creamy quinoa primavera.

Have you ever had quinoa? If not, I'd like to introduce you. Quinoa is a delicious and healthy South American seed that makes an excellent replacement for cous cous and rice. It's very high in protein, which is excellent for vegetarians. It's also gluten-free. Some quinoa recipes were popping up as I was browsing blogs looking for new dishes to make, so I thought I'd give quinoa a try. I'm so glad I did. It's my new favorite food. This particular recipe is from a blog called Let's Dish.


the recipe
1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
3 cups vegetable broth
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 cups thinly sliced or bite sized pieces assorted uncooked vegetables
3 tablespoons grated Romano or Parmesan cheese


Rinse quinoa thoroughly; drain. Bring quinoa and broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes or until broth is absorbed. While quinoa is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook garlic in butter for about one minutes, stirring frequently, until golden. Stir in vegetables. Cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir cream cheese and basil into cooked quinoa. Toss vegetables with quinoa mixture and sprinkle with cheese.


substitutions
Didn't have any for this recipe. I will say though, that for the assorted vegetables, I've just been staying basic with some peas and broccoli, but you can use anything you want.


great with
This could make a great side for any meal. Sometimes I'll have it with a veggie burger or a Morningstar Farms chicken pattie. This is also filling enough to have as a single-bowl meal. I often bring some of this to work for my lunch.


the review
This recipe was my first quinoa experience and I must say, I thought it was really good. I like that this recipe has some vegetables right in it. Overall, it makes for a very healthy, filling meal. The cream cheese in this recipe is a nice touch also. It adds a really nice flavor and the meal itself is very smooth and creamy. If you haven't tried quinoa yet, I would definitely give it a shot.

roasted broccoli with garlic.

First of all, I've been super lazy about posting lazy. However, school started recently and for several weeks I was spending lots of time preparing for my students. I was preparing food also; I just wasn't posting it on here. However, I have lots of good recipes to share now.

Anyways, this is another delicious recipe from A Couple Cooks. I love a simple recipe like this one for roasted broccoli with garlic. It's not hard to make, it goes with almost anything, and it's delicious.

the recipe

Serves 4-6 as a side

3 heads broccoli

8 cloves garlic

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

2. Wash and dry the broccoli. Cut each garlic clove into quarters. Cut the broccoli into large florets.

3. Arrange the broccoli and garlic on a baking sheet and toss with a bit of olive oil. Add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

4. Roast the broccoli for about 20 minutes, until the tips are just browned.

5. In a bowl, add 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

substitutions

Just regular salt instead of kosher salt. I feel like I should maybe get some of this kosher salt. It keeps popping up in recipes.

great with

I believe I've had this as a side for veggie burgers, pizza and pasta, amongst other things. This will go with pretty much anything.

the review

When I was a little girl, maybe six years old, when asked I would say that my favorite food was garlic. I still love garlic, so needless to say I enjoyed this recipe very much. It's easy to make, it's delicious and of course it's good for you too. I have found that, in general, I do not need to roast the broccoli for 20 minutes, as the recipe suggests. Honestly, mine's closer to about 12 minutes probably. Anyways, this is a highly recommended recipe. Easy to make and very delicious.

dusty cauliflower.

My mom's been making this recipe for many years, and it's always been one of my favorites. I'm not honestly sure where she got it. It may be from a cookbook but I wouldn't honestly know which one. Anyways, I had a taste for it recently, so I decided to make a batch of it myself. 


the recipe
4 cups cauliflower, cut into flowerets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons oat bran
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash of garlic powder


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a baking pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray.
3. Place cauliflower in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and toss until cauliflower is evenly coated.
4. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over cauliflower. Toss until coated.
5. Spread cauliflower in prepared pan. Sprinkle with any remaining crumbs.
6. Bake 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned.


substitutions
It's not really a substitution, I guess, but my mom and I use wheat germ for the oat bran. We've always used it, and it works well.


great with
I personally think this is a delicious side to accompany a veggie burger. That's exactly what I had this with.


the review
As I said in the beginning, this is absolutely one of my favorite recipes. I really like cauliflower, but there's no denying that it can taste a little plain at times. This is not a plain recipe. It's delicious. This is also one of the easiest things to make. Just toss everything in a bowl, stick it in the oven, and then you can concentrate on the rest of dinner. Easy and delicious.

stuffed green peppers.

One day, I had the burning desire to make stuffed green peppers. This is weird because I've never made them before, and I honestly don't remember the last time I had a stuffed pepper. Regardless, turned to Google and did a search, to happy results. The following recipe was found on allrecipes.com.


the recipe
serves 4
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and seat aside.
3. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.
4. While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.
5. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.


substitutions
Brown rice instead of Arborio rice, spring onions instead of green onions, dry Italian dressing powder for the Italian seasoning, and no tomato.


great with
I thought at first that this was going to be filling enough to have on it's own, but the peppers I got were pretty small, so I quickly realized that wasn't going to work. I had one stuffed pepper half with a Morningstar Farms chicken pattie.


the review
Regardless of the fact that my picture of the pepper doesn't necessarily make the pepper look very pretty, you really must believe me when I say that these were very good. Very flavorful and for the most part, healthy. I like this recipe because I think there are a lot of different things that you could do with the rice mixture, depending on what your tastes are. I certainly changed it from the originally recipe, and it was great. I've already bought another pepper, so I'm looking forward to having these again.

summer corn chowder.

