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Greek Quinoa Salad

Today I wanted to share my Greek Quinoa Salad recipe with you guys! A few of you expressed interest in it yesterday, so here you go! This salad is delicious!!! Now, I am the first to tell you that I was a skeptic of quinoa for the longest time. I had it once or twice, and it just wasn’t any good. Well, it wasn’t prepared in a good way apparently! I have had it a few times since, and all have been wonderful experiences! If you have mixed feelings about it, give something like this recipe a try!

What You Need:

1 cup quinoa

1 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 cucumber – I diced this up with the skin on, but left out the seedy part

8-10 grape tomatoes, halved

1 container of feta cheese (4 ounces)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 small red onion, diced (about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup)

1 small container of sliced black olives, rinsed

For the “dressing”

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp dill

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

What You Do:

–Boil veggie broth and quinoa on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, stir and cover with lid and let simmer

–Once the liquid is evaporated, let the quinoa sit for about 5-10 minutes to cool a little

–In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the dressing and mix

–In a large bowl, combine quinoa, veggies and then mix in the dressing

–Refrigerate until ready to serve

I keep this in the refrigerator all week for my lunches, but it would make a great side dish! Especially in the summer since you serve it cooled.

It sure is beautiful with all the colors, isn’t it?

What have you been cooking lately? Do you have a quinoa salad recipe?

June 2, 2015 by Nadine

Ma, The Meatloaf!!!

Today I want to share with you a very basic recipe that hits the comfort food craving! Meatloaf!!!

Sorry, but it is impossible to talk about meatloaf without referencing Wedding Crashers! I have probably seen that movie fifty times.

I like to serve my meatloaf with homemade mashed potatoes and green beans!

What You Need:

1 lb of ground beef (I use extra lean)

1 egg

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

breadcrumbs – about 3/4 cup maybe more (I use Panko Whole Wheat)

Ketchup – about 1/2 cup, maybe more, plus some to put on top

1 tsp Nature’s Seasoning

What You Do:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Add everything in a large bowl and mix with your hands until combined. Now, I don’t exactly measure anything…I sort of feel it out. If it feels too moist, I add some breadcrumbs. If it feels too dry, I add more ketchup. It is really hard to screw up meatloaf so just toss and mix!

-Spray a pan or roaster with olive oil spray and then form your mixture into a loaf. I ended up making two smaller loaves so that it would cook faster/evenly.

-Squirt some ketchup on top of those loaves, be generous!

-Cover and cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

Enjoy!!!

What is your favorite comfort food? What is one of your favorite movies to quote? I have quite a few and can probably have an entire conversation consisting of nothing but movie quotes!

April 7, 2015 by Nadine

currently, recipe

Currently…

I did a currently post a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed writing it and thought maybe it needs to be a more regular thing!

Listening – I am still really enjoying the Totally Married Podcast. I will start episode 13 today on my way to work, so to say I have been binging would be correct! I also listen to Call Your Girlfriend and Birmingham Life when they have new ones as well.

Reading – I am in the home stretch with the last book of the Stephanie Plum series. I talked about it a little on Tuesday if you are curious. I read an US weekly last night while cooking dinner and I have a Self and Shape to catch up on too!

Watching – We watched Pretty Little Liars and The Mindy Project last night after work. Once again, we learned nothing in PLL and I fell asleep half way through The Mindy Project because I was just so tired and wiped out! Chris did too, so I am hoping we can revisit it later.

Drinking – I have had a peanut butter protein smoothie every day for breakfast the last three weeks. They manage to keep me fuller for longer over any other breakfast for me.

Wishing – I could wear flip flops today!

Needing – Clothes!!! I feel like I have no transitional pieces in my closet. It has been pretty warm this week and I have been hot in my office every day in my winter clothes.

Loving – This quote!

Excited – Saturday is going to be so busy, but a lot of fun! We are going to Eat Drink Birmingham in the afternoon. The event features all you can eat food with beer pairings featuring local restaurants and breweries! They are discounting advanced tickets, so be sure to grab some if you are in the area!!!

Also, our friend Stephen, aka DJ Kontrol, is coming to town this weekend from Vegas to DJ at Skky on Saturday night!

