Quinoa Plus Carrot-Apple-Pear Juice

I used the same basic recipe for the quinoa as yesterday, but today, I added 1 tbsp of Brewer's Yeast for the extra energy and complex B-vitamins.(nutritional info).  Diabetics or people with Hypoglycemia should consult their doctors before using brewer's yeast, because the yeast contains chromium, which may enhance sensitivity to insulin and affect glucose levels.


Turns out I really should have purchased Nutritional Yeast Powder to avoid tipping BGS' sugars.  He isn't diabetic, but we are trying to stave it off.  I prepared it the same as I did previously, but sprinkled the yeast on with the brown sugar.  He didn't taste the difference :)

Today's juice, however, was a different story.  even though he "approved" the recipe from Spark People, he was http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=514217 very outspoken about the fact that he didn't like it.  Oh well, I got some good pulp from it and plan on making carrot "cake" muffins this weekend.

Breakfast Quinoa and Vitamin C Juice - it's what's for breakfast

I don't remember where or when, but I read somewhere recently that quinoa (properties and benefits) was an excellent source of nutrition.  So I set out looking for recipes that used it.  The first one I found was to cook the quinoa in pomegranate-green tea.  I wasn't allowed to try it because my numbers were way off the week before (both pomegranate and green tea affect my numbers).  BGS did try it and wasn't fond of it.  He said all he could taste was the tea.  He finished his serving that night, but asked if he could toss out the rest.  Ok...one recipe done...time to search for more...to the internet!


I found a recipe for a lunch/side dish that uses pistachios and dried pineapple....a savory dish that uses scallions, raisins, and chicken broth (2 savory lunch/side dish recipes now)...a main course/lunch dish that uses chopped chicken breast, scallions, cumin (3 savory dishes)...and then I found a quinoa rice pudding that even has the rum and raisins and  today's breakfast dish that sounded delicious!

Quinoa Players

Prep time: 5-6 minutes.  Cook time: appx 20 minutes
Today's Breakfast Main Dish Players (for 1 serving): 2% milk, water, quinoa, rolled oats, oat bran, walnuts, cinnamon,salt, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and dried cranberries.

I got smart...I got the ingredients gathered and prepped last night, including putting the sauce pan on the stove last night after I cleaned up dinner.  This included putting 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk in a container and storing it in the fridge. Next I measured 3 tablespoons rolled oats (I didn't have rolled oats in my pantry, so I used instant - more on this later), 2 tablespoons oat bran, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch ground cinnamon, and 1 handful - appx 1/4 cup dried cranberries).  I also retrieved a bag of frozen mixed fruit from the freezer that included strawberries, mangoes, peaches, and pineapple chunks and set it on the counter to defrost for the morning juice

*Yawn* -*stumble down stairs* *let dog out* *rub eyes* *stretch* "brew" Donut Shop coffee and retrieve my milk/water mix from the fridge when I get out my creamer.

1.  Pour the milk/water into the pot already on the stove and add 2 tablespoons quinoa and bring to a gentle boil....do not walk away like I did.  I nearly had the whole thing boil over on me.
2.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
3.  Stir in the cranberries, rolled oats, oat bran, salt, and cinnamon.
4.  Cook, stirring frequently over low heat for 2-5 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken.
5.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice), 2 tsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Serve immediately.   The recipe said that it should make two servings, given the fact that I doubled the recipe *all measurements above are 2x the original recipe at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/good-morning-banana-nut-cereal/detail.aspx*, but it seemed like barely enough for 1 person, so I gave the whole thing to BGS for breakfast.

I don't know if it's because I used instant oats or if there wasn't enough liquid after the water/milk almost boiled over.  It's probably a combination of the two.  Who knows.  Either way, he enjoyed it and from the tablespoon I saved for myself, it was mighty tasty.  We will definitively try this again with other "additives".

The Juice:  I put the defrosted 16 oz bag of strawberries, peach slices, mango chunks and pineapple chunks in the juicer.   Big Mistake: I only got 4 ozs of juice out.  Apparently our Breville juicer

doesn't handle soft fruits - like blueberries, strawberries, etc all that efficiently.  Next time I will put it in the blender...who knew  we would need a juicer and  a blender to make juices....oh well....good thing I have my Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender so I won't have to wash the blender pitcher every time.

The juice tasted great anyway.  Just wish we had more of it :(

The photo is from today's juice has more chunks and bits in it, because I used the immersion blender instead of the juicer.  BGS was in a hurry to get to work, so I didn't pulse it all the way through.  BGS wasn't fond of the bits, but drank it anyway.

