One Pan Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked, but rinsed 
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes (These are most common in grocery store.)
• 1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen, but let them sit out to defrost.)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 avocado, diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about one minute.  (I minced mine in mini food processor.)

Stir in rinsed quinoa, veggie broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce, heat, and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.  Top with avocado, lime juice, and cilantro.  (I did not think it needed juice of entire lime.  Gradually add.) 

Serve immediately.

*www.damndelicious.net

"Easy Version" Spinach and Ricotta Calzones

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 8 oz. (1 cup) whole milk ricotta cheese
• 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• (I added chicken sausage.  Trader Joe's has an excellent 4-pack of sun-dried tomato and basil chicken sausage.  I only used two of the four.  There is minimal fat in chicken sausage so you don't have to drain fat before adding to the calzone mix.)
• 1½ tsp. minced fresh oregano (I did not use because of the herbs in the sausage.)
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. pizza dough (Use Trader Joe's pizza dough; it's perfect!!)
• 1 large egg lightly beaten with 2 tbsp. water, for egg wash
• pizza sauce, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500˚ F. In a bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, olive oil, egg yolk, garlic, cooked chicken sausage, optional oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir well until evenly combined.

• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 9-inch round. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
• Carefully transfer the dough rounds to a large piece of parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Spread half of the spinach filling over half of each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border at the edge. Brush the edge with the egg wash. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling. Press the edges of the dough together and crimp to seal.
  
  Using a sharp knife, cut 5 steam vents in the top of the each calzone. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Transfer the calzones to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with pizza sauce.
  
  Notes:
  I had a lot of filling left over, probably because my dough rounds were difficult to roll to 9 inches.  Next time, I will buy two bags of pizza dough so my filling doesn't go to waste.
• *www.annies-eats.com

Zucchini & Carrot Turkey Meatballs

another great bite to eat for kids.  hidden veggies!  super yummy!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

2 teaspoons garlic powder

3/4 cup grated zucchini

1/4 cup grated carrots

3/4 breadcrumbs (seasoned or unseasoned)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Line a large baking sheet with wax paper.  

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with your hands.   Do not overwork the meat!

Using a medium cookie scoop, (or about 2 tablespoons), form the meat into individual balls and place onto prepared baking sheet.  

In a large skillet over medium heat, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  

Once the oil is hot, carefully place the meatballs into the skillet and let them brown on one side.  Turn  over carefully with tongs.  Continue cooking until meatballs are cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.  Remove from skillet and place on paper towel-lined plate.  Cook in batches if all meatballs don't all fit at once.  (*These can be frozen for later!  Allow meatballs you plan to freeze to cool, then place in a Ziplock bag to store in freezer.)

While meatballs are cooking, heat your favorite spaghetti sauce in a saucepan. Transfer cooked meatballs (that you plan to eat that night) to spaghetti sauce to warm through.  

Serve with pasta or zoodles (zucchini noodles).  

*Adapted from www.tablefortwoblog.com