Roasted Winter Veggies with Wild Rice

 This recipe is in the January 2015 Real Simple magazine. It immediately jumped out at me as something that appeared to be an easy weeknight meal. I was happy that it actually turned out as easy as it looked and, wow,  the flavors were awesome. It's a perfect winter meal, highlighting veggies that are in season and easy to find. We had a hard time finding plain wild rice without seasoning in our grocery store and ended up buying a rice blend (wild and red).  I think the finely chopped Manchego in the parsley sauce is what makes this so good, adds a nice bite and a little cheesy flavor without being heavy. I love the crunch from the almonds too. It reheated nicely for lunch the next day.  I tweaked a few things from the original and included directions I had to look up, like what types of winter veggies need to be peeled and which you can leave the skin on! 

Roasted Winter Vegetables over Wild Rice with Almond-Parsley Sauce

• 1 cup wild rice 
• 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into 1 inch thick wedges (yes, you can leave the skin on, I learned that you don't have to peel acorn squash)
• 2 turnips, quartered (you do need to peel turnips, just like you would a carrot or potato)
• 1 apple cut into wedges (about 6)
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges (6-8)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 cup fresh parsley (flat-leaf if you can find it) chopped
• 1/3 cup roasted (unsalted) almonds, chopped
• 2 ounces Manchego cheese, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (cut the lemon into wedges to use for serving later)

1. Heat oven to 450. While that preheats, cook the rice according to the package instructions. Our rice blend wanted us to put butter in the water as it boiled, we did a dash of olive oil instead and the texture was great. 
2. Toss the squash, turnips, apple and onion with a tablespoon of the oil and a little salt and lemon pepper. Put the veggies on a baking sheet.
3. Roast the veggies, turning once, until they brown and get tender. This takes about 20-25 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, combine the parsley, almonds, Manchego, lemon zest, a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon of each)
5. To serve, put down some rice in a bowl, top with the veggies (make sure to split up evenly) and top with some sauce. Squirt a lemon wedge on top. 

***Makes 4 servings

***This is a 3 on Bryce's dish scale. More than your average meal, but not bad. 

Cheesy, yummy baked Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

This is so very easy to make. If you are craving enchiladas and their cheesy goodness, this is a way to make it a little healthier. This is a perfect weeknight meal. A co-worker who has the same love for quinoa as I do shared this with me, she found it on someone else's blog. I don't have that original link, so thank you to whoever came up with this idea! I think the original recipe had some chopped cilantro mixed in, I accidentally left it out the first time, and didn't miss it, but you could try adding that if you wanted to. I also think the original had you adding some toppings after you baked like tomato and avocado. You could totally do that too, but honestly it's yummy just plain!
 

Baked Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 can mild red enchilada sauce
• 1 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1 can corn kernels
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Garlic salt and black pepper
• 3/4 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook quinoa by bringing quinoa and 1 3/4 cup water to boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook until all the water is gone, about 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly spray a baking dish with nonstick spray (I use Pam with Olive Oil)
3. In a big bowl combine your quinoa, enchilada sauce, chiles, corn, beans,  cumin, chili powder, garlic salt and pepper. 
4. Still in half a cup of the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. 
5. Spread the mixture in the baking dish and top with the remaining cheese 
6. Bake for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

*Makes 4-6 servings depending on how hungry you are. 

**It's a 2 on Bryce's Dish scale. 

Grilled Pork Chops and Cherry Tomatoes with Garlic-Thyme Butter

This is a classic meal in our house. We make it for guests all the time and it's one of my favorite things to grill. We found it in an old Real Simple magazine and have tweaked it a bit over time. The key is to use really good thick bone-in pork chops. I didn't even know I liked pork chops until we found this recipe. It's good with just a simple salad as a side or something lighter because the tomatoes on top act as a nice vegetable too. 

GRILLED PORKCHOPS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES & GARLIC-THYME BUTTER

• 5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (divided) 
• 4 1-inch-thick bone-in pork chops (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Garlic salt and lemon pepper seasoning 
• 2 pounds cherry tomatoes

1. In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, and 1 tablespoon thyme. Set aside.
2. Season the pork with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Just a little on each side. 
3. Put tomatoes in foil that you will make into foil pouch. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and one tablespoon thyme leaves. Close foil to make sealed pouch. 
4. Grill the pouch alongside the pork, gently shaking occasionally. 
5. Pork chops and tomatoes will take 15-20 minutes. 
6. When you pull the pork chops off the grill, top with about a tablespoon of the garlic-thyme butter and some cherry tomatoes. Add just a smidge more butter on top of the tomatoes.

