Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I was creeping on Pinterest the other day for some yummy new
dinner ideas. It seems Spring is taking forever to get here, and it's really getting me down. When you have four very distinct seasons, you tend to have four very distinct eating habits as well. I am craving for salad, in season fruit and veggies and simple dinners. Simple, bright color, fresh dinners.

So I decided to just come up with my own version of a stuffed pepper meal! Quinoa is one of my favorite things to eat in the summer, mostly I like it cold, but this is a great way to eat it hot.

For this recipe, you can use quinoa, or a mix of quinoa and brown rice, or whatever rice you like really! I had this mix of organic quinoa rice mix in my cupboard so I decided to use it.

Here is what you will need:

3 cups cooked quinoa (or quinoa/rice mix)
1 can black beans or a can of mixed beans (washed and drained)
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (1/4 cup for mix and 1/4 cup for topping) use more if you like things cheesy!
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cilantro
sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
salt and pepper
6 bell peppers

Here is what you will do:

Slice the top off each pepper and remove seeds. Wash peppers and use a paper towel to dry the inside. A little water left on the outside will help the peppers cook nicely.

Mix all of your ingredients together, with 1/4 cup (or more if you like) of the cheese. Once it is all mixed, stuff each of the peppers tightly. Place peppers upright in a casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This will vary depending on how you like your peppers cooked. Do you like them a little crunchy or nice and oven roasted? Really you just need the filling to be hot and peppers cooked to your liking.

For the last 5 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top until melted. And enjoy! This is a complete meal!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner is served! Let me know if you tried it, or made any changes!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tannis

 

Balsamic Salad Dressing

It's said that even small changes make a difference. One of the changes I am committed to making is in my salad dressings, sauces, and rubs. I don't know why I buy them at the grocery store when it is so easy to make your own. I suppose it's also easy to have them on hand in the fridge and cupboard for lazy days.

It bothers me that most salad dressings are full of ingredients I can't pronounce, high in sugar and most condiments have preservatives.

As I journey through making my own, I want to share as many of the recipes with you that I can. I am starting today with my favorite salad dressing. It's actually not my recipe, my friend Dana gave it to me. I especially love this salad dressing with spinach salad, of any kind! Today I was dreaming of spring, so our salad had fruit and nuts in it.



Balsamic Salad Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. Agave nectar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 small clove garlic
3 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix together in a small mason jar and shake vigorously. Dressing can be kept in the fridge for a week to 10 days. Actually you can keep it longer, but the garlic gets stronger, and frankly, it will be gone before a week is up because it is so yummy!

 I hope that you will try it and let me know if you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

                                                                                                                                                                     

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Strawberries and Cream - Comfort Food

Today I needed comfort.

It was just one of those days, following a tough couple of days, and today I thought I would find comfort in something from my childhood. Strawberries and Cream. As most things like this, I don't have a recipe, but when I was making it, I made sure to take notice of what my proportions were because I wanted to share with you, my recipe for Strawberries and Cream, with tea biscuits. Summer is on the way, and what better time to make this!

Strawberries and Cream
 
What you will need:
1 Cup of sour cream or plain yogurt
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar

What you need to do: Using an immersion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth (unless you like it a little bit chunky, then don't blend it as much). My girl likes it smooth, so I make sure to blend it well.

Refrigerate until tea biscuits are ready.

Tea Biscuits

What you will need:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup milk

What you need to do: Mix all dry ingredients together. Add in butter or margarine and mix with a fork or hands, until mixture is crumbly. Make a well in the middle. In a cup, mix the egg and milk slightly, and then add to the dry mixture. Mix together to make a soft dough.

Pat the dough onto a floured counter to a 1 inch thickness. Use a circle cutter to cut out 9 biscuits.

Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with a large granular sugar. I use turbinado sugar, or raw sugar. (Regular works just fine as well!)

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

Now, that both are done, cut your biscuit in half, spoon on your strawberries and cream, and top with a few sliced strawberries!

