Supper: Quinoa Burgers with Spicy Pesto, Flatbread, and Baked Sweet Potato

Supper Level: Simple but Tasty (about 45 minute prep time)

This was Nate's favorite vegetarian meal yet, which isn't that surprising considering how protein-packed quinoa is. (Fun Fact for the Day: Quinoa is not a grain but rather a chenopod- related to spinach and beets) Anyways, according to Nate, this was the first meal I've made where he wasn't missing meat. I thought it was pretty delicious myself- and very filling. Quinoa is a major staple of my diet already, but this was a fun new way to cook it. And it's really pretty simple.

To make the Quinoa patties, I combined two different recipes. This recipe from Seven Spoons for Quinoa Patties looked pretty good, but required bread crumbs, which I did not have on hand and aren't particularly gluten-free (though you could make your own from gluten-free bread). This recipe from Roost for Lentil Cakes is one I've had bookmarked for quite a while, and it is gluten-free. So I thought I could split the difference and come up with something in the middle- and it worked!

Quinoa Burgers (adapted from Roost and Seven Spoons)

(makes 12 small patties, approximate prep time: 35 minutes)

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked quinoa*

1 tbs butter or oil (I use coconut oil)

1 leek, chopped into thin half-moons

1 quarter of an onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, minced (or two tsp garlic powder, if you're out of garlic like me)

2 eggs

1/2 cup of grated cheese**

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Cook your quinoa (if you haven't already- this recipe totally works with leftover quinoa). 

3. Chop your veggies. Heat the butter/oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and onion to the skillet and saute until barely translucent. Add your garlic and cook for an extra minute or two (be careful not to let it burn). [If you're lazy like me and using garlic powder, don't put the powder in the pan- wait until you start mixing everything together.]

4. Put it all together! Put your quinoa in a medium-large mixing bowl and add in the leeks, onion, and garlic [or garlic powder]. Add your cheese and the eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together until well combined.

5. Grease a baking sheet. Scoop out a 1/4-1/3 of a cup (depending on how big you want your patties) of the quinoa mix using a measuring cup and press it onto the baking sheet to make a patty. 

6. Bake patties for 25 minutes in the oven until just golden brown. Let cool slightly before handling. 

 *Cooking Quinoa: I buy my quinoa at Trader Joe's and just follow the directions on the package- it's super easy. But, for those without a Trader Joe's nearby, you can also buy quinoa in bulk at Whole Foods for about the same price. To cook it in the microwave, add 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high (covered) for 4 minutes. Stop and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes on high, then let stand for a couple minutes before fluffing it with a fork. Done! (6 minutes- told you it was easy!)

**Cheese: I used a mix of a parmesan-gouda melange and some goat's milk cheddar, which was delicious, but you could use just about any mix of hard cheese. You can add more than a 1/2 cup if you like; I just tend to go easy on the dairy.

Alternative Option: This would make an awesome quinoa salad- just leave out the eggs!
(Or fry the eggs and stick them on top)

I think I've mentioned before that I can be kinda lazy when I cook, and this recipe is one of those pretty obvious manifestations of this. I bought my pesto from Safeway and just spiced it up a bit. But if you want to make your own, I recommend this Basil Pesto recipe from Roost.

Spicy Pesto 

(makes just less than a cup of sauce, approximate prep time: 3 minutes)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Pesto

2 oz. Chevre (goat cheese)

1/4 cup of Greek Yogurt

Sriracha Sauce

Mix the pesto, Chevre, and greek yogurt together and add Sriracha to taste. Done! 

Alternative Option: Instead of mixing the Sriracha into the pesto, just add a drizzle to straight to the burger

Flatbread

I used this recipe for yogurt flatbread from Love and Lemons. It's super easy, gluten-free, and delicious. I didn't have any spelt flour so I used brown rice flour instead and it turned out fine. The dough, however, is a little bit tricky to work with (it's really, really sticky). I ended up using a drop-in-the-pan-then-flatten method instead of actually rolling out the dough. As a result, my flatbread wasn't quite 5-inches in diameter, but it was still very tasty! (P.S. I highly recommend doubling the recipe, just in case you lose a little bit of dough due to stickiness.)

The Assembled Burger
(The flatbread is delicious!!!)

Baked Sweet Potato

(serves two, approximate prep time: 12 minutes)

This is also the lazy way to bake a sweet potato, but it works!

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

Maple Syrup

Salt and Pepper

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Allspice

1. Wash the sweet potato. Prick all over with a fork (or stab, if you like). Wrap in paper towel.

2. Microwave on high for eight minutes.

3. Remove from microwave and chop into 1-inch chunks. While chopping, the potato skin should slide of very easily. Discard skin. 

4. Mash potato chunks in a small bowl. Add maple syrup, salt pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to taste. Done!

