Shirmp & Veggie Stir Fry over Quinoa

IN THE KITCHEN today we are making another fasting recipe. As I've said before in past posts, I've been working hard to get some summery non-soup recipes in my line up. This is one I just came up with and we all seemed to enjoy it.

Since not everyone in my house likes quinoa, I also made steamed rice to accompany our stir fry. If you are not familiar with cooking quinoa, don't let it intimidate you. It's so easy and quick, if you and your family like it, it will soon become a staple. Quinoa, pronounced /keen:wa/, is actually cereal and not a grain, like most people think. It is extremely healthy and one of few foods that is a complete protein in itself. Many folks are concerned about their low intake of protein during the fast and I have to say if you like quinoa at all, it's your best choice! It's very versatile and I use it in place of rice all the time. It really picks up any flavors you add to it, since it has such a mild flavor of its own.


For today's dish, I used 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. I usually rinse my quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and then toss it into a dry frying pan. I saute it for a good minute or two and then add boiling or hot water. I usually add my seasonings at this time. For this dish I added about 1 tsp of Mushroom Ultimate Seasoning. Once the water and seasoning are in, I stir to make sure it's evenly dispersed and then cover the pan and reduce to a simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes then fluff with a folk. Done!

Next I took the shrimp and whatever veggies I had on hand. For today's dish I used 1 medium onion, 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 2 cups broccoli florets, 1 red bell pepper. I also cleaned my shrimp by taking off the tails and sprinkling with salt, just a pinch or two. I mix the salt into the shrimp and then gave them a good rinse. The salt helps to kill any bacteria that may have developed during the thawing process.

I also saute my veggies in stages since not all veggies have the same cooking time. First I cook my onions. Once they are soft I add my mushrooms, then brocolli and then peppers last. Since the shrimp just take a minute or so I add them last. During the sauting of the veggies. I added about 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce I had on had and as things began to get to dry I added a splash or two of water. Once the shrimp are lightly pink you're done!

Enjoy!

Here's a recap of your ingredient list:

1 cup quinoa                                  2 cups water or stock
1 tsp seasoning

1 lb raw shrimp                             1 medium onion sliced thin
1 cup mushrooms sliced                2 cups brocolli florets
1 red bell pepper sliced                  1/4 or to taste teriyaki sauce

Perfect summer meal...

Chopped Greek Salad with Chicken

DON'T YOU JUST HATE it when it's hot and you need to make dinner. Or maybe it doesn't need to be HOT, maybe you just feel like that every night! Ha! Ha! I know some times I do!!Well I have the perfect meal idea for you on a hot day. I love the magazine Eating Well! They have great healthy meals that are quick and most of the time all my family likes them. Even this meal, all but one child ate this salad. I call that success!!

I changed up the recipe a bit, due to the ingredient I had on hand. But here it is!

First I chopped up the lettuce, I used iceberg since that's what I had. Then chopped up the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and chicken. I omitted the red onion since I thought the kids would be put off and I wanted them to at least try it! Then sprinkled the cheese, made up the dressing and tossed! Voila, there you have it a great quick dinner for a warm summer day!!! If you have cooked chicken on hand you could whip this up in minutes!! Click here for the full recipe...

Spicy Lentils...

TODAY IN THE KITCHEN we have another fasting recipe. I know many folks have a problem with lentils and legumes, but I think if you introduce them slowly into your diet your body can get used to the amount of fiber. I think often times we don't eat enough fiber and then we get to the fast and our body is just not used to the amount of fiber in the fasting diet.

This one that my family enjoys and works during the summer and winter. It's pretty quick and easy and very tasty. I'm sure there are probably as many "dahl" recipes as there are people, but this is mine.

I begin with all my veggies and spices and prepare them to make things easy. While I'm making the lentils I am cooking rice in my rice cooker. In a medium to large sauce pan I put about two table spoons of veggie oil. Just as that's heating I add in the mustard seeds. As they start to flutter I add the onion and saute for a few minutes on medium high heat, then add the garlic, jalapenos, ginger, and spices. (NOTE: be sure not to heat the mustard seeds too much or you'll have them popping out of the pan like popcorn and when they hit you they burn!! I found this out the hard way! So be ready with the other ingredients to prevent this.)

Once I get everything in I saute it all a few minutes so it comes together. Then I add one 16 oz can of chopped tomatoes. Then I add my red lentils and 4 or 5 cups of water. I say red lentils because I find I don't have to soak them before and they cook quickly. Once this starts to simmer put a lid on and turn it down medium/low heat, on my stove that's between 2 and 3. Be sure to check it every so often as the lentils can tend to stick. Add water as needed. You want to keep water covering the lentil mixture until they begin to get tender.

Once the lentils are tender you're in business! I serve this over rice with a bit of cilantro as a garnish. Yum!