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

My husband was going to join me on a 40 day challenge that I am taking part of, his challenge was going to be to give up baked goods. Oh boy! I knew it was going to be a tough one for him to keep to, and for me to not bake. A few days in, he decided that he chose the wrong kind of challenge. That meant for me, I could bake again!

I'm sharing with you, my Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe. Have it with a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake


1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rhubarb


Topping

1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter

Cream butter, sugar and eggs with a mixer. Mix in sour cream, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture alternately. Add in the rhubarb last by stirring in with a spoon.

For the topping, mix all ingredients together.

Grease either a tube pan or an 8x8 pan and pour batter in alternately with the topping. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes.

Yummy, check out the finished product!

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Quinoa Salad Recipe

Quinoa (keen' wah), have you tried it yet?

If not, you really should try it, perhaps instead of rice? All summer, we ate quinoa salad instead of pasta salad, and I thought that once the cool weather came along I would be done with it.

I'm not! It makes such a great tasting, healthy lunch. It is high in protein, and is actually gluten free. I thought I would share with you, my quinoa salad recipe. Try it and let me know what you think.

Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup dried quinoa
1 cup chicken broth

Cook according to package directions. I use broth instead of water, and this eliminates the need to use any kind of dressing at all.

Once quinoa is cooked, transfer to a bowl and cool in the fridge.

Once cool, add a total of 2 cups of chopped up veggies. I like to use minced red onion, green and red peppers, cucumber and celery. If you use a bit more than 2 cups, all the better!

Add 1/3 cup of crumbled feta cheese, mix and serve. That is it! So easy and this makes a great lunch or side dish.

I also like to add a few walnuts and dried cranberries as well.

I hope you try it, and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

Bread and Butter Pickles

It's that time of the year, when cucumbers abound! If you are tired of eating them raw, try making some sweet and slightly tangy bread and butter pickles. Here is one of my favorite recipes.

 

You will need

• 4 pounds pickling cucumbers
• 1 large onion, quartered, sliced about 1/4-inch thickness
• 1/3 cup pickling salt
• 3 cups cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds, or use half pickling spices
• 1 red pepper

Preparation:

Wash cucumbers and cut off the ends. Slice crosswise into 1/8-inch slices. Toss in a large bowl with the salt and onion slices; cover with about 4 to 6 cups of ice cubes. Cover and let stand for 4 hours or refrigerate overnight.

 

Prepare a boiling water bath. Add water to a large canner with rack and heat to about 180°. The water should be high enough to be at least 1 inch above the filled jars.

 

 Wash jars thoroughly and heat water in a small saucepan; put the lids in the saucepan and bring almost to the boil; lower heat to very low to keep the lids hot. I also like to keep my jars warm in the oven at 350 degrees.

 

Once your cucumbers have sat for the 4 hours or overnight:

 

Drain the cucumber mixture. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add the drained cucumber mixture and bring to a boil. With a slotted spoon, loosely pack the vegetables in prepared jars. Ladle the liquid into jars, dividing evenly among the jars.

 With a clean damp cloth, wipe away any drips around the rims of the jars then cover with 2-piece jar lids.  Adjust the screw on rings firmly but do not over-tighten. Place filled in the prepared boiling water bath, adding more hot water as needed to bring the water up to about 1 inch above the jars. Bring the water to a boil. Cover and continue boiling for 10 minutes. Lift the jars out of the water and place on a rack to cool.

Makes about 6-7 small jars.

Leave this to sit for about 3-4 days before you enjoy them! Don't forget your friends who do not make pickles, this would be a great treat to surprise them with!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

Better than Starbucks Blueberry bar

When I have a day of writing ahead of me, I like to take my laptop, my journal and my notebook and go to Starbucks for hours on end. Yes I have become one of "those" people! One latte in, before a second coffee, I like to get myself a blueberry bar. I love them. Well, I can tell you, I am no longer in need of their blueberry bar, because I have perfected my own sweet, oatmeal crumbled goodness. I present to you, a lovely recipe for the best blueberry bar you will ever taste. Try it, and you will love it!