**Serves 4

**On Bryces dish scale its a 1. Other than the cutting board and the bowl you make the butter in, it's done on the grill and is an easy clean up!

Delicious (and slightly intense) Chicken Tortilla Soup

I don't often post super intense and complicated recipes. This one has quite a few steps and takes a long time to make. However, the pay off is worth it. Plus, all the hard work is on the front end, then you get to let it simmer. This is absolutely the best chicken tortilla soup recipe I have ever found. I spent a lot of time searching for it. and loved that it has you make your own broth (kinda) and includes zucchini. The original comes from a post on food.com. This is pretty close to the original except I did find a few shortcuts and add and get rid of a few ingredients. It has just the right amount of kick. You can top it with whatever you want, but we love it with some avocado, a little cheese, pre-made tortilla strips and a squeeze of lime. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
• 8 cups (2 cartons) low sodium chicken broth
• 1 lb yellow onions, 3/4 of them peeled and quartered, 1/4 chopped 
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 10 sprigs cilantro (plus more for topping) 
• salt and pepper
• 2 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (you find this in a can in the Mexican food isle) 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

To top soup:

• More cilantro
• Shredded Cheese, I use Colby-jack or Mexican blend
• Avocado, chopped or sliced
• Tortilla strips ( you can usually find these in a bag in the salad or produce section, it's sold as a salad topper)
• Sour cream or greek yogurt (I don't actually use this, but a lot of people like it as a topping) 
• lime wedges

1. In large pot bring chicken, broth, 1/2 of quartered onions, 2 garlic cloves, cilantro and a little salt (about 1/2 teaspoon) to boil over medium-heat; reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 20 minutes.
2. Pull chicken out and set aside on plate.
3. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer, discard solids in strainer, and save broth.
4. Let chicken cool, then shred using a fork until it's bite size.
5. Puree tomatoes, remaining onions, remaining garlic cloves, chipotle chile, and 1 teaspoon adobe sauce in food processor until smooth. 
6. Heat oil in a dutch oven. 
7. Add puree and some more salt. Cook until it darkens, about 10 minutes. 
8. Stir in your broth, poblano pepper, zucchini, and chopped onions.
9. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes
10. Add chicken and simmer until heated again. 
11. Serve with whatever toppings you want!

**Makes about 6 servings, depending on how hungry you are.

**This is a 5 on Bryce's dish scale. We got 2 pots, cutting boards, and the blender or food processor used to puree is a pain to clean. So worth it though. 

Great use for whole-wheat penne: Pasta with Eggplant, Tomatoes &Mozzarella

 This is a great winter pasta, even though I realize the picture doesn't make it look quite as appetizing as I think it is. The mint adds a freshness and picks up some great flavors from the other veggies. This recipe comes from Real Simple. I stumbled upon it when I came home from the Farmer's Market with too much eggplant and wanted to do something different with it. It makes great leftovers and is pretty healthy. Penne is my favorite whole-wheat pasta so I made that change and a few other flavor changes from the original recipe.  I almost always add to the garlic a recipe calls for because I LOVE garlic. If you aren't a big garlic fan, you should probably reduce almost all my recipes by a clove. 

Whole-wheat Penne with Eggplant, Tomatoes & Mozzarella

• 1box whole-wheat penne
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces 
• 1/2 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces 
• 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. I add just a drop of olive oil to the water as it boils to keep the pasta from sticking together
2. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the eggplant, a little salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally until it softens and browns. About 8-10 minutes. 
3. Add the tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes and a little more salt and pepper. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, tossing it around until the tomatoes are soft.
4. Combine pasta and vegetables mixture in a big bowl. Add mozzarella and sprinkle with mint.  

***Makes 4 servings.

***On Bryce's dish scale it's a 3. Skillet, pot, bowl, cutting board. Not a huge mess, but plenty of dishes.