Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 ½ cup water
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 pint sliced mushrooms
• ½ sweet onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 bag frozen veggies (I like the Asian Medley)*
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• parsley

• ¼ cup shredded mozzarella
• 4 large peppers (any color), cut in half, seeds and insides removed
• 2 cups marinara sauce

*All of these veggies are optional. I add whatever I have on hand that seems like it would go well in quinoa and can steam in a pot for about 30 minutes.

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain the quinoa.
2. Put the quinoa, 1 ½ cups water, veggies (fresh and frozen), seasoning and olive oil in a pot. I used a 4 quart pot. I add the salt, pepper and parsley to taste. Mix all of these ingredients together.
3. Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium.
4. Cover and cook at medium for about 30 minutes, until done.
5. Add the shredded mozzarella to the cooked quinoa/veggie filling and mix together.
6. Stuff the peppers with the quinoa/veggie/cheese mixture. I slice the peppers in half for ease of grilling, i.e. 4 peppers give me 8 stuffed halves.
7. Top each pepper with 1-2 tablespoons of marinara sauce.
8. Grill on low for 20 minutes. These can also be baked in an oven set at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

The Best Pasta Salad

The name says it all. This is light and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of small shell pasta
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 pints of grape tomatoes (I like to mix red and yellow)
• 3/4 cup of pitted black olives
• 3 tablespoons of fresh chives
• 1 handful of fresh basil
• 1/2 cucumber
• white wine vinegar (about 5 tablespoons)
• extra virgin olive oil (about 8 tablespoons)
• sea salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)

 Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions (al dente).
2. Chop all other ingredients into pieces about the size of the cooked pasta shells (this is time consuming). 
3. Mix together the cooked pasta, veggies and herbs. 
4. Toss with the olive oil, vinegar,  salt and pepper.

Sweet and Savory...

This is my recipe for sweet and savory roasted nuts. I use a mix of whatever I have on hand (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and almonds this time.) The rosemary, olive oil and cayenne pepper add the savory. Obviously, the sweet comes from brown sugar and honey. Like almost everything in life, these go well with beer.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 1/2 cup honey 
• 1/2 stick butter 
• 1/4 cup water 
• cayenne pepper (to taste for desired spiciness)
• salt (to taste) 
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350degree Fahrenheit. 
2. Melt the butter, water, and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. 
3. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat. Leave the pot on the stove and add in the remaining ingredients, whisking briskly to combine. 
4. Pour the mixture over your nuts (haha!) and stir to coat them evenly. 
5. Bake the nuts for 15-20 minutes, tossing occasionally. 
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 
7. Stir the nuts to break them up. 
8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Breakfast Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
•  1/2 cup white flour 
• 2/3 cup sugar 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 cup oats (I prefer Irish steel cut oats) 
• 3-4 over-ripe mashed bananas 
• 1/3 cup milk 1/2 tablespoon vinegar 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts or Pumpkin seeds (I use whatever I have on hand. Pumpkin seeds, walnuts and pecans all go well with this.) 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F and line 18-4 muffin tins with liners (or spray them with non-stick cooking spray)
2. Mix the milk and vinegar in a bowl.
3. Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
4. Mix the mashed bananas, oil, vanilla, and eggs into the milk/vinegar bowl. 
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently.
6. Add the nuts or seeds. 
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. Pop them out of the muffin tins and cool. 

*I don't like to store these in a sealed container as they get kind of mushy. I find that keeping them on a plate in the microwave works best.

Jason's Favorite Chicken

Jason’s Favorite Chicken Recipe 

Ingredients:
•4 chicken leg quarters
•salt
•pepper
•paprika (just a dash)
•basil (a big bunch, roughly chopped)
•1 bulb of garlic, broken into smashed cloves
•1 onion, quartered
•2 pints of grape tomatoes (red or yellow)
•olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)
•3-4 potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into chunks

Optional Ingredients:
•2-3 dried chilies de arbol
•1 14oz can of cannellini beans (I’ve never tried this part)

 Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350.
2.Roughly chop the onion, potatoes, and basil. Smash the garlic and remove the skins. Leave the tomatoes whole.
3.Remove the chicken skin, if you prefer. I leave it on as I think it adds great flavor.
4.Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. I don’t measure the olive oil, salt, pepper or paprika-add these to taste. I pour over enough oils to coat the veggies and chicken.
5.Dump everything into a snug fitting pan with the chicken on top.
6.Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours. The chicken skin should be crisp and the meat will fall off the bone.

*You can leave out the beans and potatoes and toss this dish with pasta or serve with mashed potatoes.