Blueberry Bar

Step 1 for Filling:

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
4 tsp cornstarch

In a saucepan, bring blueberries, sugar and orange juice to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.

Next wisk cornstarch with 2 tbsp water; whisk into blueberries and boil, stirring until thickened, about 1 minute. Place plastic wrap directly onto surface and refridgerate until cooled.

Step 2, for base and topping:

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (I have used 1/2 whole wheat flour as well)
1 cup brown sugar (you can use 3/4 cup if you like)
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter or margarine, cubed

In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, sugar, orange rind and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until you get course crumbs. Press 1/2 into an 8 inch square pan; spread with blueberry filling. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture, pressing lightly.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F until light golden, approximately 45 minutes. Let cool on baking rack before cutting into squares.

Enjoy this blueberry, yummy, slice of goodness! Try it and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

Oatmeal Cookies

I just needed to share an oatmeal cookie recipe with you! It's one I use often, actually it's one of only two oatmeal cookie recipes that I use. But it is fool proof and I know that is always a good thing. Please note at the end of my recipe I will give you some ways to alter it, as always!

I am not sure what possessed me to bake tonight, when it's so hot in my house, but I did. Of course Haley wanted to help, so to keep my patience about me, I decided to start a second "somethin' somethin'" while she was scooping the cookies out into balls. I know it doesn't sound like a good idea, but trust me, while she is taking forever and a day to scoop, I kept myself occupied with cooking fresh blueberries on the stove. We won't be needing any Starbucks blueberry bar tomorrow, let me tell you, because the one I have baking in the oven, is sure to be a winner!

So here we are, onto the Oatmeal Cookie recipe!

Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips (or a combo of chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, walnuts, cranberries, etc.)

Cream together the margarine or butter with the brown sugar. Add in your eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add flour mix into the bowl of margarine and sugar. Add in your oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Use a cookie scoop, and place about an inch apart. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Note: in the one cup of chocolate chips, you really can add anything you like, as long as it is approx. 1 cup worth of goodies. If you add flax seed, these cookies are phenomenal! Use about 1/4 cup of flax seed and the rest chocolate chips. Then they have some health benefits right?

Enjoy! Please let me know if you made them, if you like them, and if you added anything different!

Thanks for stopping by.

Tannis

Lemon Feta Salad Dressing and Marinade

This is great on salad or on chicken! Try it, go ahead now, if you're going to the store, get the ingredients! Go!

Lemon Feta Salad Dressing and Marinade

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove (or two, is what I would do)
1/4 cupp fresh dill
1/4 fresh parsley
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper as desired

Wisk all ingredients together.

If using as a marinade, let chicken soak for 15 minutes.

Variations for this....use mint, oregano, chives, or whatever is your favorite herb. I add a dash of agave nectar to this for a hint of sweetness! It is a large lemon flavor, so make sure everyone eating it, likes lemon!

Happy grilling and salad eating, bring on summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

Cinnamon Crunchies

Here is a perfect recipe for the Victoria Day Long weekend. I really hope you will try it out, it's a very simple recipe! Be sure to start with a very clean counter.

Cinnamon Crunchies

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Mix all dry ingredients together. With a beater, mix in the butter, egg and milk, until crumbly. Use a spatula to mix until moistened.

Flour your counter and your rolling pin well, dump out the mix onto the counter and roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Now you will need some more butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Spread a thin layer of butter on the rolled out dough, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll this up into a log, and cut into either 6 large pieces, or 12 small ones! Place in greased muffin tins.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes.

Don't over think this recipe, it is simple, and if it is sticky, add more flour. If it's falling apart, mush it together and put it in the muffin tins.

The most difficult part is the clean up of the counter!