The Recipe
1 med onion chopped                                  1 med jalapeno chopped
2 Tbsp minced ginger                                  2 med cloves of garlic minced
1 Tbsp whole mustard seeds                         salt to taste
1 Tbsp ground coriander                              1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes w/liquid
2  cups red lentils, rinsed                               4 to 5 cups of water
chopped cilantro for garnish       

TIP OF THE DAY: Storing fresh ginger to last! Do you ever buy a piece of ginger root and before you know it, it's shriveled up and really not usable. Well, if you get a mason jar peel your ginger and place it in the jar and fill with vodka, yes vodka! It will stay fresh forever and you'll never be out of fresh ginger again!!                                        

In the Kitchen...

I'M ALWAYS LOOKING for fasting recipes for the summer fasts. The fasts of Great Lent and Nativity are usually in a cooler time of year, so soups and bread are a great staple. However during the Apostle's Fast (which we're in now) and the Dormition Fast coming up, the weather is such that I, for one, don't appreciate a hot soup. For that reason I tend to do a lot of stir fries, but my families most favorite is Yaki Soba noodles.

This is such a quick fix and everyone loves it. Especially on a hot day. I begin with onions, garlic and whatever veggies my family likes.

I stir fry them beginning with the onions and garlic then adding the veggies that cook the longest first (like the carrots and broccoli). Then the others until they are all in. I season with our favorite stir fry sauce.

Because I don't have a large enough pan to do all the veggies and noodles at the same time, I transfer most of the veggies to a serving dish and then stir fry the noodles with some of the veggies and add more sauce. Then when things are cooked through I transfer everything to the veggies I put aside on the serving dish and mix thoroughly. Yum!!

Enjoy your day!!

Fast Free Waffles!

CONTINUING WITH THE Fast FREE theme we are indulging in my kids favorite breakfast WAFFLES!! Doesn't everyone love waffles. This is a quick and easy recipe, but beware it is extremely high in calories. So if you're watching your waist line you may want to move on to another Blog now!! Ha! Ha!

I borrowed this recipe from my mom years ago and it has become a family favorite. I'm not sure of the original source, so I'm not meaning to plagiarize anyone out there!! We just call it "Mom's Waffles".

Mom's Waffles Recipe

4 eggs                                             1 cup milk

1 cup melted butter                        1 cup sour cream

1 tsp baking soda                           1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt                                         2 cups flour

I put all the wet ingredients into my blender and pulse a couple of times to blend them. Then I add all the dry ingredients and blend well. Scrape down the sides of the blender and blend again until well blended and smooth. For my waffle iron I put 1/3 cup of batter in each side and then cook until done! Delish!! Enjoy!

In the Kitchen...

FAST FREE WEEK means meat!!! At least for my hubby and my oldest. So in honor of Fast Free Wednesday I roasted chickens. Most women I know aren't really big on purchasing and cooking a full chicken. I remember when I was first married I had never purchased a whole chicken. I didn't know the first thing to do with it. While I had cooked chicken lots of times and lots of ways, I had just never dealt with a whole bird before. In fact on our first Thanksgiving I got up at o'dark thirty to deal with our lovely turkey, only to have to go wake up hubby to ask him which part was the breast. Leave it to a man to know the breast! Ha! Ha! So my wonderful hubby put Ms. Bird on his hand and used it as a puppet to enlighten me on the anatomy of the naked bird. I must say I felt pretty dumb, but I was able to get it cooked and it was delicious, even if I do say so myself!

Anyway, back to the chickens. Roasting a chicken is the easiest thing in the world and if you're not so savy in the kitchen you can look like you are!! The other great thing about roasting chicken is that if you do two at a time, like I do you can have precooked meat for a couple of meals during that week. Usually I would prepare the chickens on a Sunday morning and set the timer on the oven and we'd have a lovely Sunday chicken dinner. Then I would have chicken for enchiladas and chicken salad for later in the week. If I was really ambitious I would also cook the bones Sunday evening and we'd have home made chicken soup for lunch the next day. So we would get three good meals out of one day of work. Throwing the stuff together for the future meals is a snap when the meat is already cooked.

For my roast chicken I wash the bird and pat it dry and place it in a sprayed pan. I then stuff the bird with lemon and/or onions and fresh herbs if I have them on hand. Then I sprinkle some seasonings on the skin and bake in a low oven (225 degrees) for 4 hours or so. If I want a complete meal I season some carrots and potatoes and place around the chicken and roast them all together. Many a new mom has received this meal after giving birth and they have loved it. So if you haven't roasted a chicken, give it a go. Nothing could be easier!!

As a side note I was able to finish my first COMPLETE quilt. I've been working on all these quilt tops and then trying to get them quilted since the beginning of the year. Now I'm able to start binding them and seeing the completed fruits of my labor. I think it came out pretty nice.



Enjoy your day!!