To round it all out, I'd recommend adding a nice spinach salad with some Balsamic vinegar, but I was fresh out of spinach (and too lazy to run to the grocery store). But either way, it was pretty delicious supper. 

It looks so tiny here, but after 2 burgers each + the potato, both of us were stuffed!

Oh, and if you're looking for more gluten-free recipes, Love and Lemons and Roost are both awesome places to find some!

Simple Suppers: Eggs!

I helped Nate move into a new apartment (that we may be sharing in 5 months) this weekend, and moving is hard work! Hence, all we wanted was quick and easy food. So here are our lazy, simple dinners from this weekend, both featuring eggs as the primary protein.

[Full Disclosure: I refuse to limit eggs to breakfast food. In fact, I probably eat more eggs for lunch and dinner than I do for breakfast. They're a quick, easy, and tasty way to add protein!]

Supper 1: Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast Burritos with Avocado, Red Onion, and Feta
Serves 3

Ingredients:
2 ripe Avocados
Half of a Lime
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper

Half of a Red Onion
Butter or Oil
6 Eggs
2 oz. Feta Cheese

Tortillas- The one pictured above is NOT gluten-free; however, I like Trader Joe's Brown Rice tortillas as a gluten-free option
(Optional) Sriracha Sauce, salsa, or other hot sauce of choice

1) Cut and mash the avocados into a paste (chunky or smooth according to your preference). Add in the juice from the half lime and add garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2) Chop red onion into small strips. Saute over medium heat in butter/oil until slightly translucent and brown on the edges.

3) Scramble the eggs in a large skillet and season to taste. [Tip: Using chopsticks creates really nice curds!]

4) Warm tortillas in skillet, one at a time. I used the same skillet I used to saute the onions. Just let each tortillas sit in the pan over medium heat for a couple seconds on each side.

5) Crumble feta in a small dish and set all the ingredients out! I let everyone assemble their own burrito because the process is pretty simple: Spread avocado mash on a warm tortilla, top with scrambled eggs, sauteed onion, feta cheese, and hot sauce. We used Sriracha sauce, but any salsa is tasty!

Done! This whole process should take no more than fifteen minutes-- perfect for the end of a long day.








Supper 2: Veggie Hash



Sweet Potato Hash
[Note: you can add just about any veggie to this hash and it will still be delicious. Recommended ingredients include bell peppers, asparagus, and brussel sprouts.]

Ingredients:
1 large Sweet Potato, chopped into small cubes
5 small Red Potatoes, chopped into small cubes
Half of a Yellow Onion, chopped
2 large carrots or about a dozen baby carrots, chopped
Oil of choice
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
2 eggs
Cheese of choice (I used goat's milk brie, but Fontina or Gruyere are also very tasty)

1) Chop potatoes and carrots.

2) Toss chopped potatoes and carrots in oil and season to taste (I usually just put a few good shakes of each spice in and toss until everything is well-coated). Add potatoes and carrots to large skillet over medium-high heat and cook until barely tender. This takes awhile- at least 20-25 minutes. Just check back every few minutes to turn them with a spatula.

3) Chop onion and set aside. Grate or chop cheese.

4) Once potatoes are barely tender when poked with a fork, add in the onions and stir. Cook for 5-10 more minutes until onions are translucent. Once the onions are cooked, add in the cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and divide onto two plates.

5) While the potato-onion-carrot mix is cooking, heat a small skillet to fry your eggs in. Fry eggs according to preference and place on top of the potato-onion-carrot mix on each plate

Done!
This recipe takes a bit longer than the breakfast burritos, but it's super easy and low maintenance. Perfect to cook while talking with friends.

Recipe Roundup: Five-Minute Lunch

I like to experiment in the kitchen a bit, and I had a recent experiment that turned out quite well, so I thought I'd share:



Tomato-Feta Couscous Salad
(a.k.a. An incredibly healthy, easy, and delicious lunch you can make in five minutes)

Ingredients:
1 cup dry couscous

1 cup water
2 tbs. butter
pinch of salt, plus salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste

Handful of cherry or grape tomatoes (I used yellow grape tomatoes from Trader Joe's)
Crumbled Feta cheese to taste

Prepare couscous according to package. I use Trader Joe's whole wheat couscous, which takes about five minutes in the microwave. For their couscous, combine dry couscous, water, butter, and pinch of salt in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave for 3.5 minutes on high. Let sit for up to five minutes. Fluff with fork.

While microwaving couscous, cut your tomatoes in half. Once couscous is done, add feta, tomatoes, and desired seasonings.

Enjoy your delicious and healthy lunch!



*Note: any other vegetables can be added to this mix if desired. I've tried this with roasted squash and roasted zucchini, and spinach in addition to the tomatoes and it was very tasty.
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