Too hungry to take pictures - Chicken Saltimbocca and Lemon-Basil Orzotto

I got distracted by something today and didn't realize it was dinner time until 6pm...so I hurriedly fed the pets and started with the cooking....sorry, no pictures today :(
Today's Main Dish Players: chicken breasts, ricotta, sage, and prosciutto for the main dish.

1.  I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and set about trying to butterfly (unsuccessfully) 3 Perdue Fit-n-Easy chicken breasts....have you ever tried to split something in half that is already thin?
2.  I then mixed together 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 6 sage leaves that I had cut into ribbons, and the zest of 1/2 lemon.
3.  Next step was to put the ricotta-sage mixture inside the "butterflied" chicken breasts.  This didn't work out so well because I had difficulty butterflying the breasts in the first place...some of the filling was more under the breast than inside.
4.  Wrap the chicken breasts - filling and all - with the 2-3 slices of prosciutto, overlapping the slices as you wrap.
5.  Place the chicken breasts in an oven-safe dish and cook for 20-25 minutes.

*things I changed from the original recipe provided by Rachael Ray Stuffed Chicken Saltimbocca with Arugula and Tomato Salad a.  I didn't include the Parmesan in the filling; b.  I didn't prepare yesterday; c. I forgot to drizzle with extra virgin olive oil; d. I didn't make the panko-garlic topping*


Today's Side Dish Players: : olive oil, onion, orzo pasta, 1 lemon, frozen peas, half-and-half, white wine, chicken broth.
1.  Put 2 Tbsp in the bottom of a heavy-bottom stockpot and turn heat to medium-high.
2.  Add 1 cup diced onion to the olive oil and cook until just translucent.
3.  Add 1 1/2 cups orzo pasta to the pot and cook til just toasted - about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Stir in 1/2 cup white wine and cook until absorbed
5.  Gradually add 3 cups  low-sodium chicken broth, stirring frequently.
6. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook, covered, 8-10 minutes until the liquid is almost all absorbed.
7.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup petite frozen peas, 2 tablespoons chiffonade (cut into ribbons) fresh basil, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1/4 half-and-half, 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice.

*things I changed from the original recipe provided by Kelsey Nixon Lemon-Basil Orzotto a.I didn't include Parmesan cheese; b. I used half-and-half instead of heavy cream.*


BGS and I really enjoyed these recipes.  They are very very tasty.  Hopefully they will be a jumping off point for me to put together my own pairings.

Orange-Berry Bread and Muffins

Before I started making the juice this week I researched what to do with the pulp:  you can compost it or you can bake with it casseroles, baked goods, "fruit leathers" aka fruit roll-up things, or soup.  With all the juice I made this week using our Breville juicer, I had almost 3 cups of orange/blueberry/strawberry pulp in the fridge.  So I looked for a substitution guide....you know..what do I take out of a regular bread/muffin recipe in exchange for the pulp.  I knew I couldn't just add the pulp to a recipe; there's still a lot of water in the pulp.  I was unable to find a substitution guide on the internet.  I did find, however, find some muffin recipes that used pulp.

BGS asked why there was so much honey, but when I told him there's usually more sugar in baked goods...not to mention the added sugar from the fruit pulp, he understood.

Orange-Berry Muffin Players

Starting with the dry ingredients - today's players are: 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour (You can use all whole wheat or all all-purpose, the recipes I found used one or the other), 1 tbsp baking soda, 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg.           The wet ingredients are: 3 cups juicing pulp, 1 cup oil, 1 cup honey, and 6 egg whites,  and 1 tbsp vanilla. Optional: 1 cup blueberries (or other berry) and 1/2 cup sliced almonds (or your favorite nut)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dry ingredients before sifting.

2.  Put the juice pulp, egg whites, honey, vanilla , and oil in a mixing bowl and stir.
3.  Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together and gradually add to the liquids; stir until blended.
4.  Fold in the almonds and blueberries
5.  Pour or scoop the batter into lined muffin pans.  Make sure to leave some room at the top for expansion.
6.  Bake 45 minutes

 The recipe I found on the net said the recipe makes 1 dozen muffins, but I still had batter left, so I made a loaf, also.

 For the vast majority of you that don't have a juicer, you interchange the pulp with ...well, I'm not sure...One site said flour, but this recipe has 3 cups of pulp and 3 cups of flour....that would be 6 cups of flour which I KNOW can't be right....

I am usually looking for the obvious substitutions - like applesauce for oil or yogurt for eggs....this one I'm not sure about...I will keep looking.  Maybe I'll make this recipe next week without the pulp and see how it goes.....

