One Pan Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 cup quinoa

1 cup vegetable broth

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
3. Serve immediately.

Suzan's Pumpkin Bread

 This comes from my friend/running buddy/hiking partner Suzan. According to her instructions, it is best served with hot, strong black coffee...which I haven't tried yet. But even without the coffee, it's yummy! The taste reminds me of gingersnaps.

Ingredients for 3 Large Loaves

4 cups raw sugar

1/4 to 1/2 cup molasses

1 cup vegetable oil

1 large (29 oz) can pumpkin 

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking soda

splash of vanilla

5 cups flour (half whole wheat, half white)

chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Mix all ingredients. Bake in greased loaf tins at 350 for one hour. (May need to adjust baking time, depending on loaf size.) Also makes great muffins, although I think I like the bread better.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This recipe comes from the New York Times. Similar to our usual streusel coffee cake, but more moist.
NOTE: I made a half recipe and filled 5 ramekins (large muffin size). 

Ingredients

For the cake:
½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
For the topping:
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
⅓ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
NOTE: For the topping, I used my usual streusel (for a half recipe, I used 1 T butter, 1 T flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 t cinnamon).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. In a separate bowl, sift flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
3. Make the topping: Combine sugar, cinnamon, flour and nuts in a small bowl and mix well.
4. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool, cut into pieces and serve.

Beef Empanadas

 After all these years, I decided to try a new empanada recipe, and I quite like this one.

Ingredients

Crust

2 1/2 cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

4 oz Butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 Egg

1/3 cup Ice water

1 Egg, beaten for egg wash

Filling

1 Large russet potato, peeled, diced into 1/4 inch cubes

3/4 lb Beef, ground

2 tbsp Olive oil

1/2 Medium onion, grated

1 Small carrot, grated

1 Rib of celery, finely minced

2 Cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp Ground cumin

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 cup Peas

3/4 cup Beef broth

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Directions

1. To make the pastry dough pulse the flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter, egg and ice water. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Shape the dough into a ball. Tightly cover the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. While your empanada dough is resting prepare the filling. Fill a medium size stock pot ¾ full with water and bring to a boil. Add the cubed potato to the pot and boil the potato until tender, about 3 minutes. While potatoes are boiling, brown the beef in a saute pan over medium heat along with the onions, celery and carrots. Once potatoes are cooked drain and add them to the ground beef mixture and cook until beef is cooked through and vegetables are softened.
3. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and beef broth to the beef and vegetable mixture, sautéing 1 minute longer until spices are fragrant. Add and peas and simmer over medium heat until everything is well incorporated and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide it into 10 equal part—roughly 2.2 oz each. Roll each piece of dough very thin on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle roughly 7” wide. Working with one prepared dough at a time add a heaping ⅓ cup of filling onto one side of the dough.
5. Wet a pastry brush with egg wash and dampen the inside ¼ inch edge of the filled dough. Fold the dough in half. Using a fork, firmly press the edges together. Repeat this process with remaining dough and filling and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F and place rack into the center of the oven.
7. In a small bowl mix together an egg with 1 tbsp of water, brush each empanada with egg wash until coated. Bake for 35 min or until golden brown.

Instant Pot Tortellini Soup with Sausage

From aromaticessence.com

Ingredients

1 to 1.25 lbs lean hot Italian sausage, casings removed, you may substitute with sweet Italian sausage

1 medium onion diced finely

3 to 4 cloves of garlic minced

15 oz can tomato sauce

4 teaspoons Better than Bouillon chicken stock base dissolved in 4 cups of hot water, or 1-quart, less-sodium chicken stock or broth

9 oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 oz baby spinach, can add more if you like

3/4th to 1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoon olive oil

Grated parmesan cheese, as required, optional

Seasoning mix:

