SE Asian Fried Rice

Dinner last night was delish! It was time consuming, but I don't mind. You make time for the things you love, and I love to cook. I haven't blogged my dinners in amost a year. I'm not making any commitments to say I'm back in the saddle because clearly I can't commit to blog, (this is the third time I've started it up), but I'll give it a good effort. It's a new year and a good time to try to form good habits. At least I have a good excuse if I fall behind - they are 5, 3, and (almost) 7 months. So here goes:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/southeast-asian-fried-rice-10000001949703/

Bacon makes everything better!

http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2012/01/recipe-quinoa-chowder-with-sweet.html
Here was our dinner tonight.

I doubled it, and it made a ton!  I made some changes to it. I only added 3 (instead of 6 doubled) cloves, but you could add more.   I couldn't really taste the garlic.  I had the jalapeno on the side for the girls' sake.  I did add at little bit more cumin - I love cumin.  I didn't measure out the spinach, but just added a fresh bag.  Finally, I added the feta and cilantro on top as a garnish.  Oh ya, and I added crumbled bacon on the top.  We don't usually eat a dinner without some sort of meat, and bacon always makes everything better :)

It was pretty tasty!

Quinoa Chowder with Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Feta and Scallions
Serves 4, adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• salt and freshly milled pepper
• 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 bunch scallions, including an inch of greens, thinly sliced into rounds
• 6 cups baby spinach
• 1/4 lb feta cheese, finely diced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Put the quinoa and 2 quarts of salted water in a pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  While it's cooking, dice the vegetables and cheese.  Drain, saving the liquid.  Measure the liquid and add water to make 6 cups if needed.
2. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and chile.  Cook for about 30 seconds, giving it a quick stir.  Add the cumin, 1 tsp salt, and the potatoes and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.  Don't let the garlic brown.  Add the quinoa water and half the scallions and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the quinoa, spinach, and remaining scallions and simmer for 3 minutes more.  Turn off the heat and stir in the feta and cilantro.  Season with salt and black pepper.

Quite possibly the best salad I have ever had

What we ate tonight:

Brisket

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/texas-oven-roasted-beef-brisket-recipe/index.html

and

Quite possibly the best salad I have ever had

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-butternut-squash-salad-with-warm-cider-vinaigrette-recipe/index.html

With the leftover brisket, we are making this tomorrow:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/cowboy-nachos/

I made them several months ago, and they were AMAZING!  Can't wait to eat tomorrow's dinner already! 

Chicken, salad and leftover quinoa

Tonight we had leftover quinoa from the other night, our standar greens salad with tomatoes, blue cheese and balsamic vinegar, and this: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-with-paprika-kidney-beans-recipe/index.html It was pretty good chicken! I didn't have kidney beans, so I didn't include them, and it seemed fine without it.

The Best Quinoa

This is a recipe from my friend Kim.  It is soooo yummy!  I can't wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow!

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

makes 4 (side dish) servings

time: 45 min total

• 2 tsp grated lime zest
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 (14-15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh cilantro

Whisk together lime zest, lime juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

Cook Quinoa according to the package, in salted water (1tbsp per 2 quarts of water.  So if you are doing a single batch of this recipe, I guess it should be 1/4 tbsp.)

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, a new post!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/braised-hoisin-beer-short-ribs-with-creamy-mashed-yukons-and-sesame-snow-peas-recipe/index.html

My excuse for not keeping up the last few weeks?  I am pregnant :) and seeing that I was nauseous and having aversions to pretty much all food, I did not care to think about it or write about it.  Anyway, I'm feeling better now, so I need to get in the habit of posting my dinners again.

Last night we had sushi (not homemade), and tonight we're actually going out again because we have a giftcard and we felt like getting in two dates on Matt's week home off work.  So here's what I made for dinner Tuesday night.  It was pretty good.  The mashed potatoes and snow peas were good, but nothing great.  The short ribs however, were really good.  It was a very easy meal too.  Bon Appetite!

It was divine

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/steakhouse-steaks-recipe/index.html

This was dinner tonight.  It was absolutely amazing and one of the best things I have made in a long time.  I told Matt that when I took a bite I felt like crying it was so good!  The only thing that was different was I used Gorgonzola cheese instead of blue, because that's what I had on hand. I got the filets from Trader Joes.

I also served it with a side of roasted diced red potatoes.  Seasonings were Smoked Sea Salt from Trader Joes, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil.  Toss it all together, roast them for about 30 min at 400F.

And the other side was a salad of gourmet lettuce greens with the Gorgonzola cheese, pears, and cranberries, and Champagne Pear Vinaigrette also from Trader Joes.

It was divine!