Chocolate Quinoa Cake

OK This is not just any cake.  It is delicious! And worth the wait! You aren't going to "have cake tonight" kind of thing.  This is a "Let's have cake tomorrow" Kind of cake!  The Pudding needs to be made the night before, plus the cool down of the cake.  I make both the night before and then in the morning or just before I serve it, then I add the pudding (frosting) to the cake!

1/3 cup milk

4 whole eggs (3/4 Cup Egg Whites)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups cooked quinoa

3/4 cup Butter, melted

1 cup white sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and then spray two round cake pans (or a 9x13” pan) with Cooking Spray.
In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs,  milk and vanilla extract then blend for ten seconds to combine.
Add the cooked and cooled quinoa along with the melted and cooled butter then blend until completely smooth, about thirty seconds to one minute.
Sift together (I didn't) the dry ingredients in a large bowl (cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
Add the wet ingredients in the blender to the bowl with the dry and mix together until well-combined.
Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool.
To make the frosting you will need to refrigerate the pudding overnight.
Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and beat on high for thirty seconds to one minute, until a fluffy icing has formed.
Transfer the cakes to a surface for icing with the bottom side up. I recommend that you only transfer the cakes once as they are fragile and difficult to hold together once removed from the parchment paper.
Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. The icing will melt in really warm conditions but should be fine for a few hours in cooler settings.

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Breakfast Frittatas

These are my new loves.  You ask why? Because I can put anything in them and the kids LOVE them still!  Hint: Don't tell your kids what you put in them!

Put into a blender everything you would put into an omelet, 2-3 cups worth.  Don't cut or dice anything, just throw in the veggies whole.

Add a handful or two of spinach (Sarah could tell I had done this and wasn't happy with me).

I use one container of Egg Whites, which is about 10 eggs.

Blend it all up!

Using a 1/4 measuring cup scoop into a sprayed on muffin pan.  You want it to be almost to the top.

Sprinkle each cup with a little bit of Italian Seasoning or Herb de Providence (this seems to be a favorite)

Top with Mozzarella Cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees

Now you are probably saying, I need a list of veggies.  So here it is, add what you want and leave out what you don't want.

Mushrooms
Garlic cloves
Green Onion
Bell Peppers (any color or size, though you may want to cut the large one's into fourth's)
Artichoke Hearts (kids love them as long as they don't see them...makes it creamy)
Sun dried Tomatoes
Roma Tomatoes (Don't add both sun dried and Roma...just one or the other)
Frozen Veggies (slightly thawed)

Did I forget anything? If you add something different.  Post a comment to let others know what other creative things you add!

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Breakfast Quiche

2 cups Mushrooms, Chopped
1/2 cup Red Peppers, Chopped
1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes
1/2 cup Artichoke Hearts, Chopped
1/2 cup Green Onions, Finely Chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
1 tbs Herbes de Provence
Olive Oil
Cooking Spray
6 Eggs
1 1/2 oz Goat Cheese, small pieces
1/2 oz Parmesan, Grated

Saute Mushrooms, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts, Green Onions, Garlic in just enough Olive Oil.  Place Sauted Veggies in round cake pan that has been sprayed with Cooking Spray.  Cover veggies with Eggs and cheeses.

Cook at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.

I make this the night before, so in the morning all I have to do is throw it in the oven!

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Deviled Eggs

Ok, ready for the joke that started this out?

What do you call the egg of a naughty chicken? (answer is the name of the recipe)

Now that you have stopped laughing, let me tell you how it was that I created this recipe.  It's easy because there is really only one reason, well now that I think about it, 2 reasons.
  #1 ever since tasting my sister's best friends deviled eggs, I have always made them with Honey.  Talk about yum!
 #2 reason.  I didn't have any mayonnaise opened nor did I want to open any...so the following recipe was created!

6 Hard Boiled Eggs (cook raw eggs in boiling water for 20 min)

Once cooled off, gently crack and peel the eggs.  Cut eggs in two pieces length wise, cutting the yolk in half.  Gently scoop out the yolk and put in separate bowl for later.

Add to the yolk the following items.  This is merely suggestions of amounts, as I rarely measure this kind of thing.  You don't want the finished product to be too runny or too dry.  More thick than runny though.

