Long Overdue for a Healthy Dinner

We've been eating, well, not as well as we should have been eating lately.  So on Friday we decided to kick off the weekend on a healthy note.  I tried a roasted bell pepper stuffed with quinoa at Salt Creek Grille a few months back and LOVED it (though I am normally not a fan of quinoa, it's just too bland in most dishes).  So I re-created it at home and came up with a very tasty, and extremely healthy dish.

Roasted Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa (for 2)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced scallions
1/8  cup minced garlic
Dash of salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon of any spices you desire (we used rosemary and cumin, but any of your favorites will work)
2 red bell peppers
1 cup uncooked quinoa
*The great thing with this recipe is that you can add in pretty much whatever you have around the kitchen.  Some people serve this dish with mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini in it.  Others with lemon and cheese.  If you add in larger vegetables or other foods, simply reduce the amount of quinoa by about 1/4 cup.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut off the tops of the peppers, and remove seeds.  Very lightly brush some oil on the outside and and inside of the red peppers.  Place inside oven and allow to cook until sides are soft, but still in tact (and upright.)
3. While peppers are cooking, cook quinoa according to box directions.
4. While quinoa is cooking, sautee the onions, garlic, and scallions.
5. Add in spices and continue to mix.
6. Remove peppers from oven, and pour the quinoa mixture into the pepper shells.  Place back in oven for 10 minutes.

5. Once quinoa is cooked, add it into the onions, garlic, and scallions.  Mix well and add in spices.

Chicken Fajitas

Fajitas are pretty much one of my favorite dishes of all time.  Well, really anything Mexican will please my palate.  One of my favorite standby recipes is my chicken lime fajitas, which seemed like a nice meal for the first night of football (not to worry, we had wings for the 1pm games.)

Chicken Lime Fajitas
3 skinless chicken breasts
3 limes
1 clove of garlic
2 sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil

6 tortillas

Accompaniments:
1/2 of an avocado
2 red peppers
1/2 of a yellow onion
salsa

Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts into one gallon size plastic bag.
2. Cut up limes into wedges (I quartered each one).  Squeeze over chicken breasts and toss lime wedges (after squeezing) into plastic bag.
3. Mince garlic and dice cilantro.  Add to bag.
4. Pour olive oil in bag.  Seal bag and use fingers to mix ingredients around.
5. Allow to marinate.  I let it marinate overnight, but a few hours would be fine.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7. Grease 13x9 baking pan and lay chicken breasts flat.  Place lime wedges on and around chicken, and dump remainder of marinade in the pan.
8. Cook for 30-35 minutes.
9. Slice into strips and place onto warmed tortillas.  Add whatever accompaniments your heart desires.  We used a little homemade corn salsa, sliced avocado, and some yellow onion and red pepper sauteed in olive oil.

Happy Eating!


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

It's Almost Fall!

Happy Labor Day!  Though not the 'real' beginning of fall, I am still pacing around the room wondering if it's too early to take out my sweaters and cook up all of my favorites.  I think there are two times of year when I get really excited for the change in the season simply because it means my favorite foods are coming my way - summer, for the fresh fruit, and fall, for everything pumpkin, squash, and cinnamon.

So while my loving fiancee is passed out on the couch (after all, what else are days off for?), I decided to whip up one of his all-time favorite desserts: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
15 ounces (one small can) pumpkin
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used dark, but you could certainly use any type, or even cinnamon chips)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter.  Add in sugar and beat until smooth.
4. Add the pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture.
5. Blend the dry ingredients into the mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.  Wet fingers or back of spatula and press down on the cookies to flatten slightly.  The cookies won't spread much so you can place them rather close together.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes.