Gluten Free Chocolate Snack Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Gluten Free Chocolate Snack Cake 

with Peanut Butter Frosting

·         1 cup cooking oats

·         ½ teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon baking soda

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         1 egg

·         1 cup milk

·         ½ cup vegetable oil

·         2 cups cooked quinoa

·         1 large box instant chocolate fudge pudding

·         2/3 cup powdered sugar

·         2/3 cup peanut butter

·         1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  Put oatmeal into food processer and process until it is flourlike.  Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the oats, and set aside.  In a mixing bowl combine egg, milk, and oil.  Stir in Quinoa.  Add oats mixture and dry pudding to bowl, and mix completely.  Spread mixture into baking dish and bake for 35 minutes, cake is done when it springs back when touched.  Allow cake to cool to room temperature.  Mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar, and milk.  Spread onto cooled cake.

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Quinoa with Red Curry Peanut Sauce

Quinoa with Red Curry Peanut Sauce

·         1 teaspoon peanut oil

·         ½ teaspoon minced garlic

·         ¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion

·         1 can coconut milk

·         ¼ cup peanut butter

·         ½ tablespoon red curry paste

·         1 tablespoon lime juice

·         ½ teaspoon red curry powder

·         ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

·         2 cups cooked quinoa*

·         2 cups broccoli

Heat oil, garlic, and onion, over medium heat in a saucepan until onion is translucent.  Add all remaining ingredients except quinoa and broccoli, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, and add quinoa, and broccoli.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, or until broccoli reaches desired level of doneness.  For a spicier dish, add hot pepper sauce as desired. 

*I like to keep precooked quinoa in the fridge.  Make it on the stove or in a rice maker, with a ratio of 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil.  This yields 3 cups of cooked quinoa.

 I sometimes omit half of the quinoa for a more "soup like" dish.

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Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Soup

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Soup

·         1 tablespoon peanut oil (or just about any other source of fat)

·         1 tablespoon flour

·         ½ teaspoon minced garlic

·         ¼ teaspoon pepper (black or red)

·         ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

·         1 cup cooked quinoa*

·         1 cup broccoli in bite sized pieces

Heat oil in a saucepan, stir in flour, milk, garlic, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, mixing with a whisk frequently.  Remove from heat, add cheese and quinoa, stir in.  Place broccoli and 1 tablespoon of water in a microwave safe bowl, heat on high for 2 minutes.  Drain off excess water, and add broccoli to saucepan.  Garnish with shredded cheese. ( This recipe makes 2 servings).

*I like to keep pre-cooked quinoa in the refrigerator.  Prepare it in a rice maker or on the stovetop, with a ratio of 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil.

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Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf with Sweet Chili Sauce

This is not your mom's meatloaf, juicy and flavorful, with a Thai kick.

Turkey & Quinoa Meatloaf with Sweet Chili Sauce

·         1 (20ounce) package ground turkey

·         ½ cup coarsely chopped onion

·         ½ cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper

·         1 egg

·         ½ cup sweet chili sauce

·         2 cups pre-cooked quinoa*

Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.  Put mixture into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Cover with a thin layer of sweet chili sauce.  Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.  Meatloaf is easiest to serve if allowed to sit for 15 minutes.

*I like to keep precooked quinoa in the refrigerator.  Prepare in a rice maker or on the stovetop, 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil.  Yields 3 cups cooked quinoa.

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Fresh from the Garden Pesto

One of my absolute favorite things is walking out to my garden to go "shopping" for dinner.  For this particular recipe I'm actually harvesting sweet basil from a terracotta pot on my back patio.  If you don't have fresh basil, baby spinach is a great substitute.  I prefer to eat my pesto cold with crackers, but it is also excellent heated and served with pasta or quinoa.

Fresh from the Garden Pesto

·        
½ cup fresh basil or baby spinach

·         ½ teaspoon minced garlic

·         ¼ cup almonds

·         ¼ cup peanut oil

·         ¼ cup feta cheese (crumbled)

Combine all of the ingredients except the feta in a small food processor, process until ingredients are the consistency of a thick milkshake. Add feta and process until cheese is mixed in.

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http://www.myrecipemagic.com/recipe/recipedetail/fresh-from-the-garden-pesto

Hot and Sour Quinoa Soup

The perfect combination of beautiful and tasty!  I use sweet potato fries most of the time when I make this. Thaw them for a few seconds in the microwave before cutting into bite sized pieces.  This is one of those dishes that just gets better as it ages so make extra!

Hot and Sour Soup

·         2 chicken bouillon cubes

·         4 cups water

·         1 teaspoon Asian seasoning

·         1 teaspoon curry powder

·         ½ cup sweet chili sauce

·         2 tablespoons lime juice

·         ½ cup rinsed quinoa

·         ½ cup pinto beans

·         ½ cup crookneck squash

·         ½ cup zucchini squash

·         ½ cup sweet potato

·         ¼ cup chopped onion

In a large saucepan bring water to a boil and add bouillon cubes, seasonings, chili sauce, lime juice, quinoa, and beans.  Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces, add to soup and simmer 5-7 more minutes.