Look for another baking recipe next weekend....we best get to noshing on those tasty muffins :)

Quiche and Orange-Berry Juice - it's what's for breakfast

Cooked last night:  I started with the Crustless Quiche recipe from Joy of Cooking.  I started by cutting 2 Jimmy Dean® Turkey Sausage Patties into bite-size pieces and placed them into my ungreased pie plate.  I then broke up and cut 2/3 cup of frozen broccoli into bite size pieces and scattered the pieces on top of the sausage.  On top of the sausage I layered 1 cup of 2% extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese.

In a bowl I mix 4 eggs, 1 1/2 light cream (aka half-&-half), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.   Once mixed, I pour the mixture over the sausage, cheese, and broccoli.  Some of the cheese and sausage was sticking up above the the egg mixture, so I used a spoon to push as much of the ingredients below the egg mixture.

I cooked the quiche at 350 for 30 minutes.  While it was cooking, I prepped the ingredients for the juice.  I started with 2 oranges and 1 cup of strawberries.  It didn't seem balanced, so I searched for a recipe that incorporated more flavors and I found Healthy Juicing Recipes.  I didn't have 4 oranges; I only had 2 so I'll make do and see how it tastes.

The juice is FANTASTIC.  BGS got mono somehow and has been requesting it for the vitamin C.
He did ask if I could make the quiche "taller"....The quiche pan is only so tall...It was full to the top when I put it in the oven, it settled a little in the cooking process.  Do they make taller quiche/pie pans?

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout - Wikimedia Foundation

I don't have a website that's visited enough to make a difference, but I support the SOPA blackout. Contact your congressmen/woman....tell them you're against SOPA.

Here's the petition: http://americancensorship.org/

This is the administrations response to a petition posted at whitehouse.gov: they pretty much said no....

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout - Wikimedia Foundation:

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Orange Slow-braised Beef Stew with Mushrooms - not our favorite

Experimenting with new beef recipes, BGS approved this as something he'd like to try:  Slow-braised Beef with Mushrooms.  I started by freezing the 3.5 beef loin so that I could easily slice it.  (I searched everywhere, but couldn't find the photos I took for this recipe) This recipe was originally seen in Sunset in January 2003.

Today's players are:

4 pounds boned, fat-trimmed beef short ribs or chuck
1 orange (2 1/2 in. wide), rinsed
1 onion (about 8 oz.), peeled and finely chopped
About 1 cup fat-skimmed beef  broth - I used low-sodium, like always
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup port or cream sherry
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
3 or 4 very thin slices (quarter size) peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 pound mushrooms (1- to 1 1/2-in.-wide caps)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or green onions

1. Place the beef in the freezer for 20-30 minutes

2. While the beef is in the freezer, prep the orange.  With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the orange - just the skin - you don't want the white pith.  In a medium sauce pan, combine the orange peel, onion, broth, wine, port, vinegar, soy sauce, thyme, ginger, and five spice.  Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat.

3.  Remove the beef from the freezer and slice about 1 and 1 1/2 thick wide.  Place the slices in the bottom of the 5-6 qt crockpot; set the crockpot to high and cook 5-6 hours.

(I didn't have mushrooms, so I skipped these steps)
4.Rinse and drain mushrooms; trim off and discard stem ends. Cut mushrooms in half lengthwise and place in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan; add butter.
5. Skim off and discard fat from liquid in slow-cooker. Ladle 1 cup liquid into pan with mushrooms. Stir mushrooms often over high heat until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are lightly browned, 13 to 17 minutes.

1. 6. With a slotted spoon, lift meat from juices in slow-cooker and lay in a single layer in a shallow casserole (about 9 by 13 in.). Pour mushrooms over meat. Bake in a 375° regular or convection oven until meat is sizzling and browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. 7. Meanwhile, measure remaining liquid from slow-cooker. If less than 2 cups, add beef broth to make 2 cups, pour into a 2- to 3-quart pan, and bring to a boil over high heat; if there is more, pour into pan and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 cups, 8 to 12 minutes. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Pour into boiling liquid and stir until thickened, about 30 seconds. Pour evenly over meat and mix gently to blend with liquid in casserole, adding salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chives.

When all was said and done, BGS and I couldn't taste anything but orange.  The meat was tender, but it didn't taste like meat.  It tasted like anything but orange :(  I served it over rice, but it wasn't our favorite dish.   I'll keep looking for beef recipes for the crockpot :(

Pros and Cons of Having Compost | Digg Topnews

Pros and Cons of Having Compost | Digg Topnews:

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BGS and I are debating vermicomposting vs regular outdoor compost.....I want to do vermi he doesn't want the worms and foulness in the house........

