Greek Quinoa and Tilapia Bowl

 

1 Cup Quinoa
Tabouli
Baby Roma or Cherry Tomatoes, chopped
Tilapia (I use Panko breaded Tilapia from Costco)
Lime and Trader Joes's Greek Style Dressing to garnish

Cook Quinoa according to package directions. While Quinoa is cooking, bake Tilapia filets, could use non-breaded too. Place one cup of cooked Quinoa in a bowl or on a plate and add Tilapia filet, chopped tomatoes, a heaping spoonful of Tabouli (I just buy Trader Joe's but you can always make your own)and garnish with a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of Greek Style Dressing (not necessary but if you have some available it tastes very yum).

We added some crumbled feta the next time around and it was a great addition. Very easy meal and really, really yum!

Amaranth Coconut Custard

 

1 cup of cooked Amaranth
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup milk
5 T. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 t. vanilla

To cook Amaranth: 1 cup to 1 3/4 cup water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Can prepare ahead of time and refrigerate.

For custard:
In a 1-quart saucepan combine coconut milk and 1 cup milk. Scald mixture. In another saucepan combine flour, salt and sugar; slowly stir in milk mixture. Cook on medium heat until thick, never boiling. Add a little hot mixture to eggs and then stir in hot mixture. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and 1 cup of cooked Amaranth. Pour custard into ramekins or glasses and store in fridge. Serve cold. It is great plain or garnished with fresh fruit.

Salmon Cakes

I've tried several variations of salmon cakes, and I really love this one, especially with the simple sauce and served over salad. I did have to add another egg, but I drained the salmon really, really good..maybe too much? I used a different seasoning than Old Bay, but I stuck to the recipe everywhere else. These were delicious and very kid friendly.

Salmon Cakes


•Vegetable oil, for frying (or butter)
•3 (6-ounce) portions cooked salmon or 3 (6-ounce) cans salmon, drained well
•1 1/2 cups cracker meal
•2 large eggs, beaten
•2 rounded teaspoons Old Bay seasoning blend
•1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
•20 blades fresh chives, snipped or chopped
•2 to 3 tablespoons fresh dill, a handful, finely chopped
•1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce
•1 lemon, zested and juiced
•Salad greens
•Coarse salt
•Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
•1/2 cup mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
•1/2 cup chili sauce
•2 tablespoons dill pickle relish

Directions

Heat a large, heavy skillet with 1 inch of frying oil over moderate heat. ( I did not do this, instead just a simple pan fry with a drizzle of olive oil and a pat of butter. It was fine and plenty "fried")

Flake the cooked cooled salmon with a fork. Add cracker meal to the bowl and work through the fish with your hands. Add the eggs, seasoning, pepper, chives, dill, pepper sauce, and the zest of one lemon to the bowl. Combine the ingredients well with your hands. If the mixture is a little wet, add a bit more cracker meal. Form 3-inch patties of salmon cakes 1-inch thick. You should yield 8 to 10 cakes. Fry cakes until golden in a single layer 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel lined plate.

Toss salad greens with coarse salt and the juice of the lemon you zested. Drizzle the greens with a little extra-virgin olive oil and re-toss the salad to coat.

Combine mayonnaise, chili sauce and relish in a small dish. To serve, place salmon cakes on a bed of baby greens, 2 cakes per person and top with chili mayonnaise sauce.

cookies, cookies, cookies

I love cookies! And I am a total sucker for healthy cookie recipes. I collect them. I especially love the ones you can make in 5 minutes or less, have plenty of protein to balance the sweet making them an acceptable snack for kids, and of course, taste delicious and turn out moist. That's all I ask, really. It's not so much.

A month or so ago, my friend Trisha posted an Almond Butter Cookie recipe on her blog and I almost made it like three times. Can't remember what got in the way, but this weekend when Geoff and Darcie were here, Geoff made an almost identical cookie and they were awesome! They can be made with chocolate chips, but they were super delish without. I made my own almond meal by pulverizing almonds in the food processor, and substituted it for some of the flour, as Geoff indicates in his recipe. I included Trisha's recipe below. The only real difference is the egg, and I will try that one as eggs can only enhance, right?

p.s. we did try the cookies with a couple tablespoons of mini chocolate chips today and yeah, they were really tasty.

Geoff's Nut Butter Chocolate chip cookies
1/2 C Almond butter (or half-n-half peanut butter) <---yes, do this!
1/2 C Maple syrup
3 T olive oil
1 T vanilla
1 C flour (can substitute ~25% almond meal)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
chocolate chips or shavings - optional

Mix it up. 350. 8-10 min., you know the drill.
* just go ahead and double this thing, you'll be glad you did.

Trisha's Almond Butter Cookies
1/2 cup natural almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds (or more)

Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, combine natural almond butter, maple syrup, oil, egg and vanilla extract until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix together whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, along with chopped almonds, and stir until just combined. Let sit for five minutes. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, flatten to about 1/3 of an inch and place onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Makes 18 cookies.


350 for 8-10 min