Chris' Recipes

Bon Appetite!

Quinoa with Carmelized Onions, Sweet Yellow Peppers and Fresh Herbs

Written By: Chris - Jul• 31•13

The first time I recall ever enjoying Quinoa, was in an interestingly delicious salad served at Continuum Winery during a special lunch event that we attended a few years back.  I had taken notes and actually had to go look it up following our lunch!  It seems like I start noticing the “foodie trends” while dining out there, then I begin seeing them on food network shows; and then finally items start making it onto some of the menus here locally whatsapp voor windows 10 downloaden.

As most people do, I seem to cook in “kicks” and create numerous dishes around a new found ingredient.  Right now it’s Quinoa, (pronounced KEEN-wah)—a tiny little seed with an ancient history.  It is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all the amino acids necessary for our nutritional needs.  It’s a “Super Food” and contains more protein than any other grain video from website firefox. Termed a “super grain” by nutritionists and food gurus, quinoa is derived from the seed of a plant that is related to spinach. A main staple of the ancient Inca diet, quinoa has just recently made its debut in North America.  It’s an excellent food for vegetarians and vegans, or for anyone looking for healthy protein source netflix herunterladen begrenzung. It’s also high in iron and calcium, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as fiber.

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The other advantage is that it is simple to prepare.  It can be served hot, cold or at room temperature!  It has a mild, slightly vegetable flavor and cooks up fluffy, like couscous, but is still slightly crunchy.  It has a light, slightly nutty taste and a fluffy texture.  It makes a tasty cold salad and can be added to soups, stews or as a side dish.  It’s extremely versatile yahoo for free!

I’ve been experimenting after finding a few varieties at my local grocery store.  I’m always creating dishes based on ingredients that I have on hand and this dish was inspired because I needed a side dish for some lemon, herb Cod that I had planned for dinner musik von youtube auf mac downloaden.  

Ingredients:

1 Cup Traditional Quinoa
2 Cups Chicken Stock, I used homemade – thawed from the freezer
1/2 Cup Onions, caramelized left overs
1/2 Cup Yellow Peppers, chopped and sautéed left over
1/2 Cup Combined Fresh Herbs: Basil, Mint & Dill, chopped
Salt & Pepper, to taste

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This Quinoa was pre-washed and didn’t require rinsing.  Processing methods used in the commercial milling of quinoa usually remove most of the saponins found in the outer coat of the quinoa seeds Download the latest android version. Because the quinoa saponins are largely responsible for its bitter taste, it’s a good idea to rinse and rub the seeds in a strainer by running cold water over it while gently rubbing the seeds together in your hands herunterladen.

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Combine one cup quinoa to two cups chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally until the seeds become translucent and the germ of the seed uncoils to form a little “tail.” 

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Fluff with a fork and combine with the cooked onions and peppers and season with salt & pepper.  Stir in the chopped herbs, reserving a bit for a garnish sprinkled on top haus des geldes downloaden.

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We enjoyed this with a savory beet salad and a splendid glass of 2005 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.  Mmmmm eingebettete videos downloaden ipad!

Enjoy!

Cheers!
~Chris

Fresh Fig & Prosciutto Pizza with Goat Cheese & Thyme

Written By: Chris - Jul• 30•13

It’s rare that I find fresh Figs in our grocery stores in Minnesota. They have two seasons. A quick, shorter season in early summer and a second, main crop that starts in late summer and runs through fall Download tiptoi junior globus. Figs cannot withstand temperatures much below 20°F, and so are not available from local sources in much of the Midwest. We’ve eaten them a lot in California, so I was thrilled when I recently purchased them at our local Costco download vpn uni basel. The girls were coming over for our Monday night gathering, so I thought I would create a decadent pizza with flavors I love!

I had some Prosciutto in the freezer on hand, which is an Italian ham download amazon orders. It’s usually thinly sliced and served uncooked; this style is called prosciutto crudo in Italian and is distinguished from cooked ham, prosciutto cotto Download gotomeeting app. Prosciutto is made from either a pig’s or a wild boar’s ham (hind leg or thigh). The process of making prosciutto can take anywhere from nine months to two years, depending on the size of the ham briefpapier trauer kostenlos herunterladen. The most renowned and expensive legs of prosciutto come from central and northern Italy.

