Red Curry Quinoa

This is by far one of my favorite recipes of all time. It's delicious, healthy, simple and it's great as an on-the-go power lunch since the quinoa has twice the protein of any other grain. The mango and cilantro really balance out the spice well.

Red Curry Quinoa

Ingredients

(For pre-cook of quinoa)

1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

(For stir fry)

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp ginger, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 carrot, sliced thinly

20 snowpeas, halved on the bias

¼ - ½ tsp crushed red pepper

few dashes of sea salt

(To mix in fresh)

1 ripe mango, diced

2 stalks green onion, diced (white and green parts)

handful of cilantro, chopped (I use liberally)

½ cup cashews, chopped

Directions

1.     Add water, stock and curry paste to medium saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure curry paste has dissolved. Add quinoa to pan, stir briefly and cover the pan. Bring down to a simmer and cook quinoa for 15 minutes or until all water has evaporated.  You should see the little mini rings that sprout from the grain. Remove quinoa from pan and place in large bowl/plate to air dry and cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

2.     Add oil, garlic, ginger, shallot, red pepper and salt to large pan/pot and turn to medium high heat. Sautee together for 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients from the stir-fry list to hot pan and quick fry for a few minutes, until carrots are just cooked but still a little crispy.

3.     Add quinoa and fresh-mix ingredients to pan with carrot mixture. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Cover and remove pan from heat. After a few minutes the quinoa will be ready to serve.

Beef & Butternut Heaven

I made this for dinner tonight, and it took 1 hour - INCLUDING a trip to the grocery store.  It is amazingly fast and delicious if you like Moroccan food.  I highly recommend it!  And as you'll notice as we continue this blog...you can't go wrong with cilantro.  This recipe doesn't require any fancy kitchen equipment, but you can also use an actual tagine or dutch oven to cook this.  I left out the couscous to cut back on the carbs, but it was still so great.  The recipe is from the January/February 2011 edition of Cooking Light magazine.

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 lb of beef roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
4 shallots, quartered
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 lb)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
1.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; toss beef to coat.
2.  Heat oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat.  Add beef & shallots; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.
3.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
4.  Stir in broth & tomatoes; bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes.
5.  Add squash; cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender.

Serve in shallow bowls; top with cilantro and green onion.

Optional serving suggestion:  Mix 3/4 cup of low-sodium chicken broth and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil in a saucepan.  Add 1 cup uncooked couscous; remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.  Fluff couscous with a fork and serve with beef tagine.



I'm just a Cheese Ball

An easy DenKag family classic - The Cheese Ball

Since I like to watch what I eat, this recipe is a twist on the old classic from my mother.  It's as fat-free as I could make it!

Ingredients:

8 oz fat-free cream cheese

4 oz reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles

1 cup fat-free cheddar, shredded (about 4 oz)

1/4 cup minced onion

1 tbsp worcestershire

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Soften ingredients and beat with a mixer until well-blended and smooth.  Pour onto plastic wrap and form into a ball.  Chill this in the fridge until it firms just a bit. Roll the ball in the chopped pecans until it's fully covered; re-wrap and re-form into ball.  Serve straight from the fridge with crackers.

*Note:  If the entire cheese ball is not eaten at once, re-form in the plastic wrap and cover any bare spots with more pecans.

Penne with Butternut Squash and Sage

I was really craving butternut squash and sage the other night and wanted to incorporate those flavors into one well-balanced entree for the sake of quick convenience so of course Martha never lets me down. I saw this recipe on her website and modified it slightly, adding mushrooms because I thought it really deserved mushrooms and a few tablespoons of low fat butter to coat the pasta a bit better. The result: epic tastebud euphoria!! ...or something like that. Anyways, I thought it was really good and perfect for winter. So here ya go!

Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash, Pancetta, and Sage

Ingredients

1 medium (about 2 1/4 pounds) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs butter/ margarine

Coarse salt

3/4 pound penne pasta

3 ounces pancetta, sliced 1/4 inch thick and finely chopped

2 shallots, thinly sliced crosswise

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

10 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped or torn

1/2 cup finely grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; season with salt. Transfer to oven and roast until squash is browned and tender, about 15 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt water and return to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Set pasta and reserved cooking liquid aside.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add pancetta and cook until just crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Add shallots, crushed red pepper, mushrooms, sage and butter. Cook until shallots are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add penne and squash and toss gently, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid as necessary to moisten.

Add cheese and black pepper and cook, tossing gently, until pasta and squash are heated through. Serve immediately with more grated cheese, if desired.

From The Martha Stewart Show, November 2008

Chicken Tortilla Soup

We're doing it! This is the first official post of K&L's recipe-sharing blog. We're always exchanging our favorite recipes across the miles so what better than to create an official archive. Maybe one day when we're old and gray we can even make this into a book...? Awwww, Cinnamon and Gravy! 

This first recipe is one that my Mom sent me the other day. Now that they are back in Kazakhstan she was wistful about good ole fashioned Tejas cooking so she made tortilla soup, an old fav and a great comfort food for those chilly winter days. Thought it was an appropriate start to our little collection. Bon Appetit y'all!

Taste of Home Chicken Tortilla Soup

(sent from Mom, she can even make it in Kazakhstan!)

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked, shredded chicken

1 (15 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce (optional)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers (or fresh)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 (14.5) oz can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (10 oz) package frozen corn (or canned, drained)

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

2-3 dashes of Tabasco

2-3 dashes of chili flakes

Soup Directions:

Place all the ingredients above in a large pot and put on the stove and cook on a medium heat for about 2-3 hours (stirring often).

Topping:

7 corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

Grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 deg F, lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil.

Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in oven until crisp, 10-15 minutes.  Salt while hot. To serve sprinkle tortillas over soup.

Garnish with grated cheese.