Hearty Quinoa with Peppers, Corn & Black olives

Quinoa is one of my newer food obsessions. As you may be able to tell, I'm quite the avid reader of food blogs, magazines, articles, TV shows, recipe swapping, etc. If it has to do with food and cooking, I'm interested. I love learning new ways of cooking, new foods I've not yet heard of or tried, new spices. Since coming to Colorado I met someone from Ethiopia who introduced me to Injera and all sorts of new and exciting foods, meaning a post on those will likely be coming soon! Anyhow, when I find one I like enough, it becomes a part of my food routines. Thus is the case with quinoa. It is tiny grains like rice, with a nuttier flavor that pairs well with nearly anything. But it can be a bit bland if you don't add things to it.
If you recall from earlier posts, I moved recently and set about a mission to use up as much food from the pantry as I could so that I didn't have to cart it with me to the next place. In the final week before moving, I discovered a box of quick-cook quinoa I didn't realize I had. I decided that I would add as many canned items as I thought would go well together and make one heck of a side dish. For vegetarians and vegans, this could also be a main dish. Once it was all mixed together, it turned out super tasty! And it makes a ton, so be aware of that. Maybe 8 cups worth?

Ingredients:
1 box couscous (maybe 2 cups uncooked)
1 can corn
1 can beans (I had garbanzo)
1 can black olived
1 jar roasted red peppers

Step 1: Open and drain the corn, beans and olives. Pour into a pot and add a full can of water each and set to boil. Dice the black olives and red peppers into small pieces. Add the peppers to the pot.

The mixed up canned goods looks like soup.

Step 2: Once it boils, pour in the couscous and mix. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes covered.

 Step 3: Once all the liquid is absorbed, fluff it up with a fork. You now have healthy veggie and protein packed side dishes for about 8-10 people or meals!

 The flavors and colors worked together nicely. As I said, this could be a full meal in its own right. You can also experiment with adding other vegetables, meats or cheeses too.

Served with steak and a side salad. Perfect.

Picnic favorite: 9-layer Taco Dip

I'm going to a park to play volleyball with some friends, and we will grill and have a picnic afterwards. Everyone brings something to share. I wanted to make something different from your typical hot dogs and chips type food, and anything taco-related is always a hit, so this is what I came up with. Since I already had the majority of ingredients, only needed to buy the lettuce and tomato, this was super cheap. Even if I had to re-buy everything, for a party of 10 or so people this is a cheap side/dip. It is nearly filling enough to count as a meal!

Ingredients.
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup taco seasoning
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 can refried beans
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 ripe tomato
1/4 head of lettuce, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup sliced black olives

Step 1: Brown the ground beef in a skillet. While cooking, layer the cream cheese on the bottom of an 8x8 pan with a spoon.

 Step 2: Spread the sour cream on top of the cream cheese. Now you have 2 layers of cheesy goodness to build your mexi-masterpiece on top of.

 Step 3: Open the refried beans and mix it up in the can. You can heat this first, I just scooped it right out of the can and layered it on.

 That's 3 if you're counting.

 Step 3: Once beef is cooked, add the taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water and cook until the water boils off. The beef should now smell tangy and reminiscent of Taco Bell. Pour that over the beans and spread evenly.

 Step 4: Add as much salsa as you like on top of the beef. I just put about 1/4 cup since I'm adding real tomato as well.

 Step 5: Add a healthy handful of shredded cheddar or whatever type of cheese you like. We're up to 6 layers now...

 Step 6: Cut the lettuce into small strips and cover the cheese with crunchy green goodness.

 Step 7: Dice up a big fresh red tomato into small chunks and add those on top.

 Step 8: Sprinkle the sliced black olives on top to complete the pretty picture.

And there you have it, 9 layers of tasty chip-read dip! You can of course omit any layers you don't particularly like, and it's also an option to toss this in the oven or microwave for a few minutes after the cheese layer to warm up the meat/beans/cheeses before topping with the fresh veggies if you like it warm.

Mediterranean Chicken & Couscous

I got this recipe from somewhere because I had some green olives in my fridge and no idea what to do with them. I don't like them much, but this recipe sounded crazy enough to try, and boy did it turn out fantastic! The ingredients don't sound like they should go together, but seriously try it!

Ingredients:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in half

~5 prunes, diced

~6 green olives, cut in 1/4

1/4 cup cashews

1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 cup couscous

garlic salt

black pepper

 

 Step 1: Cut the chicken and place in a frying pan with 1/4 cup stock. Cook about 10 minutes per side, until golden brown. Meanwhile heat 1 cup stock to boiling in microwave and pour over couscous. Let sit covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

 Step 2: Dice up the prunes and olives. Add to the chicken and cook another 5 minutes or so. Add more stock if it boils off. Toss in cashews and any spices.

Step 3: Serve 1 half of chicken over 1/2 cup cooked couscous. Honestly, the mixture of salty and sweet and nutty is fantastic, and I think couscous is the perfect grain but you could use rice or noodles or mashed potatoes too.