Baked Quinoa and Chicken Parmesan

It's Monday.  The weekend has come and gone and Christopher is back at work. Annabel is napping and that allows me a few moments to sit and rest.  I figure now is a good time to blog.

I am trying to switch us over to organic meat, but it gets pretty expensive even with shopping at Costco. Since we are trying to stay on a semi-tight food budget, I have been trying to find meals that stretch our meat without leaving us still hungry. While browsing Foodgawker I found this recipe for Baked Quinoa and Chicken Parmesan a few weeks ago.  I am not sure why it took me so long to try it, but I'm glad I did.  Chris absolutely loved it.  I halved the recipe since it was a first time trying the recipe and I didn't want to be overly committed if we didn't like it. It made two meals worth for us.  Next time I might make the whole recipe and try freezing half. I did't follow the recipe exactly, but pretty close to it.  Below is what I did.

Baked Quinoa and Chicken Parmesan

1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
 basil and oregano, to taste
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (cooked and diced or shredded)
2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs (optional)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 and spray a 2 qt. baking dish with cooking oil.

Make the sauce:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add the oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the balsamic vinegar, scraping anything off the bottom of the pan, and cook until it’s almost fully absorbed. (I forgot to do this step so I just added the balsamic vinegar to the sauce after.  It still tasted good, but I will try to follow directions better next time!)

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a low boil, and then simmer while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Make the quinoa:
Place the quinoa in a mesh strainer, and rinse with cold water for about 2 minutes.

Bring water to a boil and add the quinoa.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat (DO NOT remove the lid) and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

Assembly:
In a large bowl, combine the quinoa and chicken with the sauce and mix thoroughly.

Place half the mixture in the baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan. Add the breadcrumbs, if using.

Cover with foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly, about 10 more minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley (and additional Parmesan) before serving, if desired.

Zucchini Tots

I am guilty of being a fan of Pinterest and spending my fair share of time browsing through pages and pages of all it has to offer. I am, however, bound and determined not to be one of those people who simply pins ideas and never actually does anything with them. So this blog is dedicated to all my fellow pinterest lovers!

Here is the blog where I found the original recipe http://curiouscountrycook.blogspot.com/2012/03/zucchini-tots.html . I modified it slightly and mixed it together in a different order.  Here is what I did.

Zucchini Tots

1 cup grated zucchini (*wrung dry in a towel)
1/4 yellow onion (diced into small pieces)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 egg (beaten)

-Preheat oven to 400F. Spray your mini muffin tin with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.
-Mix together zucchini, onion, cheese, bread crumbs and salt and pepper. Taste to make sure it has enough salt and pepper. Last, add the egg and mix all together.
-Then using a #50 scoop (or whatever you may have on hand) evenly divide the mixture into the muffin tin.
-Bake for about 18 minutes or until tots have reached your desired level of doneness (not a real word I know, but still the word I am choosing to use.)

*Make sure to wring the zucchini to get out all the extra water.  Otherwise the tots will be soggy and NASTY.*

Christopher and I gobbled these up in a mater of minutes.  They were so yummy I even made another batch today for our afternoon snack.  It is a great way to use up the zucchini that is overflowing from everyone's gardens this time of year!

I'm back (again)

So it's official.  I am one of those bloggers that blogs a couple times a year and then returns to make empty promises of many more blogs to come. I could make a list of reasons excuses as to why it has been so long since I last posted a new blog, but I'm not. Instead I will simply post the most recent Shamlian Family picture.

The beauty in the front is the most recent addition to the Shamlian family.  Ms. Annabel Lorraine was born a week after my last post and has taken up most my time.  At 9 months old she is now walking and a little more independent everyday.  Thus allowing me more time to cook and experiment with new and healthy meals. I have been inspired lately by a few family members of mine who have started on the Sonoma diet and have been working to cut useless empty food out of our daily meals. It isn't a crazy change for us, but more whole grains, beans, and veggies have been added to our food intake.

I plan (but make no promises) to post new recipes as we try them out and share with you our likes and dislikes. I hope that these recipes will help inspire you and your family to make the change to a healthier lifestyle.

Little A enjoying her first cob of corn.  

**Don't get me wrong we do still enjoy the "unhealthy" foods of life, but simply eat them on a more limited bases.  My motto is calories don't count on your birthday and vacations ;)**