Beef and Quinoa Stoop

Stoop:

not quite thick enough to be a stew,

not quite thin enough to be a soup.

I currently have bronchitis 

and really just want a big bowl of

soothing/comfort/warm

What better then this protein packed

STOOP!

you will need:

stewing beef (I bought 2 packs, around $8 worth)

3 stalks celery thin sliced

 1/4 bag of matchstick carrots (just easier and fast when your sick)

1 small sweet potato diced (approx same amount as celery)

1 small turnip diced

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 containers of beef broth (1.5L)

1/4 cup dried quinoa

frozen peas (if you like)

a large glug of red wine from your fridge (HA!)

s&p

roll and tie together with cotton string:

3 sprigs parsley (stole some from my bunny Flopsie. Shes cool)

4 sprigs fresh thyme

3 bay leaves (dried)

how to:

In a large pot

add some olive oil or red palm oil

add onion, cook for a min or 2 on med high heat

then add beef, it should make quite a sizzling sound

you want that, trust me

dont touch it at first, let it sear 

thats flavor my friends!

add s&p

cook beef for approx 5 min

then add all veggies except carrots(if using matchstick, dont want them mushy)

cook veggies with beef for approx 4-5 min

then add quinoa

stir quick so quinoa is mixed around with beef and veg

then add broth

wine

garlic

and your bunch of herbs

stir

bring to a boil

then simmer for 17 min 

or 

until quinoa is done and veggies are cooked thru

last 2 min add frozen peas

enjoy!

Bacon wrapped Turkey meatloaf with more bacon

Yes.

MORE bacon

You read right

Ahhh bacon...you can never get enough!

Turkey meatloaf is something I make often

Why?

ground turkey is super cheap

and who doesn't love meatloaf?

this is jazzed up meatloaf ladies and gents!!

preheat oven at 350

take 6 strips of bacon and line a loaf pan with the edges slightly overlapping.

in a large bowl I add

1 heaping tablespoon of PC Black Label bacon marmalade 

1 1/2 (eyeballed) yellow mustard

1/4 cup pasta sauce

1 egg

fresh ground pepper

salt

2 tablespoons of epicures meatloaf seasoning

1 teaspoon of epicures poultry seasoning

mix til combined

add 2 trays of ground turkey

get your hands in there and mix it well

add to loaf pan, then gently fold over remaining bacon edges

bake for 40 min

then top with a mixture of 

yellow mustard (1/2 teaspoon), bacon marmalade (1 teaspoon) and pasta sauce (3-4 tablespoons)

(mix together well)

and bake for another 20 min 

let rest

better even the next day.. on a sammie!!

enjoy!

Quinoa Mac & Cheese (gluten and dairy free!)

This is the perfect dish for this 

"late spring blizzard" weather 

the forecast was calling for...

"late spring blizzard"...

what does that even mean!?!!

haha

I got this recipe from 

Gluten Free Vegan Comfort Food

I have made it with rice noodles and it was just as yum!

I thought I would try it with quinoa and see what happens

I also added franks red hot thick

my new obsession

preheat oven to 350

now, because this is a sauce that thickens very fast

best to have everything ready to go

measure out separately:

2 cups of milk (i used So Delicious coconut milk, however, use what you want, as long as its not chocolate or vanilla! or use reg milk..)

1 tablespoon arrowroot flour/powder (instead of reg flour. its a gluten free thickener!)

3 cups of dairy free cheese (I use Daiya, I prefer the motz over the cheddar. dont worry about measuring it, 1 bag is enough... or use regular cheese..I'm not the dairy police, I just cant have it!!)

start your quinoa

bring 2 1/2 cups salted water to boil

rinse 1 1/2 cups quinoa thru a strainer

add to boiling water, bring back to a boil

turn down to med low, time for 10 min

then add 1 cup of broccoli florets

I cut them quite small including the stems

cover and let stand for 5-8 min

or until ALL water is absorbed

chop a small shallot or onion

add to a hot large fry pan with olive oil

cook for 3 min on medium heat

get your whisk ready!!

add arrowroot powder

and wisk around with onions and oil

as soon as it disappears add 1 CUP coconut milk

continue whisking until it starts to thicken (be patient, takes maybe 1-2 min)

then immediately add the rest of the coconut milk

continue whisking til mixed up

then eyeball 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (i like grainy kind)

and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin (optional, but REALLY tastes GREAT!!)

mix and continue to cook for 2-3 min

turn heat to low

add Daiya

whisk whisk whisk until it all melts (i dunno, like 5 min maybe?)

then I added about 1 tablespoon of Franks here

as well as 1/2 cup frozen peas

add quinoa broccoli mix to cheese mix

stir to combine (spatula!)

then pour into a greased (olive oil on paper towel) baking dish

top with bread crumbs and bake for 30 min

leftovers (if you can stop yourself) store nicely

airtight container for 3 days in fridge.

doesnt freeze well.. learned that lesson

enjoy!!