Anyone have thoughts/feedback? Pros/Cons?

Multi-step/Multi-day/Multi-Recipe Chicken-Havarti-Pear Chutney Panini :)

The players - the ginger moved and the allspice was suddenly shy

I started with this Ginger-Pear Chutney Recipe from Food.com.  Thank goodness that site allows you to scale the recipe, because I didn't want to can the chutney.  I scaled it to make 5 half-pints...that means I used 4 1/4 chopped pears, 1 2/3 sugar, 1/2 cup seedless raisins (wait seedless? have you ever seen raisins with seeds???), 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (that translated to my whole bottle of crystallized ginger from McCormick®), 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground allspice, 1/4 tsp cloves.
The directions are wonderfully simple for the chutney:
1.  Combine all the ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours, stir occasionally.
 - SEE? SIMPLE :)

Next day - cause I started the chutney around 5pm and we got hungry....
Whole Grain Chicken Havarti Pear Chutney Panini - makes 2 sandwiches
Today's players today are 6-8 tablespoons of the chutney, 4 slices of whole grain bread - some stores sell "Panini Bread" - it's a little taller and wider than regular bread you find in the bread aisle, 6-8 slices of sliced rotisserie chicken, 4 slices Havarti cheese, and olive oil for spreading - abt 2-3 tbsp.
1. Heat your griddle/panini press/pan to medium high
2. Brush olive oil on one side of each of the 4 slices

3. Assemble the sandwich by putting the oil side down (I assembled on a plate to make it easier) - spoon/spread 1-2 tablespoon(s) of chutney on the bread, layer 1-2 slices of havarti, 1-3 slices of chicken, 1-2 tablespoon (s) on the non-oil side of the bread and then stack the bread (chutney side down) on top of the chicken slices).
4. Place the assembled sandwich or sandwiches on the heated panini press or griddle.  If you are using the press, let it sit with the cover down for about 4-5 minutes.  If you are using a griddle or hot skillet, flip the sandwich at the halfway point - 2-3 minutes in order for both sides of the sandwich to get toasted.

I made the panini off the top of my head, just based on tastes I thought would taste good together.  Turns out I added a little too much chutney to the bread.  The resulting product was very sweet.  BGS ended up scraping half of it off before eating it.  He even accused of me of trying to make him diabetic.

I looked up chutney/panini recipes and most of them say 2 tbsp chutney for each sandwich, so I guess I over-did it.  *shrug*  Lesson learned :)

Sorry there are no photos of the panini - BGS was so hungry he took it before I could snap a shot.

It sure did taste good though :)

Next Juice Recipe....Made by BGS

This time BGS insisted on making it himself....
2 cups cantaloupe
2 cups strawberry
1 cup raspberry

enough to make two servings....but since BGS was making it, he pushed the fruit down too fast and it only made 1 serving...and it was barely 1 serving....I tasted it.  Tasted pretty good, still want to find a way to put yogurt/frozen yogurt in the juicer so I don't have to wash the juicer and the blender....anyone know?

I've been slacking on posting, but not on cooking....

BGS bought a Breville Juicer for Christmas, so we...well I have been playing with combinations...

Yesterday was from http://juicerrecipespro.com/delicious-and-filling-weight-loss-juicing-recipes.html. It had

One cucumber (leave skin on)
• One medium red apple (cored, seeds removed, but skin left on)
• Three stalks of celery (leaves on)
• Two tablespoons of vanilla flavored protein powder (sold at health food stores)

BGS hated it....said it almost made him toss his cookies...err...toss his veggies.... He is the only one that tried it since I can't have greens or soy this week.

Today I made a juice from http://healthy-addiction.blogspot.com/2011/04/strawberry-cucumber-juice.html.

Strawberry Cucumber Juice
3/4 C strawberries
3 oz. honeydew melon - I used cantaloupe since that's what I had on hand.
1/2 small cucumber
ice cubes - I tried frozen yogurt

Hull the strawberries. Remove the skin and the seeds from the melon and chop the flesh into chunks. Juice the fruit with the cucumber. Pour the juice over ice in a tall glass and serve.
I tried to substitute frozen yogurt for the ice cubes, but the yogurt disappeared...none of it appeared in the juice container...

He sipped it and instantly said "No more cucumbers in juices."

So I did some quick research and found that we can substitute watermelon for cucumber. Looks like BGS needs to make a stop at the store on the way home :) It's too cold for salad...good thing the Labradum likes cukes... I have two more English cucumbers in the refrigerator.

I'll work on posting the dishes I made and haven't posted...if I can remember them all :)