Fiesta Lime Rice

I’m not a huge fan of just plain rice. It bores me. So when I was looking for a side dish to go with my Mexican-themed meal, I knew I wanted to have something a little more exciting than plain white or brown rice.  I found this recipe that I absolutely love. You can use less rice because the recipe is bulked up with corn and beans, so it cuts the carbs. And the boredom. As indicated in my blog name, I tend to be bored and hungry so I try to cook things that fix that :)

I don’t have a ton to say about this recipe but you should give it a try as a slightly different and more colorful, tasty, and nutritious alternative to plain rice. You won’t be disappointed!

Fiesta Lime Rice (4 1 cup servings – 153 cals) from Skinnytaste

• 1 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice
• 3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and heated
• 3/4 cup cooked corn, heated
• 1 large scallion, diced fine
• 2-4 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
• salt to taste

1.       In a large bowl, combine hot rice, heated corn, heated beans, scallion, cilantro, lime juice and salt if needed. Toss and serve.

jazzed up fiesta lime rice!

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Southwestern BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

I made this for our second coworker dinner. I saw it on one of my favorite blogs a couple weeks ago and have not been able to stop thinking about it. I had some leftover chicken that I needed to use, ears of corn are only $0.25 each, and I found a bottle of spicy BBQ on the sale shelf at Safeway. That couldn’t be a coincidence. The universe was practically begging me to make this.

I marinated the leftover chicken in BBQ sauce overnight so that the flavor would really soak in. For the corn, I decided to grill it in my grill pan. It came out slightly charred but still a little raw. It was so fresh and flavorful. I also made the quinoa in the microwave, which was a first for me. I was a little nervous because it smelled like popcorn when it was cooking and after the 8 minutes of cooking, it didn’t look done at all. But if you follow the directions that I listed in the recipe, everything should turn out perfectly! It’s not any easier than cooking it on the stovetop but, due to my recent move, I have only one gigantic pasta pot right now so stovetop wasn’t a practical option.

To assemble the salad, I started everyone’s plate with a bed of lettuce. The original recipe didn’t call for this but I absolutely love the way quinoa tastes with lettuce. It’s such an interesting texture and it looks really gorgeous. So then I topped the lettuce with quinoa, black beans, corn, BBQ chicken, shredded cheddar, BBQ Greek yogurt dressing, jalapenos, and cilantro – in that order.

I loved everything about this salad. It reminded me of a taco salad with an American summer barbeque season twist. The chicken and black beans made it filling. The spicy BBQ sauce counteracted the sweet grilled corn. The quinoa gives it great texture and adds nutrition. Cheese is tastes good with everything so that was a no-brainer (Though I accidently bought imitation cheddar because I was shopping the sales. I was too scared to look at what it was really made of but it was low in calories and tasted fine so I suppose that’s fine…). The BBQ Greek yogurt dressing is great because it’s a protein-packed, low-fat substitute for dressing! I could have eaten the whole contain of “dressing” for the same caloric intake as 2 tablespoons of a typical creamy dressing. Definitely don’t leave out the cilantro! Sometimes, I’m totally guilty of leaving out certain fresh herbs because I’m too lazy to look for them or cheap to pay for them. Especially if I think the dish has enough flavor going on with the extra additions. Don’t do it! The cilantro takes this dish to a whole other level and brings it all together. Unless you’re one of those people who hates cilantro, then I guess you can skip it. Boo.

Please go make this immediately before summer corn goes out of season!

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad (4 servings) from Iowa Girl Eats

• ·         6 cups lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• ·         1 cup quinoa, rinsed very well
• ·         2 cups water
• ·         2 chicken breasts, shredded and marinated in BBQ sauce
• ·         2 ears corn, shucked (or 1 cup corn kernels)
• ·         1/2 cup black beans, drained & rinsed
• ·         1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ·         1/2 cup pickles jalapenos
• ·         1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ·         1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ·         1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1. Shred two cooked breasts of chicken and marinate in BBQ sauce overnight.

2. Rinse quinoa very well in a fine mesh sieve under cold running water. Combine with the water in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a microwave safe top or plate and microwave for 8 minutes. Stir and let stand for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, recover, and microwave on high for 2 minutes more. Let stand for 1 minute before serving.

3. Meanwhile, preheat a grill pan on medium high. Add corn to the grill pan at the same time that you put the quinoa in the microwave. Rotate every couple of minutes to evenly char on all sides. Remove the corn to a plate and let cool slightly. Slice kernels off the cob.

4. Mix together Greek yogurt and BBQ sauce in a bowl. Evenly divide the lettuce, cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, shredded BBQ chicken, and shredded cheese between four plates. Drizzle with yogurt and BBQ sauce mixture, then garnish with jalapenos and chopped cilantro.

why yes, I'm still obsessed with having plates and a table. 

all the goodies :)

Three Bean Escarole Soup

Guess what I did on Friday?!?!

I went to my first professional baseball game at the new Yankee Stadium! My mom said that she thinks I saw a game at the Red Sox stadium when I was in elementary school but I don't remember so I'm not counting it.

