Shrimp and Pine Nut Salad

I've been trying to eat more salads for lunch, and have been running out of ideas. This is one of my favorite go-to salads. The only problem is for me to fill up on a salad I have to have lots of ingredients and it has to be huge! I end up eating so much that I'm probably counter-acting the positive effects of eating a salad, but I'll keep trying to be healthy!

INGREDIENTS

Pine nuts

Shrimp

Asparagus

Avocado

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Walnuts

Red Leaf Lettuce

Balsamic Vinegar

Red Wine Vinegar

Olive Oil

Pepper

I add however much of each ingredient I want depending on the day. The salad is super filling and it tastes so good. I grill the asparagus and shrimp with olive oil, pepper, and garlic salt. Then I mix in the rest of the ingredients and it's ready to go!

Blueberry Cupcakes

My goal this week has been to empty out my freezer. When I needed to make cupcakes for something I decided to make blueberry, only so I could finish off my frozen blueberries. I couldn't find any blueberry cupcake recipes that I either liked or had all of the ingredients too on hand. I decided to go with one of my favorite vanilla cake recipe and add blueberries. They turned out SO good and now I just want to make them again. They are a perfect summer cupcake.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
1 cup oil
1 cup milk w/ 1 Tbls white vinager
1/4 warm water
2 cup frozen blueberries

Makes a little over 2 dozen

Use with Cream Cheese Frosting

DIRECTIONS

Take the bluerries and rinse them thoroughly in cold water until water stops turning Purple. When you are done rinsing them, let them dry while you mix the rest of the cake.

Next mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then slowly add dry mix to wet mix. 

I then added the mix to my cupcake holders in the baking pan. I mixed in about 6-8 blueberries per cupcake after the batter was in the cupcake tin. This made it so the cupcake didn't turn purple and it remained its white color. If you want to mix in the blueberries before you add them to the cupcake tin, make sure to softly fold them in. 

Bake at 350º for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

I used a simple cream cheese frosting, adding a little extra butter to fluff it up.

Shrimp and Teriyaki Quinoa Bowl

I've been trying to make healthier choices in my meals. I keep getting in ruts, where I make the same things over and over again. Recently, I've been replacing all of my rice or noodles, with quinoa. Some of the mixes haven't turned out that great, but using it in my Asian dishes is wonderful! You can use almost any veggie, teriyaki or peanut sauce, and quinoa. The main thing for me is using less quinoa than I think; it tastes better when I focus on the veggies in the meal.

This particular bowl was on a night that I hadn't been to the grocery store in awhile. I simply mixed shrimp, broccoli, cabbage, egg, teriyaki sauce, and quinoa. Sometimes I make my own sauces, but I always have some on hand for quick dinners. This took me about 10 minutes to make. The longest part was cooking the quinoa. I sauteed the shrimp, broccoli, and cabbage at the same time in the teriyaki sauce, then added the egg when they were almost cooked. It was quick, easy, and delicious.

Blueberry Oatmeal Quinoa Breakfast

This is a great healthy start to your day, and its extremely filling. I've been trying to eat a lot healthier lately, and it feels like I am constantly hungry. I know it's supposed to be better to eat 6 small meals a day, but I often don't have time to do it or the energy to cook that much. This has been my healthy solution to a feeling breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup uncooked Oats (I use steal cut oats)

1/4 cup uncooked Quinoa

1-2 T Chia Seeds

Large Handful of Blueberries

2-3 T Low Fat Greek Yogurt

Milk

If you need to make it a little sweeter add honey or brown sugar, but the blueberries and Greek yogurt sweeten it up enough for me.

I often cook a big pot of quinoa at the beginning of the week to add to my food during the week. If not, I start by cooking the quinoa for a few minutes first, then add in the oats. Once they are cooked thoroughly I add my chosen amount of each ingredient. I sprinkle chia seeds on top, and then add one big scoop of Greek yogurt with my regular spoon. I don't add much milk, just enough to make it creamy. Sometimes I even cook the quinoa and oats with milk instead of water.

This breakfast can obviously be made lots of ways. I get bored eating the same thing everyday so I try to make simple twists on everyday foods. This is a mix I really enjoyed.

Pesto Mozzarella Panini

Panini's are one of my favorite foods. I don't know what it is about grilling a sandwich that makes it taste so much better, whatever it is, it makes me happy. Here is one of my favorite takes on one of my favorite foods...

INGREDIENTS:

Turkey

Tomato

Avocado

Spinach

Feta Cheese

Mozzarella Cheese

Pesto

Pepper

Basil

Dave's Killer Bread is always my bread of choice. I prefer the one in the green package. It's fresh, organic, healthy, and extremely delicious. 

Add Pesto to both sides of bread and then add your desired amount of each ingredient. I always use a thin slice of turkey. Throw it on your panini maker, and your done!

I also prefer to pair this panini with tomato bisque soup.

Greek Quinoa Salad

I made this the other day for a BBQ. It's healthy, delicious, and super easy to make. I had all of the ingredients on hand making it even easier. It's a delicious way to spice up quinoa, and make a traditional pasta salad better for you.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked)

1 cucumber

1/4 Red Onion

1 large tomato or 2 small

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

Feta or Mozzerella Cheese

Olive Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Garlic

Cut all of the vegatables up into small bite size chunks. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Add cooked Quinoa. Mix in about 1/4-1/2 cup feta cheese. I used both feta and mozzerella. Both work great. I diced the mozzerella up into small pieces. Then add a little oil and vinegar to taste. I use a small amount of balsamic vinegar and then a lot of red wine. It turns out quite tasty! 

Mexican Quinoa Bowl

This is one of the best go to healthy meals. It's quick, easy, and I usually have the items on hand. I add different items depending on what is in my fridge. If it could go in a burrito, throw it in the bowl!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup quinoa

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 red pepper

1/2 onion 

1 Lime

2 Chicken Breasts 

Cheese

1 avocado

1/2 jalapeño

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth 

This serves 3-4 people

DIRECTIONS

1.    Begin by cooking the quinoa. The rule is 2:1. Cook 2 cups liquid with 1 cup quinoa. Make sure to thoroughly rinse the quinoa, about 2 minutes, then cook it how you would normally cook rice. I like using 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup water, but you can use all broth or all water and it turns out nicely either way.

2.    I flavor my chicken with a little olive oil, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic salt and black pepper. However you choose will work fine.

3.    Cut the chicken and red pepper into bite size pieces, and chop the jalapeño and onion. Cook all of these items in a separate pan with a little olive oil.

4.    When the quinoa is finished cooking, drain the corn and beans, and add the rest to the pot of quinoa. It will still be warm so it will heat up the corn and beans for you.

5.    Then add your cooked chicken, red pepper, jalapeño, and onion to the mixture.

6.    After you have added portions to a bowl for serving, sprinkle on a little chedder or feta cheese. Top with sliced avocado, and squeeze a little lime across the top.

7.    Eat and enjoy!

Best Chocolate Cake

This is by far my very very favorite cake. My husband asks me to make it almost everytime I make a desert. It's also great as a cupcakes! They turn out much thicker, moister, and tastier than a regular cupcake.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

2 eggs

3/4 cup warm water

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk and 1 T vinegar)

Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes depending on thickness of pan used. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately and then combine together. Spray pan well with cooking spray.