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste

Directions

1. Press the 'SAUTE' button, and set it to 'NORMAL'. Once it displays 'HOT', add olive oil. Add the sausage, cook, breaking it into crumbles, until no longer pink and lightly browned. Drain off excess grease, if any.
2. Add diced onions along with minced garlic, sauté until the onions soften and turn translucent. As the onions sweat, it will release the browned bits at the bottom of the pot.
3. Add the seasoning mix, and sauté for another minute.
4. At this point, you should not have any browned bits stuck at the bottom, if you do, de-glaze the pot with 1/4 cup of the chicken stock, and scrape the bottom to remove the browned bits. Add the tomato sauce and chicken stock, give everything a good mix.
5. Press 'CANCEL', close the lid of the Instant Pot. Set the valve to 'SEALING'. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. It will take some time for the pressure to build up (about 15 minutes), after which the timer will begin.
6. Let the pot depressurize for 5 minutes. Then do a quick release of the remaining pressure as per the manufacturer's instructions. Once the silver pin drops, turn the knob to 'VENTING' and open the lid away from you.
7. Press the 'SAUTE' button, set it to 'NORMAL', bring the soup to a boil. Add the fresh tortellini, mix well. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until they float to the top.
8. Stir in the spinach mixing it until it wilts.
9. Finally, add the heavy cream, and give everything a good mix. Check for seasoning and adjust with more salt and pepper if required.
10. Dish out, sprinkle grated parmesan (optional), serve alongside grilled cheese sandwiches or homemade crusty bread. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, add some stock to adjust the consistency of the soup.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

MUFFIN INGREDIENTS:

streusel topping (see ingredients below)

1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

2 cups + 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

7 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. loosely-packed lemon zest

STRESUEL TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp. melted butter, slightly cooled

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 cup raw sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a baking pan (or two if needed) with 16 paper liners, or grease with cooking spray.
2. Prepare the streusel topping according to instructions below.
3. In a small mixing bowl, toss blueberries with 3 Tbsp. flour until blueberries are coated. Use a slotted spoon to remove blueberries and shake off any excess flour. Set aside.
4. In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl (or an electric stand mixer), whisk together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and continue whisking until smooth. Fold in flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Carefully stir in blueberries.
6. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full of batter. Sprinkle each cup of batter with about 1 Tbsp. streusel topping.
7. Bake at 350º for 20 to 25 min, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
8. Let muffins cool for a few minutes in the muffin pan before removing to cool on a wire rack. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

TO MAKE STREUSEL TOPPING:

Whisk together all ingredients until combined and mixture is crumbly.

Quesadilla

Ingredients

QUESADILLAS:

• 6 - 8 flour tortillas (20cm/8")
• 2 cups (200g) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or other of choice) 
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 1 cup corn kernels (frozen thawed or can drained)
• ONE Filling of Choice, below (beef, chicken or vegetable)

QUESADILLA SPICE MIX:

• 1 tsp each onion powder, dried oregano, salt
• 2 tsp each cumin powder, paprika
• 1/4 tsp each black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional)

CHOOSE ONE FILLING

BEEF FILLING:

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 500g / 1 lb ground beef 
• 1 small red capsicum/bell peppers , diced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup (65 ml) water

CHICKEN FILLING:

• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g/1 lb chicken thighs, skinless boneless 
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 small onion , quartered and sliced
• 1 small red capsicum/bell pepper , diced

VEGETABLE FILLING:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion , diced
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 can of black beans, drained (400g/14oz)
• 1 capsicum/bell pepper , diced (any colour)
• 1 cup corn (canned drained or frozen thawed)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup (65 ml) water

Instructions

QUESADILLAS

1. Place tortilla on work surface. Sprinkle one side with a bit of cheese, top with Filling of Choice. Sprinkle with corn*, coriander and top with cheese. Fold in half.
2. Preheat non stick skillet over medium low heat (no oil, if pan is not non-stick use 2 tsp oil).
3. Place quesadilla in skillet, press down lightly, cover with lid. Cook for 3 minutes until underside is super golden brown and crispy.
4. Carefully flip over the folded edge (see video). Press down lightly. Cook for 3 minutes until crispy (no lid).
5. Transfer to cutting board, cut in half. Serve immediately!

Dipping Sauce options: Sour cream, salsa, Avocado Sauce (pictured)

SPICE MIX:

Mix ingredients in a small bowl. Use for one of the Fillings Options below.

FILLING OPTIONS

BEEF FILLING:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go. Once it changes from pink to brown, add capsicum. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add tomato paste, water and Spice Mix. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl, cool.

CHICKEN FILLING:

1. Drizzle chicken with 1 tbsp oil, toss to coat. Sprinkle over Spice Mix, toss well to coat.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add capsicum and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to bowl, cool.
3. Return pan to stove, reduce to medium heat. Add remaining 1/2 tbsp oil. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes until deep golden. Turn and cook for 3 minutes until cooked through.
4. Transfer chicken to cutting board, rest for 2 minutes then dice and cool. Combine with capsicum mixture.

VEGETABLE FILLING:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add capsicum, cook for 1 minute.
2. Add beans, corn, tomato paste, water and Spice Mix. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl, cool.