Greek Salad Meet Quinoa

My Aunt Kaly sent me this recipe...I tried it last night and loved it!

4 cups cooked Quinoa (1 cup uncooked)

6 Green Onions

4 Roma Tomatoes

1 Cucumber

4 oz. crumbled Feta Cheese

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

3 tablespoons Lemon Juice

1 1/4 teaspoons Salt

1/4 teaspoon Pepper

Toss quinoa with veggies and cheese in large bowl. In separate bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss with salad.

Simple and delicious!

Thai Lentil Soup and Garlic Naan Bread

I was having a difficult day yesterday, so even though it was almost 100 degrees outside, I went for this comforting soup. It's my absolute favorite! I tried to make Naan bread to go with it and after some tweaking, I got the recipe just right!

Garlic Naan Bread: (Original recipe from allrecipe.com but I've updated it slightly)

1 pkg. or 2 1/4 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

1 cup warm Water

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons Milk

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons Salt

4 -5 cups Flour

2-3 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 cup melted Butter

In a large bowl or stand mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Let stand about 10 minutes to activate. Stir in milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes. Pinch off small handfuls of dough. Shape into ball and place in well oiled bowl. Let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Mix garlic into melted butter. Take a ball of dough and pinch it in half. Roll out each as thin as possible on a large piece of tin foil. Sprinkle with salt and brush with melted butter and garlic. Place on grill buttered side down. Brush other side with butter. Turn every 1-2 minutes to get nice grill marks and avoid burning until cooked through. About 4-8 minutes total. Repeat process until all the dough in grilled. Serve warm.

Thai Lentil & Coconut Soup: (Originally from The Soup Bible, but I've updated it slightly)

2 tablespoons Sunflower oil

1 large Red Onion

1 Thai Chile, seeded and finely chopped

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

2-1inch pieces Lemon Grass

1 cup Red Lentils (usually found in the bulk bin section of Grocery Stores. This recipe only works with RED lentils because of the way they absorb moisture and almost dissolve!)

1 tablespoon ground Coriander

1/2 tablespoon Paprika

1 tablespoon Salt (it sounds like alot, but you really need to flavor those bland lentils!)

1 teaspoon black Pepper

1- 14 oz can Coconut Milk

3 3/4 cup Water

Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

3 Scallions, chopped

2 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in a large soup pot and add onion, chile, garlic, and lemon grass. Saute about 5 minutes or until onions have softened but not browned. Add lentils and spices. Pour in coconut milk and water and stir. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 40-45 minutes. Before serving, add in Lime juice and zest as well as scallions and cilantro. Serve hot.

Mojito Bars--Better than your average Lemon Bar!

Crust:

3/4 cup Butter

1/3 cup Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 cups Flour

Zest of 1 Lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, and zest. Cut in butter like making pie crust dough. Press into 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Filling:

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups Sugar

5 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup Lime juice (about 3 limes)

Zest of 2 Limes

1 teaspoon Mint, finely chopped

2 oz. White Rum or 2 teaspoons Rum Extract

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Pour into partially baked crust. Bake 16-18 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into bars.

Rice Kripsy Chicken Tenders with Blue Cheese Hot Sauce

This is all I have to show for the yummy chicken tenders I made last night...They got gobbled up so fast!

Instead of bread crumbs or corn flakes, I breaded chicken tenders with crushed up Rice Krispies Cereal and it was delicious!

8 Chicken breast tenders

2 Eggs, beaten

splash of water

4 cups slightly crushed Rice Krispies Cereal

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

pinch of garlic powder

1-2 tablespoons Frank's Hot Sauce

1/2 cup Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

Put cereal in one bowl with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Beat 2 eggs with a splash of water and a few squirts of Frank's hot sauce in another bowl. Double coat the chicken by putting it into the egg, then cereal, then back in the egg, and back into the cereal. This gives it a great crispy crust.

Saute in a non-stick pan, on medium heat, for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese hot sauce.

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 c. Blue Cheese dressing

1 tablespoon Frank's Hot Sauce (more or less to your desired heat level)

Lucious Lemon Bars

Here is an updated version of Mom Fromm's delicious Lemon Bars! I'm not a very good baker, but theses are easy and so much better than a boxed mix!

Crust:

3/4 cup Butter

1/3 cup powdered Sugar

1 1/2 cups Flour

Zest of 1 Lemon

Mix sugar, zest, and flour. Cut butter into flour mixture like when making pie crust. Press into a 9 x 13" pan and bake for 15 minutes on 350 degrees.

Filling:

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated Sugar

4 tablespoons Flour

1/3 cup Fresh Lemon Juice (about 2-3 lemons)

Zest of 1 Lemon

Whisk together until smooth.

Pour over cooked crust. Bake another 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Grilled Peaches with Honey & Goat Cheese

This is so delicious, and fairly healthy dessert!

You can make as little or as much of this recipe because it's just simple ratio's: 1 peach per person with equal parts honey and Goat Cheese.

For 4 people:

4 Peaches, cut in half and pit removed
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons Goat Cheese

Grill peaches flesh side down 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Mix honey and goat cheese. (This recipe makes a thick syrup like consistency but you can do more or less of either ingredient to your own taste.) Remove fruit from grill and top with 1/2 tablespoon honey, goat cheese mixture on each half of a peach. Serve warm.

So, yummy and you get a peach cobbler taste without all the fat!