Creamy Quinoa Primavera

 I had never had Quinoa before, but I hear that it's delicious and I finally found a decent price on it! It is a complete protein, so it's very filling!

Creamy Quinoa Primavera-Let's Dish
1.5 cups uncooked Quinoa
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 oz cream cheese
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups thinly sliced or bite size pieces of vegtables(I used thawed broccoli)
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
*milk

Rinse quinoa throughly and drain. Cook quinoa in broth according the the package directions. **I actually did use my pampered chef microwave rice cooker and it worked out wonderfully!

Melt butter in small sauce pan. Cook garlic in butter until golden, add in veggies and cook just until crisp tender. Stir in cream cheese, basil, and quinoa. Sprinkle with cheese. *I found it to be a bit dry, so I stirred in some milk until it was the way I wanted it to be.

**I did end up doubling this recipe, but used some brown rice as I didn't have enough quinoa. I was being quite brave to try something new on people, but it was a HIT!! Everyone raved about it and loved it! It was even tasty as leftovers! I can't wait to try another recipe with it!

Roasted Garlic Potato Salad

I'm not usually one for potato salad, I'm picky when it comes to it but I do eat my mom's! BUT this potato salad is my new favorite and can't wait to make it again and this time I'll make sure to make much more! No picture today, it wasn't photographing well!

Roasted Garlic Potato Salad-adapted from Apples to Zucchini
1 head of garlic
2/3 cup plain greek yogurt(I did use mostly yogurt and about 2 tbsp mayo)
2-4 tbsp parmesan cheese(I used shredded but you can use grated)
2-3 lbs potatoes, washed, chopped
1 tbsp dijon mustard(I used yellow)
3 shallots thinly sliced(omitted)
3 tbsp capers(omitted)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375
Place potatoes on large baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Cut top off garlic and lay on a piece of foil. Drizzle with a bit of oil and wrap it loosely. Place potatoes and garlic in oven and roast for 35 mins or until potatoes are done and crispy. Garlic is done when its soft and lightly browned. Allow to cool.

In a serving bowl mix together, yogurt, mayo, and mustard. Squeeze garlic out of skins and mash slightly into sauce. Toss in potatoes and cheese. Stir to coat.

**I love love loved this! I loved the tang of the yogurt and the sharp cheese. It's my new favorite! I also loved that the potatoes were roasted instead of boiled so it added much more texture to the dish!

Homemade Jo Jo Potatoes

I used to LOVE these when we would get them growing up! I still do if I can find them...not many places seem to sell them. But now I have this beauty of recipe that is pretty good!

Again, I might have a picture...still learning with the new camera! Otherwise check out Jenn's recipe for a beautiful picture!

Homemade Jo Jo Potatoes-Jenn's Food Journey
potatoes(I used 4-5 sm/med potatoes)
olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko crumbs
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a jelly roll pan warming inside.

Slice potatoes into wedges and place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap and steam in the microwave for 4-5 mins. In the meantime, mix together panko, cheese, and spices.Drizzle with 1-2 tsp olive oil and lightly stir in bowl for one min until they look starchy. Dredge potatoes in cheese mixture and press into the potatoes a bit to get it to stick. Set aside on another cookie sheet and repeat until all potatoes are coated. Allow to rest for 15 mins(which I did not, they rested for as long as I was dredging them!)

Pull cookie sheet out of the over and lightly coat pan with oil. Quickly place the potatoes on the pan and return to the over. Bake until crispy and golden brown.(The original recipe says 25-30 mins, mine were much thinner so they only took 10-15 mins)

**These were EXCELLENT! They also came together and cooked pretty quickly due to the thinness of them. They were crispy on the outside and crunchy on the inside and lots of flavor too! I did put my wedges in a ziploc steam bag to cook them as I had no plastic wrap and it worked perfectly!

Pear Cucumber Balsamic Salad

I had some pears and cucumbers that need to be used up. I spotted this recipe in a Robin Miller cookbook and deemed it perfect!

