Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Bowls

Here's a healthy recipe to start the new year.  The bonus is that it tastes pretty good too!

3 cups large-diced butternut squash

1 cup frozen spinach, defrosted (substitute fresh if you have that option)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 tsp cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tahini

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (may want to add a little more at the end)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons water

1 cup cooked quinoa

2-3 green onions, diced

Preheat oven to 400F.  Toss squash, 2 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper together then place on baking sheet. Roast until cooked through and slightly crispy (about 30 minutes).

Make the sauce by adding garlic, tahini, vinegar, olive oil and water and blending (with an immersion blender or food processor or just a whisk). Add salt and pepper. Add the sauce to the quinoa.

Heat spinach.

To assemble place quinoa in bowl, top with spinach, butternut squash, and green onions.

Healthy, quick, and pretty!

Baked Chicken with Eggplant, Zucchini, & Tomato Ragout

I  had to come up with something relatively quick for dinner last night because my daughter had ballet/tap class in the afternoon and I didn't have a lot of time for dinner.  This is what I came up with - baked chicken with eggplant, zucchini, & tomato ragout, quinoa, and mixed greens salad with tomatoes, avocado and goat cheese.

For the chicken dish, I first diced the (1) eggplant, (1/2)onion, (2 cloves) garlic, (2 small) zucchini, and (4) roma tomatoes.

Next, I seasoned 4 chicken breasts (cut in half) with salt and pepper.  I heated an oven safe pan over high heat and added enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Once the oil was hot, I added the chicken breasts and browned (5-6 minutes) each side.

I then removed the chicken, added the eggplant, a couple springs of rosemary and thyme, onion and a little more oil.  I lowered the heat a little and let that cook until the onions were translucent.  I then added the zucchini and half a cup of white wine.

Once the wine reduced by half, I added the tomatoes and some salt and pepper.  I then placed the chicken on top of the veggies and put the whole thing in the oven until the chicken was cooked through (about 15 minutes, but check the temp to make sure it's 160). I also poured myself a glass to drink while I finished preparing dinner.  (can't let it go to waste!)

Once the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

I also prepared quinoa and salad to go with dinner while the chicken and ragout was cooking.  Here is the finished plate - not bad for a quick weeknight meal.

Not your average burger and fries

For tonights dinner, I made greek burgers, tabouli salad and sweet potato fries.  My husband loves these burgers but it can be a little work to put them together.  Well, not the burgers themselves but the sauces.  The burgers are made of turkey, box of spinach, 1/4lb feta cheese and seasonings (oregano, salt and pepper, to taste).  The burgers come with two sauces.  The first is made up of two roasted red bell peppers, kalamata olives (about 15), and a hand full of fresh parsley leaves - blend it all up in a food processor until smooth, season with salt and pepper and then refrigerate. The other sauce is a cup of yogurt, a clove of garlic, half of a seedless (or English) cucumber, a teaspoon of oregano, salt and pepper blended in a
 food processor.  Ok, the sauces aren't complicated either but it is just annoying having to make one then wash the food processor bowl then make the other and then wash it again.  Whatever.

You can grill the burgers or make them in a sauté pan.  I usually prefer burgers grilled but these don't stay together that well, so I make them on the stove.  Once the burgers are done, slather the delicious sauces on each half of the bun, add the burger and then top a salad made up of arugula, tomato slices, red onion slices, cucumber slices and lemon juice and olive oil.  These burgers are worth the effort - really, really yummy!

I made homemade tabouli to go with the burgers and fries. The most time consuming part of this recipe is mincing the parsley.  Be smart  and use a chopper or something.  I insist on doing it by hand.  I'm crazy like that.  Doing it by hand takes a long, long time. I used quinoa (1 cup) instead of bulgur because I had it on hand.  I chopped up two large tomatoes, 1 1/2 cucumbers, 3 or 4 green onions, a cup of fresh minced parsley, 1/2 cup of fresh minced mint.  I mixed it all together and topped with 6 tablespoons each of lemon juice and oil mixed together.  Last step is to season with salt and pepper then refrigerate until chilled.

I totally cheated with the sweet potato fries.  I bought a bag and baked them in the oven.  Dinner is done!

Isn't that pretty?