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Dirty Fried Quinoa

Admittedly, this recipe isn't quite as healthy as most of my others... but it is really good!

Dirty Fried Quinoa

·        1 teaspoon peanut oil

·        ½  pound Polish or spicy sausage sliced to bite sized pieces

·        ¼ cup chopped red onion

·        ¼ cup chopped green onion

·        ¼ teaspoon Cajun spice

·        ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

·        2 cups cooked quinoa*

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat.  Add sausage and cook until lightly browned.  Add red onion and cook until they are slightly translucent.  Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly.

* I like to keep precooked quinoa in my fridge.  I use my rice maker with a ratio of 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil.

For nutritional information copy and paste the following in your address bar:
http://www.myrecipemagic.com/recipe/recipedetail/dirty-fried-quinoa

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Pepper

Too much filling for the pepper you have on hand?  No problem, it's pretty tasty cold as well.  Or you can let it overflow as I've done here.  However, be careful not to overcook it, it dries out quickly when baked outside of the pepper.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

·         1 cup cooked quinoa*

·         ½ cup precooked or canned beans (Myocoba, garbanzo, black beans… the choices are endless)

·         ¼ cup chopped onion

·         ¼ cup coarsely chopped almonds

·         ¼ cup craisins

·         ½ cup fruit juice (I like raspberry juice)

·         1 Tablespoon lemon (or lime) juice

·         ½ teaspoon minced garlic

·         ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning

·         ½ teaspoon cinnamon

·         ½ cup feta cheese (hold a small amount back to sprinkle on top after baking)

·         Green onion for garnish

·         1 large bell pepper halved lengthwise

Mix all of the ingredients except the green onions and bell pepper together in a medium sized bowl.  Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, and place bell pepper halves in dish.  Stuff the peppers with filling mixture, cover, and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Sprinkle heated peppers with remaining feta cheese and green onions.

* I like to keep precooked quinoa in my fridge. I make it in my rice maker with a ratio of 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil.

For nutritional information copy and paste the following in your address bar:
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Almond Joy Quinoa Bites

I prefer these fresh out of the oven, but they're pretty good the next day as well (assuming I can keep myself from making a midnight visit to the kitchen to finish them off).  I often use my toaster oven on the convection setting, that way I don't need to preheat my whole big oven for such a small batch of muffins, but be careful on the timing, it can vary a lot depending on the unit you're using.

Almond Joy Quinoa Bites

·         1 ½ cups cooked quinoa*

·         ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut

·         ¼ cup brown sugar

·         ¼ cup flour ( I use whole wheat, but any type should work)

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1 egg (beaten)

·         ¼ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

·         ¼ cup coarsely chopped almonds

Lightly grease a mini muffin pan, and preheat oven to 325.  Mix quinoa and dry ingredients (up to egg) in a medium bowl.  Add egg. Stir in chocolate and almonds.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (except for possible melted chocolate…)

*I prepare quinoa in my rice maker and keep it in the refrigerator to use over several days.  For all types of quinoa I use a ratio of 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon of peanut oil.

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Spinach, Avocado, and Quinoa Salad with Thai Dressing

I'm completely in love with Quinoa.  It has so much to offer nutritionally, and the flavor is mild, slightly nutty, which allows me to use it as a backdrop for all kinds of other flavors.  I buy quinoa at Costco in bulk, it's much less expensive that way.  As you will see in my recipe photos I use both red and white varieties, usually based on the other colors in my recipe.  I admit it, I love when people say "It's so pretty!" 

Spinach, Quinoa, and Avocado Salad, with Thai Dressing

·         Baby Spinach

·         2 cups chilled cooked quinoa*

·         ½ cup chopped cucumber

·         ¼ cup chopped red onion

·         ½ cup chopped red bell pepper

·         1 avocado chopped or sliced as desired

·         2 tablespoons peanut oil

·         ¼ cup fruit juice ( I prefer raspberry juice)

·         ½ tablespoon lime juice

·         ¼ cup sweet chili sauce

Place a bed of baby spinach on salad plates (1-2 cups per plate, as desired).  Combine the quinoa, cucumber, red onion and bell pepper in a bowl, tossing them until mixed.  You can either include avocado as bite sized pieces in the quinoa mixture, or garnish the salad with slices.  Place the quinoa mixture on the spinach.  Mix the dressing ingredients, and drizzle it over the prepared salad.  Enjoy!

* I prepare Quinoa in my rice maker and keep it in my refrigerator to use for several days.  For all types of quinoa I use a ratio of 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon of peanut oil..

For nutritional information please visit my recipe copy and paste the following into your address bar: http://www.myrecipemagic.com/recipe/recipedetail/spinach-avocado-and-quinoa-salad-with-thai-dressing