinch of salt meet unflavored gelatin in the shiny red mixer}

{after about 8 minutes of whipping & a hour of rest you have a marshmallow fit for a giant. or buddy the elf perhaps.}

{cut them down to size, & toss with some more powdered sugar. voila.}

{the best dern hot coco i've had in a while!}