Thai Shrimp Quinoa

I have a confession to make. I have a slight pinterest addiction. This past week while I was sick I finally figured out how pinterest works..and..I am officially hooked. What's not to love about people sharing amazing recipes and ideas? Anyways, this excellent recipe came from pinterest. It is inspired from a wonderful blog called http://iowagirleats.com. Of course you should all know me by know and I changed the recipe :) I have a nice board on pinterest devoted to scrumptious recipes that I would like to try. Most of which are desserts, so it will probably take me awhile to try all of them! *I'm trying to get my body ready for summer!*  Pinterest has been giving me more than just recipes, it has been filling my head with ideas! I basically want to decorate and make crafts all the time. I have already redone our spear bedroom! I have one more coat of paint to do, so I will post some pictures later this week!

This recipe was super great. It was different than any other quinoa recipe that I've tried. Different in a very good way. Here is what you need to make this yourself:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup lite coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon  minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup frozen peas or a can of peas
• 1-8oz can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 16 pieces of shrimp (as little or as many as you would like. Precooked)
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• garnish with chopped peanuts

Step one:
Rinse your cup of quinoa. Cook like rice. Instead of using 2 cups of water use 1 cup of coconut milk and 1 cup of chicken broth. *Put on medium high heat and bring it to a boil. Once it boils bring it down to low and cover it. Cook like that for 15 minutes or more. You want all of the water to be absorbed.*

Step two:
Heat up  a large frying pan (or wok) on medium heat & spray some non stick spray. Add the green onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute or so. Make sure you do not burn the garlic or ginger.
Add the peas, cilantro and pineapple. Cook for another 2 minutes or so.

Step three:
Push all of the yumminess around the edge of the pan. Create a space in the centre. In a small bowl beat the two eggs then add them to the space in the pan. Like so...

Step four:
Let the egg cook there for a minute or so then use your spoon to stir the egg into everything else. Add your (peeled and precooked) shrimp. Also add the cooked quinoa, the lemon juice and the soy sauce. Stir it all together and fry it up for a few minutes. Serve warm with chopped peanuts on top. SO GOOD.

I highly recommend this recipe (which makes sense..it is on my blog!)
I had a really great week of food. We made banana chocolate chip muffins, whole wheat bread, whole wheat zucchini chocolate chip muffins(which are already on the blog), crock pot orange chicken AND Dan made me Israeli lamb kabobs. With all that said, do you think I took pictures of it all? NOPE. I am terrible. haha Anyways at  least I took pictures of one meal this week!
Happy Monday everyone!
xo
Britt

Coconut-Spiked Pork with Peanuts & Quinoa

Want to try a new Quinoa dish?? Well try THIS! I will for sure be making this again! Before I get to the recipe, HAPPY MONDAY EVERYBODY! Yay, it's Monday. I hope everyone is having a fab day! I went to my French course this morning and I improved my plus-que-parfait skills and my verbes pronominaux! If you all don't know what that is, don't worry about it! Be happy that you are not confusing your brain! French is a complicated language. Although everything I am learning in my course I have already seen(and learned), it is a good review for me. As soon as I think I understand something, they throw in a new exception or a new rule that I have to train my brain to follow!  As difficult as it can be sometimes, I am very thankful for the opportunity to improve my French. I know that it will help me out now and in my future. I feel myself improving and my vocabulary widening. It's a good feeling. We should have (hopefully) just another year here, so I must soak up everything! The French, the culture & the outdoors. I know the day that we move will be bitter-sweet for me. It will be exciting to move back to Ontario. We will be able to speak English {Everyday!!}, we will be closer to our family & friends and Dan and I will be able to study full time! On the other hand, I love Quebec. I will miss speaking French everyday, and the friends that we have made here. We have started our life together here, so Saguenay means a lot to me. We still have another year so I need to enjoy it!
Now back to my recipe :)
You will need:

• 2 leeks, white part only. Washed and sliced.
• 4 cloves of garlic, quartered
• 1 chile pepper, quartered
• 1 1/2 cups or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of dry roasted peanuts
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4-6 pork chops, sliced
• 2 tsps ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup sliced green beans

Sounds good? Let's get started.

Step one:

In a food processor, pulse the leeks, garlic, and chile pepper until finely chopped. {About 15 times} Stop and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl once to make sure everything gets chopped. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

I actually haven't had the chance to show you guys my new food processor!Isn't she a beaut!! My amazing grandma gave it to me (us :) for Christmas this year! It matches our mixer! LOVE IT! Thanks g-ma!

Step two:
In your processor, process the coconut milk, the broth and the peanuts together. About 30 seconds. You don't need to rinse out the processor after you used it to process the leaks etc..

Step three:
In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the pork and cook until it lightly browns. Set aside.

Step four:
In your wok that's already heated up add the leak mixture. Cook and stir until softened for about 5 minutes.
Add the cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and the coconut/peanut mixture to the wok. Stir and bring to a boil. Now stir in the quinoa and green beans and return it to a boil.

Step five:
After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the wok with a lid. Let it simmer until the quinoa is soft &cooked. It should be about 20 minutes.

Enjoy every bite!

xo

Greek Quinoa with Avocados

I love quinoa. It's a great side dish and it is so good for you! We had some ripe avocados so we found this recipe and loved it! Just last night Dan asked if I could make it again....sadly we didn't have avocado so it didn't happen. Here is what you need to make this yourself..tonight!

-1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, with 1 cup of water. Cook as directed on bag. Make sure you rinse the quinoa before cooking.

-2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup of chopped fresh spinach

-1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

-2 tbsps lemon juice

-2 tbsps olive oil

-1/2 tsp of salt

-2 rise avocados , chopped

-1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Step one:

-Cook up the quinoa as directed on the bag.

-Put your tomatoes, spinach, red onions and avocados in a medium sized bowl.

Step two:
Once the quinoa is cooked add it to the bowl with the veggies.

Step three:
-Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
-Stir it all up and add the feta cheese! yesssss

Enjoy this with a yummy meal. We ate salmon and asparagus!

xo

Roasted Garlic and Tomato Quinoa

I have fallen in love with Quinoa!Although I struggle every time I say the word because I doubt I am saying it right. haha. It has been a great addition to alot of our summer meals! For those of you who have never made this grain, here is why you should! It contains essential amino acids and good quantities of calcium, iron and phosphorus. You cook quinoa the same way that you cook rice!
What I did to make this yummy side dish was I roasted garlic and tomatoes in the oven. I normally roast them at 400F and add olive oil, salt and pepper. I normally roast them for 40 minutes.

I love roasted garlic and tomato! mmm
After i took the garlic and tomato out of the oven i emptied them into a bowl! The tomatoes were still juicy but they have a wonderful flavour! I added 1 tsp of balsamic vinager and I mashed them altogether to make a sauce or dressing.

During this time I added the cooked quinoa to the bowl. I cooked 1 cup of it because we didn't need too much of it for dinner!
Also I added cut up grapes and cucumber to the bowl. Next I added sunflower seeds and dried cranberries to the salad. I mixed it all up and set it in the fride until dinner! Get creative and make it yourself! It is good for you and a nice addition to any meal!! Get cookin and enjoy!

xo