1/4 cup Plain Yogurt (Greek would be great, but plain anything is better than mayo)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbs Honey (runny is better than chunky)
Dash of Salt and Pepper

Stir with fork until egg yolk is smooth.  Using a spoon, place a scoop of Yolk mixture and place in egg "hole" created from yolk.  Fill just over egg surface.

Sprinkle Paprika sparingly over top.  Just for you folks who are clueless, I will include a picture!

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Meat Loaf

2.25 lb Ground Meat (For the meat you can use ground turkey, chicken, or beef!)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Green Onions, minced
1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients, form into greased bread pan. Cook for 1 hour.

Variation:
Instead of Meat Loaf, you can make them into patty's and grill them instead!

Side Dish:
Wild Rice
Asparagus
Tomato Soup  My favorite and goes with really anything!

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Vegetable/Chicken Soup

I really should rename this the everything but the kitchen sink recipe!  There is no wrong way to cook this.  Well, don't use freezer burned food's that's nasty.

5 cups Chicken Broth
2 Red Potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups Onions, quartered
1/2 cup Carrots, sliced 1-inch thick
1 1/2 cup Celery, sliced 1-inch thick
1 cup of Green Vegetable: Zucchini, sliced 1 inch thick or Green Beans
1-pint jar of Tomato Soup
About 2 cups cooked Leftover Rice
About 2 cups Leftover Cooked Chicken
1 scoop of Protein Powder

In a large stockpot, combine chicken broth, potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and simmer until the potatoes are tender about 30 minutes.  Add Green Vegetable, Tomato Soup, Rice, and Chicken. Reduce heat to med-low and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until Vegetable is just tender.  Add Protein Powder just before serving.


Side Dishes:
Adding the Rice and Chicken, this is a complete meal all on its own.  You can add more or less of any item to fit the needs of your personal style and family.

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Egg Drop Soup

6 cups chicken broth, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or Green Onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons and 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
3 eggs
1-1/2 egg yolk

Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Stir the salt, ginger, and chives into the saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.   

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. The eggs should cook immediately. Once the eggs have been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.
 
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Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1 small Red Onion, Sliced
6 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 lbs Steak, sliced 1 inch thick
1 1/2 tbs Sesame Oil
3 tbs Rice Vinegar
1 1/2 tbs Ginger, Minced
6 cups Broccoli Florets (I buy mine at Costco in the freezer section)
12 oz Soba Noodles (I found mine in the produce area, they are already cooked), or you can use spaghetti noodles

Heat small amount of soy sauce in large saute pan, add the onions and garlic saute until cooked.  Add beef, saute turning often for 7 to 10 minutes.  Stir together the oil, vinegar, and ginger and add to the saute mixture.  Add broccoli to the meat and simmer until broccoli is cooked.  Prepare noodles according to package if needed to be cooked.  Toss with beef and broccoli mixture and serve!

For Side Dishes:
Egg Drop Soup
If you don't want the noodles, you can always do Rice

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Lemon-Garlic Chicken

1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Molasses
1 1/2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
8 garlic Cloves, chopped
4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Combine first 4 ingredients into a baking dish.  Add chicken.  Cover and marinate in refrigerator for a couple of hours, turning occasionally as they need to be well coated.

Preheat oven to 425.  Remove chicken from dish, reserve marinade, and put onto aluminum foiled covered cookie sheet that has been coated with cooking spray.  Baste chicken with marinade. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Bake for 20 minutes, basting occasionally with marinade.  Bake without basting for an additional 20 minutes or until chicken is done.


Variations:
I think every recipe has a variation on it...it just depends on how much time I have.
If you don't have time to marinate, mix the top 3 items.  Dip chicken into mixture and place on pan (like above) Sprinkle the Seasoning Salt (See Picture, bought from Costco).  Follow from the last paragraph above.

For Side Dishes
Butternut Squash Soup
Wild Rice, Black Rice, or my favorite Quinoa
I love the Frozen mixed Veggies from Costco

OK, hint on cooking my veggies.

In a pan, heat olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Add veggies, pour on a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning.  Mix all cook on med covered until thawed and cooked!  Easy!

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