Triple Pepper Quinoa with Hot Honey Lime Dressing

Quinoa: Super food or just super delicious? I claim both. It is such a great substitute for pasta and most directly- cous cous. It has higher protein and more fiber. I love mixing it with black beans and salsa-- or just squeezing lemon on it with a little salt. This recipe is super easy and a great side dish with grilled chicken!

Salad
1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Water
1/2 tsp. Cayenne
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
2 Bell Peppers, (1 red, 1 yellow) diced
1 Green Spicy Pepper (Anaheim, Poblano) or use 3 Jalapenos, cut in half, deseeded
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt
Pepper

Dressing
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. Hot Sauce
Juice of 1 Lime
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. Honey

Preheat oven to 400. On a baking sheet, put the green peppers on foil, sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Roast for 10 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, mix the water, quinoa, cayenne, chili powder, cumin and a few dashes of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove cover and set aside.

Remove green pepper from oven. Once cool enough to handle, dice .

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, peppers and salt/pepper as desired.

To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients together. Pour over the quinoa salad.  You can always double the recipe and serve it over the grilled chicken! Hot and tangy!

 

As you can see we had grilled chicken, quinoa salad and roast broccoli (raw broccoli + a little olive oil + salt + crushed pepper+ 10 minutes at 400 degrees= awesome)

Enjoy!
-e

Cod with Apple Slaw + Spicy Sauce

All we had in the house tonight was cod and cabbage....fish tacos, right?? well, we didn't have tortillas so decided to go carb-less.  This is a fun light dish--- seriously parents out there, please do not give your kids fish sticks....sautéed cod is WAY better and then you can eat it too!!

Slaw
1/4 Green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
2 Carrots, shredded
1 Granny smith apple, thinly sliced
1 Jalapeno, diced
1 Garlic clove, diced
3/4 Lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Sugar

Sauce
1/4 C. Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Horseradish
1 Garlic clove, diced
1/4 Lemon, juiced
A little lemon zest
1 tsp. Capers

Fish
2 Cod Fillets- cut into strips
Sea Salt
Squeeze of lemon
Olive Oil

So, I made the slaw first. Mix all of the veggies together. In a small bowl, mix garlic, lemon, oil and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the slaw and mix. Salt and pepper.

Next, I made the sauce: Mix it all together and set aside.

Then the fish. We had a recently thawed fillet, so I used a paper towel to remove excess water. I then lightly salted the fish. I heated olive oil in a deep frying pan and added a little garlic. I squeezed a touch of lemon over the fish and placed it in the pan. It cooked in about 30 seconds on each side. It becomes immediately white, flaky and delicious.

Serve with the slaw, sauce, a sliced avocado and a little hot sauce!
Oh, and we had spicy margaritas to accompany.... perfect combo!
Enjoy, E

Thai Green Bean Salad with Shrimp

I love Thai food. I love the spice, the tang, the fresh flavors. This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite Thai dishes, Papaya Salad.

 

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (with seeds)
2 cups green beans
10 large cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 green onions, very thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, minced 
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped salted peanuts
1 lb. Gulf Shrimp (bigger and saltier-- worth the extra $3 bucks)
Olive Oil
Pepper

Mix the first four ingredients together and set aside (This is the dressing).
Boil the green beans in salted water until lightly cooked, approx. 5 minutes.
Drain the green beans and add the jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions and red onion. Mix and set aside.
Heat olive oil with garlic and add shrimp. Season with pepper and spritz of lemon juice. Cook until pink.
Add shrimp to green bean mixture. Top with dressing and peanuts. Stir and serve.

I made wild rice with shredded coconut to serve on the side.

WARNING: super spicy and awesome.
-e