Now I do have a picture...but 1) its pretty boring, thing white salad with balsamic coloring and 2) I got a new camera and I don't know how to use it properly yet and they came out AWFUL! so maybe just the recipe will do for now...

Pear Cucumber Balsamic Salad-Robin Miller
1 english cucumber, chopped
2 pears, cored and chopped
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

Place cucumbers and pears in a bowl. Add in oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and cheese. Toss to combine.

**I thought this sounded delicious, K was skeptical but he really did like it! I loved the freshness of the fruit and veggies with the tang of the vinegar! Definitely will be making a reappearance!

Homemade Tater Tots

 I love tater tots...and miss them! But they aren't really the healthiest thing to eat nor is the ingredient list nice to read. Then I stumbled upon this recipe...and also Snowhite over at Finding Joy in my Kitchen had one as well! I saw hers first, but this one seemed simpler to me! I hope to try hers soon though!

Homemade Tater Tots-shared from Heavenly Homemakers
potatoes
kosher salt(optional)
oil(I used coconut oil)

Bake potatoes until fork tender. Allow them to cool completely.

Preheat pan and pour in oil, just enough to coat the bottom.

Scoop out insides of potato and save the skins, perhaps for some potato skin appetizers? Place the potato into a food processor and a pinch of salt (you can also shred them with a cheese grater) Pulse until fine, not too much as you don't want them mushy. Using a small scoop, scoop out potatoes and press firmly, eject into hot pan/oil. Flatten slightly, cook until golden brown and flip, flatten a bit, remove once the other side is golden as well!

**These were not hard to make, just took a little extra time. I did use coconut oil as it was suggested in the original post and while it was great to work with, we did have a slight coconut taste, so next time I'll try a different oil. But these were EXACTLY like the store bought ones, but I knew exactly what was in them and how they were made! I used 6 potatoes and it was enough for our family of 4. Q loved them. I did alter the recipe with the salt as I salted them when I was done, next time I'll add in right into the potato mix. I'd love to make a big batch one day and freeze some as these did not last long!

Fiesta Rice Salad

A friend of mine shared this recipe on facebook the other day. I thought it sounded wonderful and a perfect taste of summer! Thanks for sharing Jamie!

Fiesta Rice Salad-shared from My Recipes
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice(about 4 limes)
3 tbsp salsa
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cold brown rice
1 pt grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup corn, thawed(if frozen)
2 cups black beans
1 red pepper, diced
1 avocado, diced(omitted)
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Whisk together oil, juice, cumin, salt, and salsa. Add in remaining ingredients except avocado and cilantro and mix to combine. Add avocado and cilantro just before serving.

**This came together very quickly(although it did help that I had the beans and rice already prepared). This was tasty and refreshing and pretty filling. I did add some extra salt and pepper. It would be perfect for a potluck.



Calories-190/cup
Fat-5.9(this is without avocado added)

Apple Onion Stuffing

I had never made "homemade" stuffing before...it was always the stuff in the box. The last year I branched out to try a new recipe and I must have been watching Rachael Ray when I decided to try this recipe. Next year I may even make my own bread for the stuffing! (It's all about the baby steps)

Apple Onion Stuffing-shared from Rachael Ray
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 apples, chopped
salt and pepper
2 tbsp poultry seasoning
6-8 cups cubed stuffing mix(I used pepperidge farm herb)
2-3 cup broth

Place oil and butter in pan, once melted add in veggies and apples, sprinkle with spices, cook just until soft. Add in stuffing and broth just until moistened. Place in 13X9 inch casserole pan(or buttered muffins tins) Bake at 375 degrees until heated through about 10-15 mins.

