Sweet n' Healthy Quinoa Salad

Submitted by Anne Richardson

 

1 C quinoa
2 C water
1/4 C almonds, chopped
2 C fresh strawberries, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (or 2 halves, different colors)
1/2 C raw pumpkin seeds (or called pepitas-they’re green)
2 C or 1 can corn
2 C (cooked) or 1 can black beans
1/2 C Craisins
Approximately 1/3 C Brianna’s Poppyseed Salad Dressing
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste

This recipe is extremely flexible.  If you want you can add various ingredients like the green bell pepper I mentioned earlier, some onions or other types of nuts.  And if you’re short an ingredient (I did that once too for a potluck Christmas party last year), don’t worry, people won’t know the difference and it will still taste great!

You may already be familiar with the whole grain “Quinoa.”  If you’re not, then the first thing you need to learn is how to pronounce it: KEEN – WA.  It’s a whole grain, super good for you, high in iron, fiber and amino acids, and it can be dressed up in many different ways.

Measure out 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, add the quinoa and cover the pot.  Cook it over medium heat for 12 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed.  Don’t overcook it; we want it to be nice and moist.  This should give you about 4 cups of quinoa.

You can gather the other ingredients while the quinoa is cooking.  I prefer this salad to be cold, so you’ll want to leave enough time to let it cool off before you’re eat.

First you’ll need about 1/4 cup almonds.  We really like to soak almonds in our family.  All you do to soak them is put them in a little water for 6-10 hours and they start to absorb the water and plump up like they’re going to sprout.

They are healthier this way too, and softer to eat, but still crunchy.  If you have time and can remember details, you can soak your almonds the night before and use those in the recipe.  I have done it both ways, but remembering details is definitely not my strong suit.  Either way grab your food chopper or a knife and cut them up into smaller chunks.

Next you’ll dice up your strawberries.  You want about 2 cups, but more or less is fine.

Next dice up a bell pepper.  I did half a red bell pepper and half an orange one this time around.  If you like a little contrast to the sweet you can do half of a green bell pepper.

Next measure out about a 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds. These are crunchy and so so so yummy in this salad!  You can usually find raw pumpkin seeds in the freezer at your health food store.

Open up your can of corn and black beans.  I drain them both, but I rinse out the black beans.

Once your Quinoahas cooled you can throw it all together in a big bowl with a ½ cup of craisins and some Brianna’s poppy seed dressing.  Start with 1/3 cup of Brianna’s dressing and then add more if you feel it is too dry.  I’ve never actually measured the dressing, so that’s my best guess on how much you’d need. Last we’ll add a few simple spices.

Add ½ tsp garlic powder, 1-2 tsp of cumin and a few shakes of black pepper (or more if you like black pepper).

That’s it!

Texas Lasagna

Submitted By Melinda LeCheminant

½ c water

½ t garlic powder

12  lasagna noodles

1 t salt

1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese

1 egg

¾ lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

¾ c grated parmesan cheese

1 lb Italian sausage in casing

½ lb ground beef

½ c finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T sugar

1 t salt

1 T dried basil leaves

½ t fennel seeds (I only put 2 little seeds in)

½ t pepper

¼ c chopped parsley

1 can (35 oz) Italian style tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste

Remove sausage from casing and chop. In 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté sausage, beef, onion, and chopped garlic. Stir frequently and cook until well browned. Add sugar, salt, basil, fennel, pepper, and half of the parsley and mix well. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, and ½ c water, mashing tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover; simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add garlic powder and simmer 30 minutes longer. In an 8-qt kettle (I just use a regular 5-qt pan), bring 3 qts water and 1 tsp of salt to a boil. Add lasagna noodles 2-3 at a time. Return to boiling and boil uncovered until noodles are just tender. Drain and rinse in a colander under cold water. Dry noodles on paper towels. In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, remaining parsley, and salt. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Into a 9x13 baking dish, spoon 1 ½ cups of sauce. Place 6 noodles lengthwise and overlapping to cover sauce. Spread half of ricotta mixture over noodles and top with 1/3 of mozzarella. Spoon another 1 ½ c of sauce over cheese and sprinkle with ¼ c parmesan. Spread any remaining cheeses on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and bake uncovered another 25 minutes or until bubbly. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Have it Your Way Muffins

Submitted by Amanda Hancock

½ c. butter

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. plain yogurt OR flavor of your choice

1 tsp. vanilla OR another flavor

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add yogurt and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, but don’t mix it in. Put the baking soda, baking powder and salt on top of the flour, and mix them into the flour. Mix everything up gently. If you used a flavored yogurt, you can add berries to match. If you used plain, you can add chocolate chips, and/or nuts. If you use lemon extract instead of vanilla, you can make a little glaze with lemon juice and powdered sugar to go on top. Have it your way!

Zucchini Casserole

submitted by Sandee Hinman

6 c zucchini, peeled, seeds scooped out, cubed
1/4 c chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
1 cube of butter or margarine (to use with stuffing)
1 8oz package of herb seasoned stuffing mix

Boil zucchini and onion in water for 5 minutes. Drain well. In a bowl, combine soup, sour cream and cheese. Add zucchini and onions and mix well. In a bowl, melt butter and stir in stuffing mix. Put 1/2 crumb mixture in bottom of dish. Pour zucchini mixture into the dish and top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake 350 for 1/2 hour, uncovered.

*can add shredded chicken too.