Lemon and Cranberry Quinoa Salad

Dear Readers,

Have you been trying to find another whole grain side dish to go with your lean proteins and vegetables? It's great to have options and bring some excitement to our meals. I love millet, brown rice, and barley but sometimes I am looking for a dish that is new and exciting. I have been creating quinoa sides to liven up my dinners. I am working on adding dried fruit, fresh herbs, and citrus to quinoa. Below is my recipe for lemon and cranberry quinoa salad. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
2 cups quinoa
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup dried cranberries (chopped)
1/2 cup fresh mint (chopped)
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (chopped)
1 whole red pepper (diced)
1/3 cup cashews (chopped)
2 tbsps Dijon mustard
2 tbsps champagne vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 whole fresh lemon (juice)
1 whole lemon (zest)
1 whole orange (zest)
salt,pepper to taste

Directions:
1-Follow cooking directions on quinoa package. Substitute water for chicken broth.
When finished cooking set aside to cool.
2- In a large bowl add the cooled quinoa, red pepper, cashews, cranberries, mint, parsley, lemon zest, and orange zest. Toss.
3- In a smaller bowl you will mix together the dressing. Add the Dijon mustard, champagne vinegar, canola oil, and lemon juice. Whisk together and then add to the quinoa mixture. Add salt and pepper and toss until everything is well dressed. Serve.

Servings: 6-8

Stuffed Eggpplant with Ground Turkey and Quinoa

Dear Readers,

Are there days where you can't think of anything to make. You look in your refrigerator and all you see is left over vegetables. Then you look in your pantry and you see your staples quinoa and canned tomatoes? Well I came up with a recipe using some of your left over ingredients. For this recipe I used eggplants because that's what I had in my refrigerator. You can substitute this vegetable with either zucchini or red peppers. This recipe is very easy, healthy, and tasty. Below is my recipe for stuffed eggplant with ground turkey and quinoa.

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 yellow onion (diced)
2 eggplants (1.5 lbs each)(diced insides of the eggplant)**After you cut in half and
hollowed out the eggplant keep the shell**
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (chopped) * If you don't have fresh you can use 1
tbsp dried parsley*
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup quinoa (prepared-follow instructions on the box-I usually cook this grain in
low sodium chicken broth)
1/4 cup grated Locatelli pecorino romano
1/4 cup shredded Bel Gioioso Parmesan cheese
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2- In a skillet spray the bottom with pam olive oil. Brown the ground turkey and when cooked place into a bowl.
3- In the skillet add 1 tsp olive oil, garlic, and onion. Cook until translucent and then add the eggplant. Add salt and pepper. Cook until the eggplant is soft. Add the diced tomatoes, parsley, and cooked ground turkey. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4- In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa, the eggplant/turkey mixture, and grated pecorino romano cheese. Mix and add salt and pepper to taste. **Since you added cheese you may not need salt**
5- Put the halved and hollowed out eggplants on a baking dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper and drizzle alittle olive oil on top. Fill the insides with the quinoa/turkey mixture. Sprinkle alittle shredded Parmesan cheese on top.
6- Bake for 30 minutes, making sure the cheese is melted and alittle browned. Serve immediately.

Roasted Chicken with Quinoa Stuffing

Dear Readers,

Below is a simple and healthy recipe for roasted chicken with quinoa stuffing. Instead of using processed, white flour bread that is used for traditional stuffing mix try something completely different. Quinoa is going to be the substitute for traditional stuffing. It's high in protein, fiber, will not raise your blood sugar, and its healthy.

**The quinoa I am using came from the company Quinoa Corportation. Please go to their website to view all of their products**

Also, I am only going to bring out the flavor of the chicken by adding fresh herbs, alittle salt and pepper, and very little olive oil to help it brown. You do not need to add butter. Trust me you will like the flavor of the chicken without adding saturated fats.

Keep in mind the flavor of my chicken is really going to come from its own natural taste. I bought an organic chicken, range free, no antibiotics at Whole Foods. You will spend alittle more but you will get the natural flavor that we are supposed to be tasting.

Preparation for Quinoa Stuffing:

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups plus 1 Tbsp chicken broth plus
1/2 cup raisins (organic, no sugar added)
1 cup water
1 cup butternut squash (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 of a yellow onion (diced)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1- Pour the raisins and water in a bowl. Let the raisins plump up. It takes about 30 minutes.
2- In a pot pour the quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. When the quinoa is cooked pour it into a bowl and put it into the refrigerator to cool. Usually about 10 minutes.
3- In a saucepan pour the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook on medium for 3 minutes and then add the butternut squash. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the 1 tbsp of chicken broth. Cook for another 5 minutes and then turn the burner off.
4- Drain the raisins.
5- Pour the raisins and butternut squash mixture into the chilled quinoa. Mix and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.


Preparation for Chicken:

Ingredients:

4.5 lb organic, free range chicken
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1.5 tsp djion mustard
2 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped)
2 tsp fresh sage (chopped)
2 tsp fresh thyme (chopped)
2 tsp extra virigin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:


1-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2- Clean the chicken under cold water and pat dry. Open the cavity of the chicken and put in the quinoa stuffing. If you have left over stuffing save it for another time. Carefully place the stuffed chicken in a roasting pan breast side up.
3- In a bowl add the mustard, garlic, fresh herbs, and olive oil. Mix together to create a paste. You will spoon this paste all over the top of the chicken. Additionally, sprinkle the top of the chicken with salt and pepper.
4-Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours. (After the first hour if the chicken is browning on the top cover it with tin foil. The chicken must reach 180 degrees when it is fully cooked. Take the chicken out of the oven let it rest for 10 minutes before you serve the meat.

Since this is a stuffed chicken remember this guide:

Chicken Roasting times (stuffed)
2½ - 3 lbs - 1.5 to 2 hrs
3½ - 4 lbs - 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hrs
4½ - 5 lbs - 2 to 2.5 hrs
5 - 6 lbs - 2 1/4 hrs to 2 3/4 hrs



The chicken comes out very tender and moist. Since the quinoa was stuffed inside the chicken you get the additional chicken flavor when you eat the grain. I serve the chicken and quinoa with vegetables.

Information on Quinoa

Dear Readers,

According to the Quinoa corporation, this grain is :Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2 percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat. Some varieties of quinoa are more than 20 percent protein.

The company furthers suggests that quinoa's protein is of an unusually high quality. It is a complete protein, with an essential amino acid balance close to the ideal ... similar to milk! Quinoa's protein is high in lysine, methionine and cystine. This makes it an excellent food to combine with, and boost the protein value of, other grains (which are low in lysine), or soy (which is low in methionine and cystine).

For more information about this grain please visit: quinoacorp@quinoa.net

Main Highlights:

1- Quinoa is a complete protein a vegeterian's dream
2- Quinoa is iron rich
3- Quinoa is very low on the glycemic index (35) a diabetics dream
4- Quinoa is a great source of fiber