**this was delicious! Sorry there is no picture...we ate it all before we got one!

Cranberry Apple Chutney

I realized as I was making dinner last night that I had no veggies in the house. I needed something to balance the carbs and protein so I remembered this recipe. I was also trying to make dried cranberries and after 3 days only a few were dried, so I decided to try this recipe with them. I also still had some apples left and wanted to try it to see if I wanted to make it for thanksgiving this year.

I also cut the sugar back and used some maple syrup in it as well, an idea I saw in Bon Appetite.

Cranberry Apple Chutney-adapted from Taste of Home
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1 12oz pkg fresh or frozen whole cranberries
2 large tart apples, peeled, and finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted(omitted)

Place water, syrup, white sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 mins. Carefully stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 mins or until desired thickness is achieved, stirring occasionally. Stir in walnuts just before serving.

**Mine did simmer for much longer than 30 mins...I would say at least an hour if not longer. But I was trying to achieve the picture in the magazine and after 30 mins it just didn't resemble that. So I let it go much longer. This was a tingy bit tart(as I cut the sugar) and it was a lot better with my chicken, but I do like my cranberry with chicken or something savory. A wouldn't try it even though I told him it was "applesauce", but Q devoured it! I was surprised. I think next time I might leave either the allspice or clove our (only use one) as it seemed that both was too much for me. I'd like to serve it for thanksgiving, but I also know I have people coming that are very adamant about their "jelly".

Pineapple Ginger Pork Chops and "Buttered" Noodles

I had to use up some pork chops and this recipe sounded delicious! It was fairly quick to put together, but it does require 20 mins to simmer, I still had it on the table in 30 mins.

Pineapple Ginger Pork Chops-adapted from Taste of Home
3-4 pork chops
salt and pepper
1 tsp fresh grated ginger(or more to taste)
juice from pineapple(about 1 cup)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup pineapple chunks(or the whole can)

Season pork with salt and pepper, brown in pan. Add in 3/4 cup of pineapple juice, ginger, and pineapple. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 mins until chops are cooked through.

In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup juice and cornstarch, mix throughly. Remove pork from pan and slowly add in juice mixture. Allow for pan juices to thicken. Place chops back into pan and let warm up.

**This was really good, but I used too much ginger which was fine for the pork, but it made the pineapple very gingery. So you might want to be careful with it. They were moist and delicious!

I needed a side dish and knew I still had some purees left. I haven't decided if I really LOVE Deceptively Delicious yet, but this recipe was a winner in all our our books, and no one knew what was in it!

"Buttered" Noodles-shared from Deceptively Delicious
8 oz pasta
1/2 cup summer squash puree
1/4 cup milk(which I forgot)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp grated parm cheese(there was probably more of this)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain. Toss noodles back into hot pan and add in puree, butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until combined!

*It is true, the boys had no idea there was squash on this, actually K didn't either. I didn't tell them because I KNEW if I said there was squash on it they wouldn't have eaten it. K would have, A would have said gross! Although I do have him believing that zucchini is cucumbers...what he doesn't know! I think other purees would work well in this too.

Rice Pilaf...Take 2

I was looking for a more "authentic" rice pilaf for dinner the other night. I actually had orzo on hand and found a great recipe! It was quick and simple...well quick for 20 mins!

Rice Pilaf-shared from Allrecipes
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, diced fine
1-2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup orzo
1/2 cup rice
2 cups broth

Place butter in pan and melt. Add in orzo and cook until browned and then add onion cook until soft. Then add in garlic and cook for 1 min. Stir in rice and broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20-25 mins until rice is cooked through.

**This was really good! We tried to compare it to the first recipe I made, but apparently we couldn't remember what it tasted like! This definitely reminded me of a boxed version...but better!

4 B's Pork Chops and Au Gratin Potatoes

This is another recipe I adapted from the Fix, Freeze, Feast cookbook.

4 B's Pork Chops
3/4 cup pale ale
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp dijion mustard
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper


Place all ingredients in zip top bag and squish around to mix. Add in pork. Squeeze out air and seal. Freeze until ready to use!


