Chicken Broccoli Quinoa

Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package directions.

Chop up 2 cups cooked chicken or use canned.

Chop 1 c broccoli, you can use cooked or raw. Any vegetable or combination of veggies you like can be substituted.

 Mix together, season with salt and pepper.

Shave 4 oz Asiago cheese over and serve, warm or cold. ( I prefer this one warm)

Quinoa

Quinoa is a grain, mainly from the Andes Mountain countries of Peru, Bolivia and Chili. It is a gluten free, whole grain packed with protein and fiber plus many other nutrients. 

It can be used, once cooked, warm or cold. Good as a savory with spices, veggies and meat or as a sweet for breakfast with fruit or as an alternative to oats.

Usually found in the health food section of your grocery store, it can be pricey but I think it is worth it. Bob's Red Mill is probably the most common brand, so far I have found Trader Joe's to be the cheapest.

Quinoa pronounced keen-wa has a nutty taste with a crunchy texture that almost pops in your mouth. It must be rinsed before you cook it, because it has a soap-like coating. You will need a very fine colander or I line mine with a paper towel.

Cook with 2 parts water or broth to one part grain. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 min. You can also cook in a rice cooker.

Once it is cooked it becomes somewhat translucent and little rings begin to separate. 

Give it a try!!

Face book Giveaway

To celebrate North Dakota Kitchen's fans on Facebook, I am giving away a little prize.  It will be a random drawing.
#1 you must become a fan of North Dakota Kitchen (page) on Facebook,~ winner will be verified. Or follow on Facebook networked blogs, if you choose networked blogs please note that in your comment!!
#2 You must leave a comment here on this post to be entered. all you have to say is hi or enter me.
#3 Winner will be announced Saturday May 8th.
#4 Prize will be delivered locally or shipped to you.
What is the prize??
Prize;
  6 Melamine 8 in. plates with a poppy design
  1 Rachel Ray Fast and Light dvd
  1 refrigerator shopping list
  2 packs of funny, vintage look recipe cards
  1 coupon holder

contest will be reposted on Facebook several times during the week to remind new fans to enter.
Setting up a Google ID is easy and will not generate any spam, you simply use an email and an id, name for your self, you can then post on blogs. I would love to make it simpler but I have to follow Facebook guidelines.  Make sure to check back here May 8th...this is where it will be announced....Facebook rules again.  Good Luck

For those of you not on Facebook......don't worry another contest is coming soon to you~!

Cranberry Pear Scones

2 c flour

1c wheat flour

1/3 c sugar

1 Tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbs. chilled butter

1/3 c chopped dried pear, or other dried fruit

1/3 c dried cranberries

3/4 c buttermilk

1 large egg

1 large egg white

cooking spray

1 Tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly spray baking sheets or stoneware.

Mix flours, baking soda and powder, 1/3 c sugar and salt, cut in butter by using a pastry blender or a grater.

 Stir in dried fruit.

Mix buttermilk*, egg and egg white and add to mixture just until evenly moistened.  Pat dough into two rectangles on lightly floured surface, cut into eighths. place onto baking sheets and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 400 for 12 minutes. Serve warm.

* if you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can sour your milk by adding 1 Tbs. of lemon juice or vinegar to a one cup measuring cup, then filling to level with regular milk, let stand 3 min.

Outdoor Tea

      A little tea outdoors for you and me.

 

Favorite tea sets with favorite cups, they don't have to match!

If those pesky bees get in the way... look at the wonderful bee bonnets .

Don't forget a place for the tea bag and a tea squeeze!

       Tea strainers for loose tea.

Tea board can be seen at Southern Belle with Northern Roots.

 And how the table normally looks.....these tea cups hold pansies, and I am patiently waiting for them to bloom.

Now for the fun part, tea set, cup, bee bonnets, table cloth, most strainers, tray, milk glass, all were garage sale finds over the years!!

Ezekiel Bread

This recipe is fairly similar to Whole Wheat Bread  it is a little heartier and makes 4 loves so it is very good for freezing a couple loaves or sharing with neighbors.

3 packages yeast

5 cups warm water (110-115) divided

1 Tbs plus 2/3 c honey, divided

2/3 c canola oil

1/2 c sugar

2 tsp salt

4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c milled flax

1/2 c wheat germ or wheat bran

6-8 c bread flour

1/4 c sunflower seeds, shelled, unsalted

1/4 c flax seed

1/4 pumpkin seeds, shelled, unsalted

In large bowl dissolve yeast in 3/4 c warm water and 1 Tbs honey, when dissolved add remaining honey, water and oil. Add sugar, salt, whole wheat flour, milled flax and wheat germ . Stir in 3 c bread flour, Beat until smooth. Add nuts and flax seed and enough remaining flour to form soft dough. Place in very large sprayed bowl, cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch down and form into 4 loaves, use loaf pans or free form into rolls, rounds or ovals.

Let rise about 30 min covered and then bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

  Modified from Taste of Home Oct/Nov 2008

Stone Ware

  If you have never tried baking or cooking with stone ware, now is the time. I was skeptical years ago, I had a Pampered Chef party and if my demonstrator hadn't talked me into it and had my party not reached the level of attaining it as a free item, I never would have bought it. I was worried about the "not washing" in soap and water, the seasoning process, the weight etc.
  My first piece was a bar pan, when you get it the color is very light clay, see newer pieces above. After use, it continues to darken, my first bar pan became black, completely black I used it almost every day. It eventually broke and I am now breaking in a new one.
 It is a little pricey, but worth every penny. Often you can find a piece at a garage sale, from someone who went to a party and probably bought one out of guilt (because they have to buy something) or they just never started using it. Shame really. But it is a great way to get a lower price and try it out. There are a few other brands at stores, I have some of those too. They work fine, I think Pampered Chef's product is a little better but I use it all just the same.

