Mango Quinoa Salad

By popular demand!  Andi Rawlin's Quinoa salad

Basic Cooked Quinoa

by Our Best Bites

Yields: about 2 C cooked quinoa

2/3 C dry quinoa

1  1/3 cups water or broth (chicken, vegetable, or beef)

1 pinch salt

Place quinoa in a bowl and cover with 1 inch of water.  Gently stir and carefully pour out excess water.  Add water again until it covers quinoa by 1 inch.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

While quinoa is soaking, bring 1 1/3 C water or broth, and pinch of salt, to a boil on the stovetop.  Reduce heat to simmer. Drain quinoa from soaking water using a fine mesh sieve.  Add grains to simmering water on stove top.  Place tight-fitting lid on pot and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the water is evaporated.  Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork.

Mango Quinoa Salad

Recipe adapted from Ali Vincent (Biggest Loser)

2 cups cooked quinoa* at room temperature, or chilled

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup)

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

*Quinoa can be cooked in water or broth.  I suggest using vegetable or chicken broth for enhanced flavor, but plain water works great too.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.  In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad.  Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.

(***I just use whatever I have for this recipe. I usually leave out the mango just because I can’t ever pick out a decent one and I don’t miss it much, sometimes I’ll add extra cilantro and an orange bell pepper, etc. I’ll leave out the onions if I don’t have any, or add smoked pork. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.)

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

1pkg. Yellow cake mix
1pkg. (4 servings) vanilla instant pudding
1 C. canned pumpkin
½ C. each oil and water
3 Eggs
11/2  tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground Cloves
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Beat all ingredients until moistened. Spoon into 24 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup ⅔ full.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting Beat
1pkg (8 oz) cream cheese softened, ¼ C butter, softened), 1 tsp Vanilla
Extract and ¼ tsp Ground Cloves until light and fluffy. Gradually beat
in 1 box (16 oz) confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

Recipes from the Freezer Meal Service Project

Chicken Potato Casserole

10 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 1/1 cups sour cream
1 /4 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (2 lg., 3 sm.)
12 oz. medium shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 lb. frozen hash browns
1 T. olive or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1 1/2 cups crushed potato chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium skillet over medium heat, saute peppers
and onions until crisp tender, remove from heat. In large bowl combine soup, sour
cream, chicken, half of the cheese and the peppers and onions.

Spread 2/3 of this mixture in the bottom of a greased 9”x 13” baking pan. Spread
hash browns over the top of the casserole and press down lightly, then top with
remaining chicken mixture, top with remaining cheese and potato chips.

Bake, uncovered, for 50 – 60 minutes or until bubbly; Let stand for 5 – 10 minutes
before serving. Makes 8 servings.

To freeze, assemble casserole as directed except for potato chips. Wrap casserole
in freezer wrap or heavy duty foil and freeze. Before baking, thaw overnight in
frig. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 60 – 70 min. or until bubbly. Top with
crushed potato chips and bake 5 – 10 min. longer.

Pizza Spaghetti Style

1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1 med. onion, chopped
1 lg. green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. pkg. sliced mushrooms
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 t. dried Italian seasoning
1 lb. spaghetti pasta, broken into 3” pieces
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
5 oz. pkg. sliced pepperoni
6 oz. (1 1/2c.) shredded med. Chedder cheese
8 oz. (2c.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring large pot of salted water to boil for
cooking spaghetti. In large skillet brown sausage, add onions, green peppers and
mushrooms, continue cooking until veggies are crisp tender. Drain well and add pasta
sauce, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning; stir well and let simmer while preparing
spaghetti.

Cook spaghetti according to pkg. directions. Meanwhile, combine eggs and milk
in large bowl and whisk until blended. Drain spaghetti and toss with egg and milk
mixture. Spread half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 9”x 13” baking pan. Top
with half of meat mixture. Repeat layers.

To freeze, cool casserole in frig at this point. When cold, wrap well, label, and
freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in frig. Bake,
covered, at 359 degrees for 50 – 60 min. or until thoroughly heated. Uncover, top
with cheeses and pepperoni and bake 10 – 15 min. longer until cheese melts and
edges of casserole bubble.

If baking without freezing, bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 50 min. until hot and
bubbly. Top with cheeses and pepperoni and bake for 10 – 15 min. longer until
cheese melts and edges of casserole bubble. Let stand 5 min. to set. Makes 10
servings.