Baked Apples

I've recently revisted my quinoa cookbook and found a wealth of delicious sounding recipes that I had previously ignored. This recipes is not one of those. I knew from the moment I read it that I had to make it. And with John and I trying to eat well, this recipe really fit the bill for an after dinner snack.

Please read below for culinary bliss:

1/3 c. quinoa
4 Gala apples, cored
1/2 c. toasted slivered almonds
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 c. blueberries
1 c. yogourt

Cook the quinoa until fluffy.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment aper to fit a baking dish. Make a shallow cut around the midsection of each apple to allow movement of the skin during baking. Stand the apples in the baking dish.

Combine quinoa with toasted almonds, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice. Add the berries and spoon the mixture into the cored apples and around the base. Loosely place a piece of foil over the top of the pan to prevent the apples from burning.

Bake for 35 minutes until apples are tender. Remove from the oven, place in individual bowls and add a dollop of yogourt on the side, sprinkled with cinnamon.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

16 butter lettuce leaves
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp Asian chilli pepper sauce
1 zuccini, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tbsp dark sesame oil

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Set aside. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in carrots, zuccini, chopped water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!





P.S. Asian wraps go well with Strongbows and hockey (unless your team starts to lose 4-0 by the 3rd period).

P.P.S. Make sure to make enough for a hungry man in your house. (John had five wraps.)

Blueberry Flax Pancakes

2 2/3 cups quinoa or whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup flax seeds
lots of blueberries

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a medium bowl whisk the wet ingredients.
3. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and mix until smooth.
4. Lightly spray a nonstick frying pan with cooking oil and place on medium low heat. When the pan is hot, pour the batter into the pan in about 5 inch rounds. Sprinkle with blueberries immediately.
5. When several bubbles have formed flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or so.
6. Spray the pan with cooking oil again and repeat until all the batter is used.
7. Top with fresh or frozen berries, sliced bananas and a light drizzling of maple syrup.
8. Enjoy!

Rebecca's Riced Red Peppers

2 red peppers
half onion, diced
half zucchini, diced or shredded
2 tomatoes, diced
5 mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
half cup of rice (brown, white and wild)
few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
half cup feta
half cup grated chedder
half cup tomato sauce
cup of water
spices (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, etc)

1. Cut tops off peppers, clean out seeds and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Saute garlic and onions in a skillet for a few minutes. Add Worcestershire, tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms. Add rice, water and spices. Mix. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
3. Add the feta, chedder and tomato sauce. Mix. Stuff each pepper with the mixture, adding a sprinkle of chedder to the tops of each pepper.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese is melted.
5. Enjoy with a salad and crusty bread.