**These were pretty good...but really all I could taste was the beer! 

Au Gratin Potatoes-shared from Hallee the Homemaker


I've just been waiting for a chance to try this recipe out! I love the ones that come in a box...but I really wanted to find a homemade recipe! K gets all the credit for slicing the potatoes! He did a great job!(I told him I'd give him credit!) He decided they were worth the effort...and he loves my santoku knife!


6 medium potatoes, sliced as thin as you can
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 green onions with tops,sliced
2 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheese


Place butter in skillet and let melt. Add in onions and cook for 5 mins or until onion is soft. Whisk in flour, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir until smooth and bubbly. Add in milk and whisk constantly until thickened and is almost to a boil. Add in nutmeg, stir. Fold in cheese and let melt, while stirring. Mix in with potatoes. Cover tightly with foil and cook in preheated oven for 45 mins. Remove foil and cook another 15 mins until potatoes are tender.(Mine ended up cooking for about 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours, this could have been from the thickness of the potatoes, you can only get them so thin with a knife! The sauce did thicken.)

**These were mighty tasty...almost too peppery for my liking but definitely good! YUM! I was even successful in making my first cheese sauce and it didn't SEPARATE! My aunt taught me well....

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Toss

Again this is another recipe not intentionally made for this week....but I had all these veggies I needed to use asap so I went with it! This was also in an effort to go meatless at least once a week.

You may have to bare with me...as I might not get many recipes posted until my laptop is fixed, well the cord anyway. It had a little run in with a certain 3.5 yr old and he won, so I am currently on my husband's desktop and I only last so long with it because of my carpal tunnel, plus its not very convenient!

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Toss-shared by Taste of Home
1 lb pasta(I used penne)
1 sweet pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
4 summer/zucchini squash
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
2/3 cup broth
1/2 cup parm cheese

Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile saute veggies for 5 mins and add in broth. Cover and cook until veggies are tender. Add in ranch and sour cream heat until warm. Drain pasta and add to veggie mix. Stir throughly and serve.

*At first I thought this was water...aka too much broth. Or it could have been that I used ranch dressing and not dip, which may have been thicker. K ate it....and really liked it. I had a run in with chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter frosting so I wasn't hungry at dinner time. I did try some as I put away the leftovers and the sauce thickened nicely around the noodles and gave a great flavor. It was also pretty easy and used up the tasty summer veggies. I did mean to put some grape tomatoes in the mix as well. You can also add in carrots but I didn't have any. *Picture coming soon...

Homemade Rice Pilaf

I decided to give my mom back her FOUR Taste of Home cookbooks I had since oh I think Christmas...but before I did I went through and wrote down all the recipes I wanted to try as I knew I could get them online. I am already off the menu for the week, but it was stuff I had on hand so it still worked well. I have also been looking to find a good pilaf recipe as I love the "boxed" stuff.

This was served with grilled chicken and grilled rainbow carrots. If you haven't tried them and you see them, give them a try! They are delicious! Ok now on to the recipe....

Homemade Rice Pilaf-shared from Taste of Home
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup thin egg noodles or broken vermicelli
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp minced garlic
2 bouillon cubes
2 3/4 cup water
parsley

Melt butter in large sauce pan. Add in rice and broken noodles, saute and stir until golden brown. Add in water, garlic, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and stir. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until rice is cooked and broth is absorbed. Stir in parsley and serve.

**I know this might not be a low sodium side dish...I am not even sure if the seasoning was low sodium but it did not taste salty at all. I think this needed a bit more liquid as I used the brown rice, so if anyone knows how much I should use for next time let me know. It still tasted great, there was a bit of a bit still with the rice but you really couldn't tell. K really liked this and said it was better than "the box", so it will be made again! I will also probably cut the butter down next time...I even think that it called for 1/2 cup butter and that is a lot of butter!

