Quinoa Salad

I may or may not have been eating this obsessively for the past 2 weeks.... It is yummy! If you haven't met quinoa yet, let me introduce you. Quinoa is a little grain-like seed and when cooked it opens up and looks like a cross between a mini-pasta and exploding couscous. It really doesn't taste like much, but it's pretty good for you, being relatively high in protein and fiber. This is, by far, my favorite quinoa recipe yet.

Ingredients: adapted from here
* Mix all together in a big bowl
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup corn
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup cooked quinoa (I found that about 1/2 cup dry quinoa will end up to be about 1 cup cooked)
1 pomegranate (I added this to give it a little bit of sweetness and since it is currently pomegranate season. But I bet you could add mango or strawberries or something too!)

dressing: (whisk all together and pour over the ingredients above)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

i'm addicted

Cranberry Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

These are delicious... and currently what I'm stuffing my face with. I've never really baked or cooked with cranberries before, but they are weird little guys. They're light and almost hollow inside! (P.S.  don't try eating them raw. They are not really any good until you put them in some sort of dish. Trust me on this one...)

Well, let's get to the point.

Ingredients: (orignially from here)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 425

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda, and stir until combined. If you have a pastry blender, this would be a whole lot less messy, but I just dove in with my hands. Mix in the butter until coarse crumbles remain. Add your cranberries and buttermilk and stir until combined. (I had to use my hands again)

Drop by about 1/4 cup onto a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. (I used my silicone baking sheet which made things super easy.) Enjoy!

Roasted Fajita-Spiced Chickpeas

Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans- that just sounds like a muppet name doesn't it) have been a staple in my pantry since I love making (and eating) hummus.  But I recently stumbled upon a recipe for roasted chickpeas. I've never considered eating chickpeas all by themselves, but this seemed like something I'd like.  AND chickpeas are actually kinda good for you. Ya know, all that fiber and protein? It turns out these little babies are yummy. Nice for snacking, or even on top of a salad!


Ingredients:
2 (15oz) cans chickpeas
2 T olive oil
1/2 tea. salt
1/2 tea. pepper
1/2 T. chili powder
1/4 tea cumin
1/4 tea. paprika
1/4 tea. onion powder
1/4 tea. garlic powder
1/8 tea. cayenne (optional if you like heat)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Drain and rinse chickpeas and pat dry.
• Mix oil, salt, pepper and spices and toss in chickpeas to coat.

• Spread on a baking sheet (lined with foil) in a single layer.

• Bake 40-50 minutes (Shake once or twice through baking)
• Store in airtight container once cool.