Quinoa Tabbouleh

Another gluten free dinner!!! I am liking these healthy, yet tasty dishes, and so is my scale! I grilled chicken again (well, we did have beef Monday & Tuesday nights so I needed to get us back on track) and served it with this wonderful side dish, as well as a green salad with my homemade ranch dressing.

Click here for the link to the recipe at myrecipes.com
QUINOA TABBOULEH

Below are the pictures I took while making the recipe.

Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Stir in tomato and remaining ingredients.

Cover; let stand 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Lemon Quinoa

I found this dish while on my healthier eating quest. It really has great flavor and you don't miss rice or potatoes when you eat quinoa! Click on the heading below for the link to the recipe from allrecipes.com.

Lemony Quinoa from AllRecipes.com


Toast the pine nuts briefly in a dry skillet over medium heat.

This will take about 5 minutes, and stir constantly as they will burn easily. Set aside to cool. In a saucepan, combine the quinoa, water and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly, then fluff with a fork. Transfer the quinoa to a serving bowl and stir in the pine nuts, lemon juice, celery, onion, cayenne pepper, cumin and parsley.

Adjust salt and pepper if needed before serving.

This was SO good!!! I was very happy with how it turned out and even hubby would eat it over and over again. 2 forks up!!

BEEF STROGANOFF

This dish is probably in my list of top 5 all-time favorite dishes. I'm pretty sure the LOADS of butter I use may play a small part in that rating ;).

Beef Stroganoff
Butter and/or olive oil for frying
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced thin
1 (20-oz) sirloin steak, cut into 1” strips
1/2 flour, for dredging
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 garlic powder
½ cup red wine, plus more for deglazing pan
16 oz beef consomme, or beef stock
1 pint sour cream
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Egg noodles or rice as an accompaniment
Parsley, for garnish (optional)

In a hot sauté pan melt butter and sauté the mushrooms first and then add the onions. The mushrooms take a little longer. Season the flour with salt, pepper and garlic powder and dredge the meat in the flour. In another sauté pan or skillet, melt butter and brown strips of sirloin that have been dredged in flour, and set aside. When the onions, mushrooms and meat are done, deglaze both of the pans with a little red wine and combine all ingredients into one pan. Add 2 cups beef stock, wine, ½ of the pint of sour cream, and the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. During the cooking the sour cream will separate and some of the butterfat will become visible. This is normal, just stir the pot. Just before serving add the balance of the sour cream, stir to combine. Serve over noodles or brown rice and garnish with parsley.
Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
This recipe was found on FoodNetwork.com. I made a few changes to it. It had been submitted by one of their viewers.

Chicken Piccata

For tonight's dinner I made Chicken Piccata. YUMMY!! I think I love Chicken Piccata because of the capers. I like capers...no, wait, I LOVE capers. I have a love affair with capers. I can't get enough capers. I love their salty goodness when they pop in my mouth. They add such a great flavor to so many dishes. I truly feel this little flower bud is under-utilized in cooking.

Chicken Piccata
8 boneless chicken breasts halves
6 TBSP butter, room temperature
2 TBSP all-purpose flour, plus additional flour for dredging
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup drained capers
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley


Mix 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP flour in small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Lightly pound chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap to ¼” thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place additional flour in shallow baking dish. Dredge chicken in flour to coat; shake off excess. Heat 1 TBSP oil in large heavy skillet. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Cook remaining chicken breasts, two or three at a time. Bring wine, lemon juice and broth to boil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in capers, parsley and remaining 4 TBSP butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.