Oriental Broccoli Salad

I seem to really have a lack of new recipes this week...we have been eating from the pantry or freezer and sometimes they are already prepared. So with that said, I'm going to share a favorite salad of ours that I make for potlucks...it even gets requested now! I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but its delicious! I also scored a great deal on the broccoli slaw today and picked up a roasted chicken at the store and lunch was served! You can also use shredded cabbage, but I'm not a cabbage fan so I use the broccoli slaw/rainbow salad

Oriental Broccoli Slaw
2 bags broccoli slaw
2 pkg ramen noodles, crushed(toss seasoning)
4 tbsp sunflower seeds
4 oz toasted almonds,chopped/slivered(omitted)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1-2 cooked, chopped chicken breast
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp each:salt, black pepper, garlic powder

Mix together salad ingredients. Combine dressing ingredients and stir to combine. Pour over salad ingredients and mix well! YUM

**When I made it today it was just broccoli slaw and chicken...I didn't think about getting the noodles when i was at the store as it was a last minute decision. I did add some blueberries to it and it was tasty! I have also made it numerous times without the chicken!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Creamy Herb Rice

I have been wanting to make this recipe all month and I finally got to it last night...well it got started last night! I had just put it in the oven when my mom called, so it got pulled out and then we had to bring her my car, so needless to say it didn't get eaten.

But I did have it for lunch! I was looking for a recipe without using breadcrumbs, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted too do, just wasn't sure it was going to work. I finally found one on myrecipes.com.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken-Myrecipes.com
1 lb chicken breast, butterflied, cut into pieces
1 8 oz pkg shredded parmesan cheese
dijion mustard

Place chicken in greased baking sheet. Coat one side with mustard(i used my silicone brush) and press cheese on top, flip and do the same thing to the other side. Place in 475 oven for 15 mins(just watch that it doesn't burn.)

**I ended up taking the chicken out of the baking pan and pan fried it so the cheese was crunchy and brown. I know I didn't leave it in long enough in the oven so perhaps if I left it in longer it would have gotten brown and crunchy. It did have a pretty good flavor. Next time I'll just do it on the stove. You want to make sure your chicken is cut pretty thin so you don't burn the cheese. Overall it was pretty tasty! The dijon was not overpowering at all.

I needed something to go with the chicken and I wanted to try creamy parm. noodles but knew I only had a half a bag of noodles, so I went with the rice.

Creamy Herb Rice
2 cups of brown rice
4 cups water
1 veggie bouillon cube(or 2 chicken or beef ones)
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese,softened
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp dry basil
2 tsp minced garlic(or to your liking)
milk

In rice cooker, add in rice, water, and bouillon cube(s). Set to cook. Once rice is cooked, stir and add in cream cheese, basil, parm, and garlic. *You can put the garlic right in with the rice/water. Put lid back on to give cheese time to melt. Stir. Add in milk until you reach a creamy consistency.

*You can also do this without a rice cooker. Dump rice, water, bouillon in pan on stove. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins until rice is done. Then follow the rest of the directions.

**K and I really liked this. I of course held out hope that Q would like it and even used his milk so he could have it. I'm not sure who this kid belongs too but he does not like pasta or rice....

Satay Noodle Salad

It was a nice summer day on Saturday and I wanted something refreshing for dinner. This recipe I've had for quite a while and have put it on our menu at least twice and it wasn't even on this week, but I knew I had everything to make it, so it was a spur of the moment dinner. You can add chicken to it, I made it without so the little boy that was here could have some as well.

Satay Noodle Salad- from Rachael Ray
1 lb spaghetti, cooked, cooled with water
1/3 cup peanut butter,softened
1/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup tamari sauce(I used regular soy sauce)
juice of 2 limes(or 1/4 cup)
1 tsp hot sauce
1 clove garlic, grated(omitted)
2 tbsp oil
1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced(omitted)
3 carrots, grated
4 scallions, thinly sliced(omitted)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Whisk together peanut butter, honey, water, lime juice, hot sauce, garlic, and soy sauce. Pour in the oil in a steady stream while whisking continuously to combine. Add in noodles and veggies, toss to coat. Serve topped with peanuts.

