Chili-Spiced Polenta with Avocado Sauce

July 17, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 4 Comments

On Friday’s in our house, I usually try out a new recipe. I usually have a little more time to make dinner and it’s fun to try something new! I have made polenta before, but I forgot how easy and how delicious it really is! This is a pretty simple meal to throw together and it tastes fantastic!

Chili-Spiced Polenta with Avocado Sauce

For Polenta:

3 1/2 cups water
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp cumin

For Avocado Sauce:

1-2 medium avocados
juice and zest of one lime
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp water

1. First prepare your polenta. This can be done ahead of time so it will be ready come dinner time! Bring the 3 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. While pouring the cornmeal into the water, keep whisking so that no lumps form. Turn heat down to a simmer. Keep stirring the polenta every so often scraping the bottom of the pan so none sticks. The polenta will be done when it is nice and thick and no longer sticks to the side of the pan. Add your spices and pour the polenta into an oiled bread pan (or whatever dish you have handy. Just make sure it has high enough sides so polenta won’t pill over) and place pan in fridge to set.

2. While your polenta is chilling in the fridge, dice your avocados and place into a food processor or blender, I used my ninja. Add the rest of your ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.

3. After about 30 min, take polenta out of the fridge. Now you can do one of two things. You can slice up your polenta and eat it cold or you can heat it up. I like it heated up because it gets a nice little crisp to it. Turn oven to 4o0 and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place polenta slices onto baking sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 10 min, flip them over and bake for 10 more minutes.

Once the polenta is done you can top it with the avocado sauce. I also like to put homemade salsa on top. I’ve also topped with pinto beans and corn. You can do whatever you like, it will be delicious no matter what! Enjoy!

Stir fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce

June 5, 2013January 29, 2016 / ktbuchs87

I love quick meals that taste really good, who doesn’t? This one comes together super fast and delivers quite a powerful taste punch. Yeah. Taste punch. I said it. So if you’re in the mood for a healthy and tasty Asian-inspired dish, try this one out!

Stir fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce

2-3 tbsp natural peanut butter (I used chunky for extra texture)
1/3 cup veggie broth
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use less if you don’t like spicy, more if you like the heat)
1 tbsp raw honey
2 teaspoon ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp soy sauce (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos, you can also use coconut aminos)
assorted stir fry veggies, broccoli/carrots/water chestnuts/cauliflower/sugar snap peas/bok choy
1 onion, diced
brown rice noodles, optional but delicious!

1. If using brown rice noodles, cook according to the package while you get everything else going

2. Combine peanut butter, veggie broth, red pepper flakes, honey, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Whisk together well and set aside

3. In a wok or large skillet, heat a little EVOO and stir fry your vegetables for about 7 to 10 minutes. You don’t want them to be mushy, but crisp.

4. Once your vegetables are cooked, add in your brown rice noodles and combine them with the vegetables. Pour your peanut sauce over this and stir well. Heat through for another 2 minutes. Serve it up and enjoy! This meal also makes some pretty awesome leftovers the next day, so make enough to enjoy it again!

Curried Quinoa Salad

May 30, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

I made this meal because it was something that could be made ahead of time and it travels well. Both important things because the weekend that we had this, we were staying at my parents house to watch their dogs before we went to my sister’s graduation. It was also really warm that weekend and this salad hit the spot! Hope you enjoy!

Curried Quinoa Salad

1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 1/3 cups quinoa
3 cups water
1/2 cup veggie broth
1/2 an onion, diced
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 handful of spinach, chopped
Pepper

1. Add all ingredients through veggie broth into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit covered for another 10 minutes.

2. Once your quinoa is done, add in the onion, vinegar, maple syrup, spinach, and pepper to taste. Mix everything well. You can serve right away, but it tastes even better after you have let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so. You can also add in other things if you wanted. Carrots or chopped nuts would also be delicious!

Tomorrow I will be posting again (amazing? I know). I participated in Foodie Penpals through theleangreenbean. So check back tomorrow to learn what that is all about!

Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah….

February 11, 2013 / ktbuchs87

It’s probably no shock that I love to be in the kitchen, cooking and creating delicious (and healthy!) meals. For me, there is something therapeutic and fulfilling about the whole process of putting a meal on the table. I love searching through recipes, gathering the ingredients, tying my apron around my waist and getting down to business. I’ll be the first to tell you that I am not a gourmet chef by any means. I wouldn’t even claim to be an amateur chef. Just a gal who likes to cook and serve meals.

I’ve heard many times that people would love to be able to cook all their meals, but they aren’t good cooks or don’t have time, or (gasp!) hate to be in the kitchen. All of these (except for that last one!), are legitimate problems when it comes to eating healthier. One of the best ways to make sure you are getting proper nutrition, is to be the one in charge of all the food that goes into your body. Easier said than done right? I understand that not everyone will share my love of all things kitchen/cooking. I do however have a few tips that can help you navigate your way through the kitchen maze and start to take your health into your own very capable hands!

Have some confidence! My mom always told me that if you could read you could cook. At it’s very minimum, cooking is being able to read a recipe and follow the instructions. Of course there are some exceptions to this and cooking does have a lot more involved, but don’t second guess yourself. You are at the top of the food chain! You are an intelligent being (I assume!). You are more than capable of tackling that chicken noodle soup recipe!

Keep it simple. Going along with the first point, keep your cooking simple. Don’t make your kitchen debut with a fancy schmancy recipe that has hard-to-find ingredients and will chain you to the oven all day using crazy techniques like braising or caramelizing. Find simple, short recipes that have a few steps and common ingredients. You will feel so much more calm and proud of yourself when you can place a complete meal on the table as opposed to a failure when your souffle deflates half way through cooking! As you cook more and more you will get better and be able to “graduate” to more complicated meals.

Read the whole recipe BEFORE you start. It’s a rookie mistake (one that I have made at least once…) to not read through the whole recipe before you dive right in. There is nothing worse than being halfway through your cooking and realizing you need fresh basil and there is none to be found in your kitchen. By making sure you read through all the ingredients and all the steps, you will be able to make sure you have everything and save yourself a big headache later on.

Schedule out your meal. What I mean by this it make sure you time out your cooking. If you are preparing a whole meal (entree and side dishes), you’ll want to make sure everything will finish generally around the same time. I still struggle with this sometimes, and estimated cooking times aren’t always right. Create a rough time table of when you need to start preparing the food, then when you need to start cooking. I find it’s easiest to decide when you want to eat and work backwards from there.

Have fun! Yes. I know this is a cliche piece of advice. But in all seriousness, you will enjoy your time in the kitchen a lot more if you have fun. Don’t stress if something doesn’t turn out perfectly the first time you make it. You’ll have to eat again in the very near future and have your second chance at getting it right! Pick recipes with foods and ingredients you know you will like, involve your family or friends in the prep work, have music playing in the background, dance! The more fun you have while in the kitchen the more motivated you will be to keep practicing and the better you will get!

I know this is just a short list and that it probably won’t be enough to convince some of you that cooking can be simple and fun. Humor me though and give one meal a shot. This would be a great way for those of you who made the resolution to eat better to take charge of your nutrition! Trust me, I know you will feel super proud of yourself when put that plate of yummy food down on the table with the knowledge that YOU put in all the work and love it to took to create that dish. So throw on your aprons, fire of the stove, and get cookin’!

If you need some ideas for quick and healthy recipes, follow me over on Pinterest! I pin recipes pretty much everyday and they are all fairly easy to follow! Katie Buchanan http://pinterest.com/ktbuchs87/