Anyways, Prosciutto is a bit salty and very flavorful and I thought it would be a perfect pair with the luscious sweetness of the figs powershell dateien! I didn’t have time to make pizza dough from scratch and wanted to change things up from the usual flat out style I make, so I purchased a thin crust pizza on the way home from work to top with my goods bluetooth app herunterladen. Next time, I think I would go with the homemade, but it was good none the less.

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Ingredients:

Pizza Crust
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Prosciutto, chopped
2 Vidalia Onions, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, pressed
Sunflower Oil
6-8 Fresh Figs, quartered
1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Goat Cheese, crumbled
Fresh Thyme, to your liking
Balsamic Vinegar, to taste (I used Mission Fig infused)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Start the onions in a bit of EVOO in a skillet on the stove top over medium-high heat in oil for caramelizing cd downloaden van youtube. Add a pinch of salt to season the onions and at the same time it will speed up the caramelizing process. Toss or stir from time to time and continue to do so watching them as the onions’ color turns darker and darker Download videos to laugh for free.

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If you feel that the onions are sticking to the bottom of the pan too much, add a very small amount of water, to the pan and stir apple iphone passed download. This will deglaze them while the water evaporates loosening the onion slices. Continue until the onions have reached the color, flavor, and texture you desire. Add the pressed garlic and cook for an additional two minutes tossing frequently. Set aside.

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Next, saute the chopped prociutto in the sunflower oil, turning until all sides are cooked through.

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Drizzle the top of the pizza crust with olive oil and brush to an even coat before sprinkling with mozzarella.

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Top with the caramelized onions, prosciutto, chopped peppers and figs.

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Next, evenly crumble the goat cheese and top with fresh chopped thyme.

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Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

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Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for roughly 15 minutes; until the bottom crust is done to your liking.

Allow to cool for about five minutes prior to cutting.

Enjoy!

Cheers!
~Chris

Guacamole & Cream Cheese Wonton’s

Written By: Chris - Jul• 23•13

I often enjoy eating things out and then replicating them at home based on ingredients that I believe were within the dish and add the twist of using what I have on hand in my fridge and pantry.  We recently dined out at a new place near home and one of the appetizers on the menu were “Avocado Wonton’s”.  I was sure Bill wouldn’t be a fan, because he hadn’t really cared much for avocado’s or guacamole in the past.  These particular little samplers came six to the serving and ran $6 on the menu.  They were great in taste and I was surprised that Bill actually enjoyed them!  They were one of those items that I wondered, “why didn’t I think of that?!”  The individual wonton’s didn’t have a ton of filling, but were tasty none the less.  They were served along side of a strawberry reduction for dipping and I knew I could recreate them at a much less cost scratch programm herunterladen!

I don’t “fry” much, so I chose to use Sunflower oil, which is valued for its light taste, health benefits and frying performance.  It has a high vitamin E content Download chrome apk.   Sunflower oil has become very popular in the last few years as a substitute for other cooking oils due to the healthy properties.  It is a combination of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with low saturated fats levels gmail herunterladen chip.

I was having the girls over for a Monday night “Smut Night” (if you haven’t heard, it’s aka – Bachelorette viewing party night) and decided to work with what I had around the house wo kann man kostenlos animes downloaden.   I thought these were terrific and so did the group, because they were all gone by the festivities end!

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Ingredients:

2 Avocado’s, ripe, peeled and cored
1/2 package Cream Cheese,  I used 1/3 less fat
1 package of your favorite Guacamole dry mix
1/2 package Won Ton Wraps
Water, for sealing wraps
Sunflower Oil
1/2 Cup Canned Cranberries, whole berry
1/4 Cup Sweet & Jalapeno Peppers, cooked through
Salt & Pepper

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Start by cooking the cranberry sauce mixed with the pre-cooked peppers over medium low heat until the berries are softened and blended well.  It will reduce quite a bit and become like a jelly.  (You could also use a jarred sauce such as a Raspberry Chipotle!)

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Meanwhile, heat the cream cheese for a few seconds in the microwave to soften and combine with the mashed avocados and the guacamole mix videoer.