Have you ever had the summer corn chowder at Panera? It's really good. I haven't had it in like, a year, but I was sitting around, thinking about what to make for dinner one day and instantly I decided I wanted summer corn chowder. I figured I'd go to Panera, but then I though, screw that, I'll just find out how to make it.


I went to Google and searched "summer corn chowder recipe" and after reading some reviews, decided to make the first recipe that came up, which is from epicurious.com and can be found by clicking here.


the recipe
Makes 4 to 5 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, cut in 1/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups fresh vegetable broth
2 russet potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice, for garnish
1/2 cup thinly slivered fresh basil leaves, for garnish


1. Place the oil and butter in a pot over low heat. Add the diced onion and wilt for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion; cook, stirring, for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the broth and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the corn, red and green bell peppers, salt, pepper and half-and-half; cook over low heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Ladle 2 cups of soup into each bowl. Before serving, place 1 tablespoon of diced tomatoes in the center of each and top generously with slivered basil. Serve immediately.


substitutions
I didn't have a green bell pepper, so I just used a red one for both amounts. I also didn't feel like messing around with garnish, so I skipped the tomatoes and basil. Also, after reading the reviews on epicurious.com, I noticed that some of them said this recipe was a little bland for them. I added some red cayenne pepper and thyme for flavor.


great with
Soup is pretty stand-alone, to me anyways. I like bread for dipping though, so I usually toast a piece of whole grain bread and then put a little bit of butter and garlic powder on it.


the review
Well...I was craving Panera's summer corn chowder and I basically got Panera's summer corn chowder. This is one of my new favorite recipes. This was really easy to make and it's so, so good. I know you might be thinking, it's summer, why in the world would I want soup? But seriously, that has a perfect taste for summer. This was hearty and filling (and not bland at all--no clue what those reviews were talking about) and my goodness, even though I made a half recipe, the amount of soup I got out of it was huge. Make this. You will not regret it.

two-pea pasta with ricotta and tarragon.

I'm always on the search for new pasta recipes, so when I found this one online at Delish.com, I thought it sounded great and couldn't wait to give it a try myself.


the recipe
coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces gemelli or other short pasta
12 ounces sugar snap peas
1 10-ounce package frozen peas
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese


1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than al dente. Add snap peas; cook 2 minutes, add peas, and cook 1 minute more. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and vegetables and return to pot.
2. Toss pasta and vegetables with butter, tarragon, and ricotta, adding a little reserved pasta water as needed to create a thin sauce that coats pasta; season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide pasta among four serving bowls and garnish with tarragon, if desired. Serve immediately.


substitutions
I didn't have tarragon. I know that tarragon has a really unique flavor and there isn't really a complete substitution for it, so I just through some oregano in there for some flavor.


great with
Like most pastas, this stands great on its own. I had my pasta with a salad.


the review
Man, was this good. I'm kind of obsessed with peas, so the "two-pea" part of the recipe immediately hooked me. This is really easy to make, and it tastes fantastic. As far as sauces go, it's not heavy at all. I've been enjoying the leftovers for a few days now. I highly recommend making this.

broccoli and cauliflower gratin.

This is a recipe that I was really excited to try. It's from a wonderful cookbook that one of my close friends gave me for Christmas. The book is The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook and it's basically become my bible. I highly recommend it. You'll see a lot of recipes from this book--I'll always let you know when that's the case.

the recipe

Serves 4

1 small cauliflower

1 small head broccoli

1/2 cup natural yogurt

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp wholemeal breadcrumbs

salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Break the cauliflower and broccoli into florets and cook in lightly salted boiling water for about 8-10 minutes, until just tender. Drain well and transfer to flameproof dish.

2. Mix together the yogurt, grated cheese and mustard, then season the mixture with salt and pepper and spoon over the cauliflower and broccoli.

3. Preheat the grill to moderately hot. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the vegetables and grill until golden brown. Serve hot.

substitutions

As you'll find out, I don't always have the ingredients that I need, so I make my fair share of substitutions. I still try to stick pretty close to the recipe.

Honey vanilla Greek yogurt instead of natural yogurt

Honey mustard instead of wholegrain mustard

great with

I made this with a delicious Amy's California Veggie Burger, which was topped with a slice of provolone cheese, some spring mix and a little bit of honey mustard.

the review

This has a really good flavor. Having yogurt in the recipe is a really good idea and makes the broccoli and cauliflower really creamy. As you can tell from my substitutions, I added my fair share of honey flavor to the recipe, but I actually really liked it. My problems with this recipe were: I boiled the vegetables for a little too long and then I didn't let the dish bake long enough. So I'll definitely be trying this recipe again, but I'll be making sure I'm more mindful of how long I'm letting things boil and bake. Since those problems were clearly my own fault, I definitely recommend this recipe. It's a good twist on au gratin vegetables. This also saved and reheated really well.