We used to hang out with Stephen a lot when he lived in Atlanta and it is going to be great to see him! Which brings me to the question, what are the bitches wearing to the clubs these days? I haven’t stepped foot inside one in years…

March 12, 2015 by Nadine

recipe, Recipe Swap, Tasty Tuesday

Turkey Meatballs with Zoodles

I know….I know. You carb lovers are like STOP WITH THE ZOODLES! I promise this will be my last one for a little while. ~~Maybe.~~ Some of you have commented on my last two posts that you just aren’t sure if you would use the spiralizer enough. I think three Tuesdays in a row worth of recipes is proof that you really would! You can literally recreate any pasta dish using veggie noodles.

Either way, the meatballs turned out fabulous and could be paired with regular noodles or served as a side with something else. Or heck, if you are getting crazy…make a meatball sub.

Be sure to check out the special deal at the end!

What You Need:

For the meatballs…

1 lb ground turkey

2 tbsp panko crumbs

1/2 diced onion

2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp minced garlic

1 egg

2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Italian seasoning (most of this, probably around 2 tbsp)

sage (to taste)

basil (to taste)

oregano (to taste)

Other items needed…

1 and 1/2 jars of Red Sauce – I use organic tomato basil from Bertolli, you can even make your own.

4-5 zucchinis for the zoodles

olive oil

What You Do:

1. In a pan with olive oil, cook the onions for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and seasonings and heat for an additional 2 minutes.

2. While the onion is cooking, combine turkey, panko crumbs, egg, and Parmesan cheese. Also, spiralize the zucchini into noodles.

3. Combine onion mix with meat mix and form meatballs.

4. Add olive oil to the onion pan, heat over medium heat and add the meatballs. Cook until browned on each side.

5. Transfer the meatballs into a sauce pan and add tomato sauce, heat on medium-low.

6. Heat olive oil in a large pan and cook zucchini noodles, about 7-9 minutes for a pasta like texture, less if you want them crunchier.

Spoon sauce and meatballs over each place of zoodles, sprinkle with cheese if desired and enjoy!

In other news, my friend Joey has her book on sale for $1.99 this week! Be sure to scoop it up, I sure did and can’t wait to read it!

For quiet, reserved, and focused 15 year old Annie Mackey, school was a sanctuary. But when her bubbly and beautiful neighborhood best friend joins her at Willow Point High for freshmen year, her world is turned upside down.

Everything Annie could count on for stability is shattered, and she’s left feeling more alone than ever before.

Just when she’s about to lose all hope, someone unexpected swoops in and gives her a much needed lesson in perspective.

The book is available on amazon here: http://amzn.to/1DiZ2nV

February 24, 2015 by Nadine

recipe, Recipe Swap, Tasty Tuesday

Sweet Potato Noodles with Sage

Some people have told me that they just can’t get on board with zoodles. I get that. Perhaps zucchini does not appeal to you. Enter Sweet Potato Noodles. You guys, I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious this dish is!!! This is such a simple recipe with just a few ingredients that delivers a lot of flavor!

What You Need

2 large sweet potatoes, spiralized

2 tbsp olive oil for sweet potatoes plus 1-2 tsp for sauce

1/2 to 3/4 of a bag of real bacon bits

2-3 tbsp of red onion, chopped fine

1/2 stick of real butter (I use unsalted to keep sodium down)

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tsp of sage

1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg

What You Do

–Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium high in a large skillet. Add sweet potatoes. Saute for 8-10 minutes. If they start to brown, turn the heat down to medium.

–Toss bacon bits in a small separate skillet and cook for 5 minutes until hot and crisp.

–In a small saucepan, heat 1 tsp of olive oil and cook red onions for 2 minutes. Add butter and stir continuously until melted and browned. About 3 minutes.

–Add sage, nutmeg, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses to butter mixture until cheese is melted.

–Add bacon to sweet potatoes and toss the sauce over it. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

Have you ever had sweet potato noodles? Have you made other veggie noodles with your spiralizer other than zucchini or sweet potato?

February 17, 2015 by Nadine

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