Quinoa and Black Beans

 I made this tonight, found it on all recipes.  It was so good, Andy said "this stuff is amazing".  We both ate more of this and didn't even bother with the rest of our chicken.

My variations (not big): I did not use the cilantro,  I used homemade chicken stock instead of vegetable broth and I added a tsp of caldo de tomate which I guess would be tomato bullion and it is  found in the mexican food isles.  This would NOT be necessary, but I liked the flavor it added.  I also used canned corn as I didn't have any frozen.

 Quinoa and Black Beans

  Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1(15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained  (original did call for 2, but I just did 1 and liked the ratio)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

source Allrecipes

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

We just got the ice cream attachment to our new Kitchen Aid (which we bought for the free ice cream attachment).  The inaugural batch of ice cream was this yummy, full of fat recipe.  Another bonus, no eggs...not sure why that's a big deal...maybe because we were low on eggs on Sunday.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• GRAHAM CRACKER MIXTURE:
• 2-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 36 squares)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• ICE CREAM:
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 quart heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• In a large bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in butter. Pat into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl or in your mixer, whisk the ice cream ingredients. Fill ice cream freezer cylinder two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Whisk before adding to ice cream freezer (mixture will have some lumps).
• At the end of the freeze cycle, add the blueberry mixture and crumbled graham cracker crust. Freeze. Yield: 2 quarts.

Easy Indian Butter Chicken

I made this for dinner last night and it was very good.  If you can overlook for extreme amount of dairy fat, it's definitely worth the effort.  Matt really enjoyed this - he had a hard time stopping.  Good thing there were lots of leftovers.

Easy Indian Butter Chicken (6 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, divided
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
•  
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons tandoori masala

I used Jane's broiled chicken recipe:  rub tandoori spices and some salt on chicken breasts and broil on high for 4-5 minutes per side.  Take out of oven and tent for 10-15 minutes.  The chicken is perfect!

1. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook slowly until the onion caramelizes to a dark brown, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat along with the tomato sauce, heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and garam masala. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low; cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in caramelized onions.
3. Cut or shred broiled chicken breasts and add to sauce.

We served over brown rice.

Beef and Asparagus Stir Fry

I made this for dinner tonight and is was very, very good!  The flavor was perfect and the meat was very tender...just the way I like it.

Beef & Asparagus Stir Fry (4 servings)


3 T soy sauce
2 T wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1/4 cup water
1 t cornstarch (I ended up using more at the end because it didn't thicken)
2 t brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t chili flakes (I didn't have any so I used red pepper flakes)
1 t fresh ginger, grated (I used dried ginger)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 lb flank steak, sliced into thin strips (I had sirloin tenderloins and used those)
3 T peanut oil (I used almond oil)
3/4 lb asparagus, sliced diagonally
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup green onions, sliced

1.  Mix soy sauce, vinegar, water, cornstarch, brown sugar, salt, chili flakes, ginger and garlic in a large bowl.  Add steak and mix to coat well.  Let marinade for 20-30 minutes.  (I marinated the steak for 3+ hours).
2.  Heat peanut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Reserving the marinade, saute steak until browned on both sides, about 30 seconds per side.
3.  Add asparagus and bell pepper, stirring until vegetables are softened and meat is cooked through, (2-3 minutes).
4.  Add reserved marinade, and simmer to thicken for 1 minute.  Stir in green onions and remove from heat.
5.  Serve immediately over rice or noodles.