Quinoa Salad

So I'd been hearing lots about quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") lately. So I thought I'd check it out. Quinoa is a grain that originates from the Andes Mountains of South America. It was one of the three staple foods, along with corn and potatoes of the Inca civilization. It doesn't look like much, but its actually really good.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 pepper (red, orange, green, whatever you prefer, or a combination), chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt & pepper
5-6 fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Quinoa usually needs to be rinsed first, so put the quinoa into a pot and run some warm water into the pot. Let sit for 3 minutes and then drain the water. Then add the 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Drain.

While the quinoa is cooking, chop up the veggies. You can be creative with the veggies, use what you have (I have also used corn kernals).

In a bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, dijon mustard and oregano. Season with salt & pepper. Stir well to combine.

Once the quinoa is cooked and cooled slightly, mix together with the veggies, basil, feta cheese and dressing.

Pesto Turkey Burgers

Its almost the middle of December and I was craving a burger, so I made these delicious turkey burgers. I just fried them up in a frying pan on my stove, but these would be great on the BBQ in summer too. My picture doesn't really do them justice, but these burgers were full of flavour. I will definitely be making these again!

1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey
2 tbsps basil pesto
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsps sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Mix together ground turkey, pesto, garlic, feta cheese, salt, bread crumbs and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl until evenly blended. Form into 4 patties.

Fry or grill over medium heat until cooked through.

Orzo with Roasted Peppers & Turkey

1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 lb orzo pasta
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
feta cheese

First thing is to roast the peppers. You can either do this by holding over a gas flame with tongs, turning occasionally until the skins are charred on all sides. Or you can roast the peppers in the oven under the broiler, which is what I did. Place whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil until charred. Occasionally turn peppers so all sides start turning black. Place the charred peppers in a medium bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the peppers to steam for 20 minutes. Remove from bowl and place on cutting board. Using a paring knife, peel away most of the skin. Its okay to leave some skin as it adds flavour. Remove the stem and seeds. Pat peppers dry with paper towel and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, water, and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking; in a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and saute until cooked through. Add the garlic and Italian seasonings and cook for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the turkey and pepper mixture, 1 tbsp of parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to combine all ingredients, adding reserved cooking liquid, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Top with feta cheese and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

Red Pesto Ravioli

Thanks Kim for telling me about this recipe. It was delicious! Although I did have a bit of trouble making the pesto in my blender. I may need to invest in a good food processor. My blender, although fairly new, has issues with blending certain things.

1 pound fresh cheese raviolis
12 plump, chewy sun-dried tomatoes (I just guessed, as the sun-dried tomatoes I bought were very small and packed in oil in a jar, the only kind I could find)
2 medium cloves garlic
red pepper flakes (up to you how much you want to put in)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted
3 handfuls of baby spinach tossed with a glug of olive oil and a big pinch of salt
2/3 cup oven-roasted tomatoes* (more if you really like tomatoes!)
a bit of crumbled feta cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and cook the raviolis per package instructions. Drain, but reserve about one cup of the hot pasta water (important!).

In the meantime, make the sun-dried tomato pesto by pulsing the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, thyme and salt in a food processor or blender, until it comes together into a textured crumble. Add the walnuts/pine nuts, and pulse a few more times. Set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water in a large mixing bowl along with the pesto. Add the cooked raviolis and gently toss. Add more of the hot pasta water if needed to thin the pesto out - it should make a nice chunky sauce.

Arrange the baby spinach on the plates and top with the ravioli, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.

*To oven-roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350F. Cut each tomato in half and arange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a few pinches of salt. Pour this over the tomatoes. Gentley toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated. Arrange tomatoes cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.


*From Key Ingredient/RecipeGrazer