Grape and Quinoa Salad

This recipe comes from a cookbook called "Home Cooking the Costco Way".  It's a yearly publication from the warehouse store Costco.  They gather recipes from the companies that sell food at their store and give it away on Thanksgiving weekend.

I've been wanting to try quinoa for a while.  I have some health-conscious friends who swear by this healthy grain.  When I found this recipe, I thought I'd give it a try.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
1 1/2 cups red and green seedless grapes, cut into quarters
1/2 cup dry-roasted hazelnuts, coursley chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Mix quinoa, grapes, hazelnuts and green onion in a medium bowl.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk canola oil, lemon juice, sugar and salt.  Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture and stir to combine.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Mine's not as pretty as the one in the book, probably because I only had green grapes.  But I'm sure it still tasted just as good.

Now, be forewarned, if you've never used quinoa before, as it's cooking it doesn't have the most pleasant scent.  It kinda smelled like weeds.  But the finished product was scrumptious.

Mexican Meatballs

I am a huge fan of this recipe. If you follow it completely, you get delicious meatballs, but it's also really easy to change and edit to your taste. I went on a meatball making binge after making these. Each batch was different than the last, and we loved them all!

Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 gloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried or 2 tbsp. fresh oregano
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 lb. lean ground turkey
8 oz. uncooked or cooked smoked chorizo sausage, finely chopped (I made my own chorizo by flavoring plain sausage. Will share that recipe later.)
2 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Spray 9x13 with cooking spray. Mix together in large bowl the eggs, bread crumbs, cilantro, garlic, oregano, 1 1/2 tsp. of the chili powder, salt and cumin. Add the ground turkey and chorizo sausage; mix well. With damp hands or a small ice cream scoop (I used my hands) form into 24 to 30 meatballs. Combine oil and remaining 1/2 tsp. chili powder, brush over meatballs. Bake meatballs 22 to 25 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees). With slotted spoon, remove meatballs to a serving bowl.

We ate with rice. They were awesome. If you make the meatballs as uniform in size as possible, they cook more evenly. I have to say, I love baking meatballs. I have always hated cooking them on the stovetop. Anytime I find a meatball recipe, I make them and cook them to this recipes directions. Love baking meatballs! Then you can even make them earlier in the day and refrigerate til it's time to bake.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This is another Pillsbury recipe. I really liked it. But anything with french fried onions is usually great in my book.

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 pckg (8 oz) sliced fresh baby portabella mushrooms (I bought these and was so excited about them, but they got moldy before I used them. Sad. So I just used canned mushrooms.)
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard (standard mustard for me)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1 lb. frozen broccoli cuts, thawed
1 can  (8 oz) sliced water chesnuts, drained (I'm not a fan, so I left these out)
1 cup shredded American-cheddar cheese blend (4 oz)
1 can french fried onions (2.8 oz)

Heat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are browned. In large bowl, mix soup, milk, mustard, salt, thyme and pepper. Stir in mushrooms, chicken, broccoli and water chesnuts. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover dish with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle french fried onions over top. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes longer or until mixture is hot and bubbly.

Here's my son's plate. He's always asking me to take a picture of his food when I do this. So this time I did. This meal is pretty child friendly I think. Except that my kid has broccoli issues. And occasional mushroom issues. But I really liked it and thought it was very yummy.

Cajun Seasoning

This is the cajun seasoning Aaron used for our crispy fish.

Ingredients
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper

Applebee's Chicken Fajita Rollup

This is another Top Secret Restaurant recipe. Yummy.

Marinade Ingredients
2 cups water
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp ground chipotle pepper or 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp hickory smoke flavoring
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper

4 chicken breast fillets

Mexi-Ranch Dipping Sauce Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp minced onion
2 tbsp diced tomato
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp canned chopped mild green chiles
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch dried dill weed
pinch ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper

Pico de Gallo Ingredients
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4 large tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shreded Monterey Jack cheese
4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

The chicken needs to marinate for 2 hours, so make the marinade first by combining the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Add four chicken breasts to marinade, cover and chill for 2 hours. Don't let the chicken marinate for much more than that or it could get tough.

While the chicken marinates, prepare the dipping sauce by combining the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well then cover and chill. This will allow all the flavors to develop nicely while parked in the fridge.

The pico de gallo will also develop nicely in the fridge. Combine all those ingredients, then cover and chill it as well.

When you're ready to make your roll-ups, preheat your grill to medium/high heat. Grill the chicken breasts for 4 to 7 minutes per side or until done.

Build each roll-up by first laying a large flour tortilla in a large skillet over low-heat. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the combined cheeses over the surface of the tortilla while it heats up in the pan. When the cheese begins to melt, remove the tortilla from the pan. Sprinkle about 1 cup of shredded lettuce in a strip across the center of the tortilla, followed by about 3 tbsp of pico de gallo. Slive one grilled chicken breast into bite size chunks and arrange the chicken on the lettuce. Fold the ends of the tortilla over the filling, then roll the tortilla from the bottom. Make a diagonal cut across the center of the roll-up and serve with a small dish of the dipping sauce on the side.

I just poured dipping sauce right in mine. Super tasty!

Microwave Monkey Bread

My friend Valerie gave me this recipe, and it's been used a number of times in my household.  It makes a perfect dessert for a breakfast for dinner type of evening.

Ingredients:
Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp whipping cream (I rarely have this around the house so I haven't ever used it.)
optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Rolls:
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 can pillsbury Grands! buttermilk biscuits (5 to 8) cut into quarters

In a 9" glass pie plate (or if you can't find it like me, a 9 x 9 square pan), plate 1/4 cup butter.  microwave uncovered on high 40 to 60 seconds or until melted. Stir in remaining topping ingredients except pecans.  Microwave uncovered on high 1 minute.  Stir; sprinkle evenly with nuts.

In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar and cinnamon.  Dip biscuit quarters into the melted butter, then into cinnamon mixture to coat well.  Arrange biscuits in circle over topping in pie plate, being careful to leave the center open.  Microwave uncovered on high 4 to 6 minutes or until centers of the biscuits are no longer doughy.  Cool in pan 30 seconds.  Invert over serving plate (or in my case, a cookie sheet).  Serve warm.

Rice and Broccoli Timbales

This is a favorite of Ryan, my husband.  I like it too.  I think most normal kids would, but due to just plain stubbornness, mine take their two requisite bits and run away from the table.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (the original recipe calls for wild rice, but I use plain old white)
1 10-oz package chopped broccoli, cooked until tender-crisp and chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
3 oz cream cheese
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup spaghetti or marinara sauce, heated

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the marinara sauce in a bowl.  Blend well.
Put a spoonful of marinara sauce on each plate and spread around.  Spray a 10 oz custard cup with nonstick cooking spray.  Press 3/4 cup mixture into cup; invert onto serving plate.  Repeat with remaining mixture.  If desired, pour remaining sauce over timbales.  Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

The last time we made this, we decided to entice the kids even more by shaping them with cookie cutters.  It didn't work, but they looked good.

 Forming the timbale with a heart cookie cutter.

 I have a new picture editing program and I turned these pictures in the program, but can't get them to show up that way.  Sorry about that.  But here is the heart for my daughter.

And the teddy bear for my son.