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lay out six to nine wonton skins and spoon about a tablespoon of mixture into the center of the wrap.  Using your finger tip, pull a line of water over two of the edges of the skin, like a “v” and fold the dry corners over the moistened edges to create a triangle kostenlose mp3 lieder herunterladen.
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Next, fold the two bottoms of each triangle together, sealing them with additional drops of water from your finger tip serien kostenlosen android.

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Continue and set aside without stacking until the entire mixture of camouflage and cream cheese is used up youtube windows 10.

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In a shallow skillet, heat about a cup of sunflower oil until hot, but not too hot so it reaches the smoke point (In cooking, the smoke point of an oil or fat is the temperature at which it begins to break down to glycerol and free fatty acids, and produce bluish smoke.) I just watch it over medium high heat.  I dip a corner of the wonton in and begin cooking once it begins to bubble download free skat game.

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Cook a few at a time without crowding the pan; turning once until each side is golden brown.  You may need to tip them on end if the bottoms are not cooked.  Remove from heat and allow to cool on a paper towel, which will absorb any access oil videos downloaden youtube ios.

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Serve with dipping sauce while hot!

Enjoy!

Cheers!
~Chris

 

 

Easy Cheesy Potatoes

Written By: Chris - Jul• 12•13

I don’t like to waste food, so I often pull what left overs I have on hand in the fridge and try to “transform” them into something else that is delicious.  Many times no one has known just how easy the “second time around” dish really was to make, but that doesn’t matter.  I just enjoy feeding people who enjoy eating automatically download images whatsapp!

At a recent girls gathering, I had had some left over grilled potatoes and onions in the fridge.  Since most people like cheesy potatoes, I thought I would combine a simple dish that incorporated many of the same ingredients that I put into baked cheesy potatoes download panzer spiel for free.

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Ingredients:

Potatoes and Onions, precooked left overs (about 4 Cups)
3/4 Package of Cream Cheese, light
1 Garlic Clove, pressed
2 oz harry potter herunterladen. jar Pimento’s, sliced and drained
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 to 3 Cups Mild Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper, to taste

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Start by combining the softened cream cheese (I microwaved it a bit) with the drained pimento and pressed garlic.  Stir in condensed soup, salt and pepper and combine with left over cooked potatoes.  Stir gently until everything is combined and mix in half of the shredded cheese streams downloaden mac.

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Spoon into a baking dish that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray and top with remaining shredded cheese Download size zero videos.

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Bake covered with foil until hot through, about 20 minutes.  Remove foil and allow cheese to bubble and brown.  Serve immediately the sims 2 stranded pc download for free.

Enjoy!

Cheers!
~Chris

 

Bologna Spread

Written By: Chris - Jul• 10•13

Growing up, I remember my mom preparing “bologna spread”.  I am not sure exactly what she put in her recipe, but I used to just love it served on soft buns or crackers.  I’ve had it in various deli’s over the years, but everyone seems to make it different and I don’t care for it when made with sweet pickles.  I also think people have a personal preference whether they like real mayonnaise and/or Miracle Whip, which is sweeter and has additional ingredients than mayo.  I typically go for the real mayo and usually only use the whip in tuna type of salads download sims for free in full version.

While  I was putting my thoughts together for a recent camping weekend, I came across the lunch meat section at the grocery store and the package of bologna stood out to me so I decided to make the spread.  I combined it with some other ingredients that I had on hand and figured it would be a good, quick lunch option.  I also knew we would enjoy it on crackers while snacking and although I don’t think there is anything terribly healthy about it, it is really quick easy to make and is surprisingly delicious icloud foto s op pc!

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Ingredients:

1 package of Bologna, I chose Oscar Meyer
1/2 to 2/3 Cup Real Mayonnaise
1/4 Onion, chopped fine
1/2 Jar Dill Pickles, chopped fine
1 Tablespoon Sugar
Salt & Pepper, to taste

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Start by chopping the onions and pickles in the food processor until very fine.  Remove and place into a medium sized mixing bowl.  Cut the entire package of bologna into four (like a pie) and place chunks into the food processor.  Pulse and chop the meat, scraping the sides until it is to your likeness for small chunks download photos from your mobile phone.

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Combine the two and add the sugar and seasonings.  Mix in mayonnaise and mix until smooth.  Chill for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to blend musik downloaden und als klingelton verwenden.

Serve on dinner rolls, sweet Hawaiian bread or butter flavored crackers.

Enjoy!

Cheers!
~Chris