Bar pan on bottom, a store brand cookie sheet and various pizza pans. I use all of these when baking cookies.
I also make pizza, cook fish sticks, buns, cresent rolls- from the dairy aisle, etc on these pans.

The bowls are wonderful for oven stews, bread bowls and can be used as a dutch oven with bottom round stone cake pan.

I have a multi loaf pan, it works very well, loaves are just right, not too small.

 

  Over the years I have owned several pieces, a few have broken, it is stone so you have to be careful. I was had a serious lapse in judgment and actually added water out of the tap into the hot pan in the oven, duh! that would even break glass!! 

Seasoning requires only spraying or buttering and/ or cooking high fat foods the first few times.
Clean up is hot water with a scraper, soon a dark slick coating will develop and less fat is required.
Pans are heavy, keep them in an easy access place.
If you have stone ware, like it or not, leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Rustic Apple Tart

Place one pie crust onto a lightly sprayed baking sheet or a stone.

Peel and core 5 large apples, slice and toss with 2 Tbs lemon juice to avoid browning.

Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 c sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

dash of cloves

Place apple mix onto center of crust and fold up 1 1/2 inches of crust, pinching along the way, dot with butter.

Bake at 350 for 45-55 min, or until apples test done. Serve with whip cream or ice cream or try drizzling with caramel sauce.

Steak Fajitas

Cook thinly slice beef or chicken (beef shown here) in a pan with a little oil.

Season with salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder,
1/2 tsp cumin,
1/2 tsp Lawry's season salt ( or any basic seasoning mix)

and add 1/8 c Dale's seasoning, if you can't find it you can use soy sauce. Simmer 10 min.




In another pan, saute sliced onions and peppers in oil until tender.

Warm tortillas in oven for 2-3 minutes.
Stuff a tortilla with meat and veggies, throw on some cheese, sour cream and hot sauce.

Ribs

Start with a great rack of ribs.
Mix and rub on some seasoning, let sit 20 min while the grill heats up. We have a Holland gas grill, all temps and times will vary according to your grill or oven. Low and slow is always good. Have your oven around 300. We cooked these on our grill for 2 1/4 hours.
If you want when they are almost done baste with bar-b-q sauce you have made or store bought. I used this rub combination for our ribs;
Mix
salt
pepper
chili powder
onion powder
garlic salt
thyme
Lawry's season salt
cayenne pepper

 Here are a few other rubs that were featured in Better Homes and Gardens June 2009 issue
Mole
Chili powder, chocolate shavings, grated orange peel
Caribbean
Allspice, mustard seeds, ginger
Au Poivre
White black and pink peppercorns, rosemarry
Honey Mustard
Ground yellow mustard, white sugar, dried lavender
Mediterranean
Grated lemon peel, parsley, chives, oregano, olive oil
Smoke and Fire
smoked paprika, chipotle flakes, snipped dried tomatoes, lime juice
Garlic lovers
Fresh and powdered garlic, sea salt, basil
Asian
black and white sesame seeds, crystallized ginger,red pepper flakes
Cowboy
Hickory smoked salt, ground coffee, light brown sugar
Indian
 curry powder, crushed red pepper flakes, chopped pistachios

As you can see, make a mix of what ever you like to season your ribs or other meat!

Yum, serve with your favorite sides, like potato salad, onion rings or pepperoni baked beans.

Deviled Eggs

Place eggs in cold water and bring to boil, boil 10-15 min. Run cold water over and let sit 5 min. Drain, continue to run cool water over eggs until cool enough to handle. Peel and slice in half. Scoop out yolks into bowl.

I am not going to place amounts here, it will vary according to how many eggs you have and how "wet" you like your filling. 

Mash yolks with fork and add

miracle whip

mustard

finely diced onion or onion powder

relish or finely diced pickles

salt and pepper

paprika

sour cream if you like

and here is a secret ingredient, if you have a spinach dip mix, perhaps like Tastefully Simple, add some of that in, or even a little hidden valley ranch powder.

Sprinkle with a little more paprika and chill

Potato Salad

Recipes for potato salad really vary, here is a basic one that I use. this will make 4-6 servings.

Peel and  cut 4 or 5 large potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size, boil until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Cut into cubes. slice up 2 hard boiled eggs. Mix in 1/4 c chopped onion, 1/4 c relish. In small bowl mix  3/4 c mayo, 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. vinegar, 1-2 Tbs. sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Stir over potatoes and egg mixture, top with paprika and parsley. 

Adjust the sauce to the size of your recipe. You can also add sour cream or plain yogurt. If you don't have relish chop a few dill or sweet pickles.

Silver Tea

Well believe it or not, a couple years ago at a garage sale, we came across this find. The girl selling it actually said, it was my grandmother's, my mom will probably be mad at me for selling it. My husband, at least 3 times asked her is she was sure, and said maybe you should keep it, she wanted to sell it, we bought it. For $15. Click on images to enlarge.

The tray- it is large and heavy.

The sugar pot has a handle that needs to be fixed, we can't seem to find someone in town that will do it....yet., I love the little cream pitcher and butter dish.

a few strawberries, some cantaloupe and cranberry flax muffins


I must confess, I don't know a lot on the proper way to keep silver, it has had a little cleaning but needs more and some polishing. I see why the work of "polishing" silver has led to less using of it, but my- it is so beautiful, it is worth it. 

linking to Rose Colored Glasses 
                Between Naps on the Porch