My friend, Michelle (ya know, my fellow baking friend), got free tickets and invited me. I was so excited to get out of New Paltz and do something fun. We knew that it was supposed to be cold so we had a couple adult beverages before we went in to create a little liquor blanket. It was the perfect idea because I stayed nice and toasty until about the 6th inning.

I also enjoyed a classic baseball meal of a philly cheesesteak and cheese fries.  You only live once, right? Plus, how could I say no to fries served with a cute little fork? I couldn't. And we may have stopped at Denny's on the way home where I may have consumed a slice of peanut butter pie and half of a waffle drenched in syrup.

Other than the cold, I had a really great time! I still know little to nothing about baseball. I tried to pay attention to Michelle's explanations and concentrate but my previously mentioned liquor blanket also affected my attention span. But I suppose I can officially consider myself a Yankee fan, which gives me a wonderful opportunity to do some shopping :)  I promise I'll make an effort to actually learn something about the game/the team so I'm not THAT girl in the pink Jeter jersey who says things like "Uuummm, is it the last quarter yet?". And anyone that knows me, knows I would never buy a pink sports jersey. That's an abomination.

us before the game. Michelle let me borrow a hat so I would fit in. And you all know how I feel about being Irish... <3

first train ticket!

taking some selfies on the train :)

me outside of the stadium!

stadium bathroom. yeah, this happened.

go Yankees!

in our seats

in front of the field.

chilly and sleepy on the way home

 I'm a huge baby about being cold. I think my bones are actually still aching from how cold I was by the end. My stomach also needed a huge detox from all of the garbage that I threw in it. So I decided to make up a batch of this soup. It's basically a meatless version of my greens and beans soup. The ingredients are simple but it has a great taste from the garlic and the tomato sauce. So make up a batch of this soup if you're looking for a warm and light dinner option! I like to serve it with the crustiest, garlicy-est, heartiest piece of whole wheat bread that I can find. Enjoy :)

Escarole, 3 Bean, and Roasted Garlic Soup (6 servings – 246 calories) adapted from Cooking Light

• ½ of a head of garlic
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cups chopped escarole (about 1 pound)
• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can pink beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese (for serving)

1. Mince and sautee half of a head of garlic and 1/4 cup Great Northern beans. Mash with a fork until pastelike. Stir in thyme and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in at the bottom of a large stock pot over medium heat. Add escarole to pan; cook 3 minutes or until escarole wilts, stirring frequently. Add remaining Great Northern beans, broth, and next 4 ingredients (through pink beans). Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until escarole is tender. Stir in garlic mixture; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. 
3. Serve and sprinkle with cheese.

mmmm garlic bean paste

my delicious detox.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Minestrone

My mother hates fall squash.

Therefore, we never ate it when I was growing up. My grandmother has always made butternut squash once a year on Thanksgiving and it looked like baby food so I refused to try it. Plus, why eat that when I could eat more carbs? I've mentioned my obsession with carbs before, right? And sugar, and peanut butter, and cheese, and anything with lots of calories? Yep.

Because of my love of food and blogging, this year, I decided to try it...

WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG?!?! I fell in love. Sweet. Savory. Nutty. Cinnamon-y. Heaven. Lesson learned: Try anything and everything regardless of what it looks like or what people say about it. The worst that can happen is that you don't like. But if you never try it, you could be missing out on something wonderful and a ton of awesome recipes! I don't know how I survived a fall/winter without it.  Never again. So I decided to give this recipe for a squash based soup a try.

This soup was delicious. It does involve a lot of chopping. In fact, I got a blister on my thumb. But that's probably because I was using a super small and crappy knife to cut a large butternut squash. Not smart. Once you get past chopping all of the veggies, the soup is so simple to put together. You basically just dump it all together in crockpot and turn it on.

The pasta is totally optional. I used squash pasta because I love the color, the extra serving of veggies, the cute tiny shape, and that it compliments the "I-am-the-newest-squash-fanatic" theme. I cooked it separately and just added it to my bowl of soup. The next couple times I ate it, I left the pasta out for a lighter meal. For me, the beans make the soup hearty enough and I'd rather eat my carbs with a crusty piece of bread for dipping!

This soup freezes pretty well. The only issue is that the squash chunks don't hold up well. I was sort of disappointed at first. But then I gave it a quick stir and the squash completely disintegrated and created a creamy broth! I think it was a totally pleasant mistake. Love when that happens :)

Butternut Squash and Spinach Minestrone

• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf, dried
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can white beans
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small pieces
• fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch of bag of spinach
• 1 cup small pasta, cooked (optional)
• parmesan cheese, for topping

1. Combine all ingredients except spinach and pasta in the bowl of a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. Twenty minutes before eating, add the spinach to the crockpot and cover again. Just before serving, remove bay leaf.
3. Ladle soup into bowls. Add pasta, if desired. Top with parmesan cheese.

Try the pasta! I'm sure you'll love it. It also comes in a spinach and a tomato variety.

How fresh and fabulous does that look?