A variation on this recipe that I sometimes use, is to finely chop an apple and sprinkle that on top of the brown sugar before you roll it up. If you want, when they are cool, you can mix some icing sugar and milk until a smooth consistency and drizzle over top. This adds a bit of extra sweetness if you want. Have fun, and enjoy!

This will taste so yummy with morning coffee, outside in the sunshine. I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by.

Tannis

Cooking at night

So, I am not a morning person. Big whoop! Now that I no longer have to work at 530, 630, or 730 in the morning, does it really matter?

I usually get a second spark of energy at 8:00 at night. This night it was more at 9:00 and I decided to make a Chocolate Cake and Oatmeal Banana Pancakes. Haley and I are crazy over pancakes, and these are a healthier version, especially on a school day! I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I just like to cook and bake in the evening!

I am sharing both recipes with you here tonight, and I really hope that you will try them. I don't share recipes often, because I rarely follow a recipe and I NEVER write it out in it's entirety, but I will try to do so here!

Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
1 3/4 cup sugar ( I use 1 1/2) see, I never follow a recipe!
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cold coffee
1 egg
2/3 cup oil

Sift the dry ingredients together, add sour cream, egg, coffee, oil  and mix just until moistened. Pour into 2 round cake pans, lightly floured. Bake at 35o degrees until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean!

Now I will show you a picture, of my completed cake, with icing. However, I do not use a recipe for icing. I just mix a 1/4 cup of melted butter with some cocoa and icing sugar, vanilla and a splash or 2 of milk until I get the smooth, chocolaty icing that Haley says is great as she is dipping her fingers in!

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 ripe banana
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter

Melt butter, add sugar and blend. Mix in the egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla, and banana. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix just until blended together.

I of course add a healthy dose of cinnamon, because I LOVE cinnamon and it is good for you!

These are great to make on the weekend, or spend an afternoon, making a double batch and then freezing them so that you have them ready to go on a school day! Yum! I top mine with bananas, just to keep with the theme, but you can top them with whatever you like! My apologies for not having a picture of these, but trust me, they are fabulous!

Enjoy.

Have a great rest of your week people!

Peanut Butter Cookies - with a twist

Is there anything quite like a peanut butter cookie? I love the silky smooth yummy softness of a great peanut butter cookie! I don't make them that often, maybe a couple of times per year, but for some reason I just needed to make some this week.
I found a recipe that had a little something different in them, and thought I would try them. I was happy with the turn out, and thought I would share that recipe here with you. They have oatmeal in them, which makes them healthy right! Try them, they are really good.

Peanut, Honey and Oat Cookies

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey (I used agave nectar and used a wee bit less)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or you could add more oatmeal instead of)

Cream margarine, PB, brown sugar and honey. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and add to creamed mixture. Stir in rolled oats and nuts. Drop by the tsp full onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Have a good weekend everyone!

~Tannis~



I hope you make them.....enjoy!

~Tannis~

Baked Oatmeal

This is a recipe I just had to share with everyone, and I really hope you will try it. It is so easy to make, it's quite healthy, and very filling. It lasts in the fridge for a few days so it is really good for busy weekends or school days!

Baked Oatmeal

1/3 cup butter

2 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

3 cups oatmeal

Melt butter. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Add milk, salt, baking powder and mix well. Add the oatmeal last. Bake at 350 for approximately 1/2 hour.

I of course alter this recipe because I alter all recipes. It's just what I do. So here is what I have tried and liked........

* add 1/2 cup apple sauce and change butter to 1/4 cup

* no matter what, add 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon!

* top with shaved almonds and cinnamon.

Serve warm the same day or refrigerate and heat up in the morning. We have topped ours with bananas, apple sauce or my favorite.....take a can of peaches and warm them on the stove with some sprinkled cinnamon and sugar. I hope you enjoy, let me know how it turned out!

Go ahead, make it tonight for Monday morning, it's a great way to start your week!

Enjoy,

Tannis