Risotto made with Quinoa!!!

Today was a very different meal from anything else I have ever made but I recently made Quinoa cakes and they were amazing so I wanted to try another Quinoa recipe.  We tend to have seafood once a week so this was going to be our seafood meal.  It is a fairly time consuming meal to make and there is always something to do while one thing is cooking but I had a blast making it and it is well worth the effort!  Quinoa is one of the newest "superfoods" out there so I have tried to play around with it some since I love the taste!  It is definitely not for everyone but I would always say try everything once!  This recipe is from Closet Cooking and instead of using whole artichoke I used whole canned artichoke to make my life easier.  Just make sure to drain all of the water out and you don't have to saute them separate from the garlic since they are already softer from being in water.

Baby Artichoke Heart Quinoa Risotto with Shrimp and Meyer Lemon Pesto

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 pound shrimp (shelled and deviened)
1/2 cup white wine
1 batch quinoa risotto (see below)
1 batch meyer lemon pesto (see below)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the shrimp and saute until cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side and set aside.
3. Add the white wine, deglaze the pan and mix the wine into the risotto.
4. Serve the risotto with shrimp and meyer lemon pesto.

Baby Artichoke Heart Quinoa Risotto

Ingredients:
8 baby artichoke hearts (stems trimmed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Peel the leaves from the artichokes until you get to the paler tender inner leaves. Cut the top third off and discard and cut the artichoke in half. (Tip coat the artichoke hearts in lemon juice to prevent discolouration.)
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the artichoke hearts and saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add the quinoa and stir to coat with the oil.
7. Add the wine, deglaze the pan and stir while simmering until it is gone.
8. Add 1/2 cup of the stock at a time and stir while simmering until it is gone. Continue until the quinoa is tender.
9. Add the parmigiano reggiano and butter and stir to help it melt in.

Meyer Lemon Pesto

Ingredients:
1 meyer lemon (cut into pieces and seeded)
1/2 cup basil (packed)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place everything into a food processor and blend.

Even looks pretty on a plate!

Hope you enjoy!!!

A Twist on Chicken Parm...

Last night was quite an amazing dinner.  It's always easy to get use to making the same thing over and over again and Joe and I always love Chicken Parm.  That being said,  I found a recipe on Cuisine Paradise that had a slight twist to it and it included avocados!  Since that is one of my new obsessions I knew we had to try it and it was amazing!  It is very healthy because you never even have to fry anything but the baked chicken turned out surprisingly crispy!  Enjoy :)

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breast Fillets, halved lengthways
1/2 Cup Plain Flour
2 Tablespoons Fresh Milk
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Dried Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil/Cooking Spray
1/2 Cup Tomato Pasta Sauce
2 avocados, Sliced
1/2 Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
Salad Green, to serve

Directions:
1. Place chicken breast in a clear plastic bag(alternatively between 2 sheets plastic wrap), using a rolling pin or meat mallet pound until 0.5cm thick.
2. Place flour and breadcrumbs on two separate plate and lightly whisk milk and egg together in a shallow bowl.
3. Coat 1 piece of chicken breast in flour(shaking off excess), dip in egg mixture then coat in breadcrumbs using your fingertips pressing on to secure.
4. Place on prepared baking tray lay with foil or baking paper, repeat the same process with the remaining chicken breast with flour, egg and etc.
5. Lightly spray or brush the prepared chicken with oil, bake for 8 minutes(turning after 4 minutes to have evenly colours on the breadcrumbs) in preheated 200 degree Celsius(392°Fahrenheit) fan-forced oven.
6. Remove from oven and spread each chicken breast with 1 heaped tablespoon of pasta sauce. Arrange avocado slices over sauce and sprinkle with decent amount of mozzarella cheese.
7. Return to oven and bake for another 5 - 7 minutes or until golden and chicken is cooked through.
8. Serve with either garden salad or use it as a main topping on cooked pasta.

Avocado Chicken Parm

We ate it with a side salad and it was absolutely amazing!  Hope ya'll enjoy as much as we did!

 

Quick and Easy Summer Meal

Last night I had to wait on the groceries to arrive before I could start cooking dinner.  Due to that, I wanted to make sure that I cooked a quick and easy meal so that I was not starving!  I had never tried this before but it was another pinterest idea so I knew it had to be good!  Below is what we did-

Ingredients:
3 Italian Sausages
1 Zucchini
2 Red Peppers
2 Yellow Peppers
1/2 Onion

Directions:

Dice up all of the above ingredients.  Seal in an aluminum foil pouch and grill (about 15 minutes) until sausage is done.  Enjoy! How easy and quick is that!!!!