Southwest Quinoa

This is a delicious Green Smoothie Girl recipe that I have adapted slightly and we love it. You can basically make it your own and add whatever you would like to the quinoa that you have on hand. It is super fast to throw together as well. Plus we could eat mexican food every day all day over here so it's a good way to get a super healthy food like quinoa into our diet while still incorporating our love for mexican food! This makes a LOT so for the two of us we usually half the recipe. This is definitely my husband's favorite quinoa recipe that I make, so if you are trying to introduce your family to quinoa, start with this one!

This is the full recipe and makes a large bowl. Also, cherry tomatoes aren't amazing in it but it was all we had when I took this pic. I recommend Roma or vine ripened tomatoes for sure.

2 cups quinoa

4 cups water

2 cans black beans (or 3-4 cups cooked black beans)

4 medium tomatoes

8 green onions, chopped

1 cup chopped cilantro

Dressing:

1 heaping Tbsp. lime zest

¼ cup fresh lime juice

4-6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. pepper

Rinse quinoa thoroughly and strain water out through a fine strainer. Cook the quinoa in water (we just use our rice cooker, it's so easy!) and add everything else when finished. Pour dressing over top and gently mix. Top with fresh salsa and guacamole if desired (in my opinion the salsa and guac are a must:) You can serve this hot or cold but don't reheat once it is all mixed together. Buen provecho!

Getting in your Greens: Spinach and Eggplant Rolls

This is probably my favorite homemade dinner that I have had in the past 3 months. I don't have a food processor so I just used my blender... I'm sure a food processor would make the prep time much quicker. This one is definitely worth a try!! Recipe found on mealeasy.com

Spinach and Eggplant Rolls

Servings: x4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (ya right - it took me like 45)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Other Time: 5 minutes

Cuisine Type: Italian

Ingredients:

· 2 cloves garlic (~2 tsp)

3 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted

· 2 cups spinach, baby, packed

· 1 cup basil, fresh, packed

· 1 cup cheese, ricotta, part skim milk

· 1/2 cup parsley, fresh italian / flat leaf

· 2 tbsp cheese, Parmesan, low sodium

· 2 eggplant, cut lenghtwise into 1/4" thick strips

· 1 tbsp olive oil

· 1 cup tomato sauce, no salt added

· 1/2 cup cheese, mozzarella, low sodium, grated

Instructions:

1. Prep

1. Place the garlic, sunflower seeds, spinach, basil, ricotta, parsley and Parmesan in a food processor and puree.

2. Set aside.

3. Preheat the broiler.

2. Cooking

1. Brush the eggplant slices with the olive oil.

2. Place on a baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes, flipping once after 5 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and set aside.

4. Set the oven to 400F.

5. Spread half of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9" X 13" baking dish.

6. Place about 2 tbsp of the spinach and ricotta mixture onto the short end of the broiled eggplant strips and roll up to form a cylinder.

7. Place the eggplant rolls, seam side down, on top of the tomato sauce in the baking dish.

8. Cover with remaining tomato sauce and mozzarella.

9. Bake until cheese melts and tomato sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes.

10. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.