**I did add more hot sauce to give it a little more kick. This came out wonderful and reminded me of a pad thai. I sat down to eat it and the 3 yr old and 2 yr old came running over, I had already fed them, but they wanted "noodles", so I gave them some and I've never seen them any anything so fast before! So they are also kid approved! This would be a great pot luck salad and you wouldn't have to worry about it spoiling at summer picnics. I also liked it warm as the sauce did get thick once it was completely cooled.

Cream Cheese and Chive Mashed Potatoes

Another recipe I am making this week calls for cottage cheese in the potatoes. I don't have any so I've decided to use one of the 5 boxes of cream cheese instead. I think it will work well, but in the meantime we are having this as a side tonight with our meatloaf.

Cream Cheese and Chive Mashed Potatoes
2-3 lbs potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, cubed
2 tbsp dried chives
1/2 cup milk(may need more depending on how thick you want them)
salt and pepper to taste

Cover potatoes with water. Cook until tender about 15 mins. Drain potatoes and add in cream cheese and chives. Mash until you reach the consistency you wish to have.

**I think they needed more chives, but K thought they were great.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I was having a really hard time deciding what kind of potato side to make for Easter dinner...I was going to try a new recipe and then I wasn't feeling it, then I thought ooh scalloped potatoes and decided not too. So I fell back on a old favorite.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
1 head of garlic
5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
5-6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
milk
salt and pepper
2 tbsp butter

Cut the top off of the garlic bulb, just to see the cloves. Drizzle with a little olive oil and wrap in foil and place in 350 degree oven for 45 mins to 1 hour. You will know it is done when the cloves are golden brown. Once cooled squeeze garlic out of papers into cooked potatoes.

Place potatoes in pot and cover with water. Cook until fork tender. Once potatoes are done, drain and add in milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash with garlic.

Place potatoes in casserole dish. Top with bacon and cheese. Place in oven until cheese is melted about 10-15 mins.

**I made these the day before so it took about 30-40 mins to heat through.

Broccoli Cheese Rice

I used to love those packets of rice and powder that would make a cheesy broccoli side dish...until you read the ingredients and the sodium content. So I've been searching around for a recipe and wasn't finding much that didn't include a can of cream soup, I didn't want the cream soup, just something simple to go with dinner. Luckily I finally found one and it was pretty good, kinda tastes like the packaged stuff even smelled like it, but the sodium content was much lower!

Broccoli Cheese Rice- adapted from Allrecipes.com
2 cups of instant brown rice
2 cups of broth(I used chicken)
1 head of broccoli, coarsely chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bring broth to a boil. Add in broccoli and cook for 5 mins, add in rice and bring back to a boil. Turn heat off, cover until rice is cooked through. Add in cheese and stir until cheese is melted, you may have to turn the heat back on.

*You can easily do this with long grain rice. Just use the broth in place of the water and cook the rice before you add the broccoli in and let the steam cook the broccoli.

**This was quite simple to make, I would have liked my broccoli a little less done, but that was due to my timing. I was also cooking the kabobs at the same time.

Mango Rice

One side dish I have been struggling with is rice...I love the boxed rice, but hello sodium! So I stumbled on this recipe and decide to give it a try!

Mango Rice-shared from Work it Mom
1/2 cup dried mango, chopped
2 cups brown rice
2 cups broth(chicken or veggie)
2 cups water
1 onion, diced
1 tsp cayene pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cumin

Place all ingredients into rice cooker and turn it on!

OR

Place all ingredients into pot. Bring to a boil. give it a quick stir. Cover and turn heat down as low as it will go.
Cook until rice is done.

**we really liked this...but it was very spicy! So I would cut down on the spices next time I make it. I also topped it with some coconut. YUM!