Bacon Quinoa with Almonds and Herbs

This one is actually a Delish recipe - Delish became one of my favorite websites for recipes when I was sick and needing to limit my time on my feet in the kitchen - that I adapted to Instapot this weekend. If you don't have an Instapot, I highly recommend Delish's version! 

If you've ever thought about trying quinoa but were a little intimidated by this new "yuppie" or "superfood" kind of thing - your celiac friend is telling you, quinoa is great and not initmidating at all.  I use it instead of rice, most times, these days. This recipe's a great one to try it out.

Bacon Quinoa with Almonds and Herbs



And it's "kween-wah," so you can feel all knowledgable talking about your new recipe.

To adapt the Bacon Quinoa with Almonds and Herbs to Instapot:

(Well, to Ashley and to the Instapot. I noticed I made some other changes to make it healthier, lower fat - Canadian bacon instead of regular bacon - and lower calorie - adding a package of frozen spinach. Quinoa may be a superfood, but it has as many calories as rice!)

BACON QUINOA WITH ALMONDS AND HERBS

1 C sliced almonds
6 rounds Canadian bacon
4 shallots, minced
2 C quinoa
2 1/2 C chicken stock (*Make sure your stock is gluten free, if you are celiac!)
Sage
Chives
Parsley
12 oz frozen spinach, thawed

Saute your shallots in pan spray in the Instapot on 'Saute.'

Dice the Canadian bacon. Add bacon, quinoa, chicken stock, plenty of herbs (I did not measure my sage, chives, or parsley), and spinach to the shallots in the Instapot.

Close the lid and cook on Pressure Cook - High - for 22 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes, then release pressure manually, uncover, and fluff with a fork.

Servings: 7
Calories per serving: 325

Barbeque Rotisserie Chicken on Cauliflower and Grits Puree

This is a Cooking Light recipe from several years ago that I have adapted and made my own!

Carve a rotisserie chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Make 1 recipe of the barbecue sauce from my precious post. Pour half over chicken; stir well. (Freeze the rest, if you don't have any immediate use for it. It freezes very well, and is handy to have for a quick dinner!)

For the cauliflower and grits purée:

Microwave two 10oz packages riced cauliflower, according to package directions.

Mix together 1 cup grits and 3 cups chicken broth. Microwave 5 minutes, stirring two or three times.

*Note to my gluten-free-ers! Make sure both your grits and your broth are MARKED gluten free. Otherwise you can’t trust them! I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Polenta Corn Grits, and my usual Orrington Farms Chicken Broth Base.

Add riced cauliflower and shredded cheddar cheese to the grits when done.

Serve chicken over the grits and cauliflower mixture, adding more cheese on top if desired. (I always like extra cheese!)

BARBEQUE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN ON CAULIFLOWER AND GRITS PUREE

1 rotisserie chicken, diced
2 10-oz packages frozen riced cauliflower
1 C gluten free polenta or corn grits
3 C chicken stock or broth base
3/4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 recipe Barbeque Sauce
1/2 C sliced scallions

Dice the rotisserie chicken into bite sized pieces.

Make Barbeque Sauce. Mix half the Barbeque Sauce with the diced chicken, reserving other half for another use.

Cook cauliflower according to package directions.

Microwave grits and chicken broth five minutes or according to package directions, stirring occasionally.

Stir cauliflower and cheese into grits. Serve grits topped with chicken, and garnish with scallions.

Top with extra cheese or barbeque sauce as desired.

Servings: 7
Calories per serving: 325

Ashley’s Favorite Sauces: Barbeque Sauce

3 T minced garlic

4 minced shallots 

29oz can tomato sauce

1/4 C water

4 T Dijon mustard

3 T ketchup

Chili powder, to taste 

Sauté minced garlic and shallots in pan spray. When translucent, add tomato sauce, water, mustard, ketchup, and chili powder to taste. Stir well. Simmer until thickened, 5-10 minutes.

Ashley’s Favorite Sauces: Lightened Spring ‘Roux’

That is, not a roux at all really: but it’s a milk-based sauce I use in place of a roux when I don’t want the calories of the butter and flour, or (like today) when I just don’t want the heaviness of a traditional roux.

LIGHTENED SPRING ROUX

14oz chicken broth, bouillon, or broth base

1 1/2 cups milk, divided

2 T corn starch

Heat the chicken broth/water and bouillon/water and broth base in the microwave two minutes. (I use a four-cup glass measure.)  Add one cup milk and stir.

In a smaller measure or bowl, mix a half cup of milk with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk together well. 

Pour the milk/cornstarch slurry into the four cup measure. Heat to boiling in the microwave, stirring every minute, until thickened.

Edited: Sometimes cornstarch is tricky 😊 and two tablespoons won’t do it. Start with two! If the sauce doesn’t thicken, pour about half a cup of it back into your smaller measure/bowl and whisk in another 2 T of cornstarch. Stir that back in to the larger measure, again, and stick it back in the microwave. 

Spinach and Pea Spaghetti with Lightened Spring ‘Roux’

SPINACH AND PEA SPAGHETTI WITH LIGHTENED SPRING 'ROUX'

16oz spaghetti

1 lb bag frozen peas

40oz fresh spinach

1 recipe of  Lightened Spring 'Roux'
Fresh grated Parmesan

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Wilt spinach in the microwave; place spinach in a microwave-able bowl and cover tightly. Cook four minutes and stir, adding spinach until all is wilted.

Place frozen peas in colander. Drain pasta when done over frozen peas.

Place spinach, pasta, and peas back in the pasta pot. Stir Lightened Spring Roux in to pasta mixture.

Serve topped with fresh Parmesan.

Servings: 7
Calories per serving: 310

Basic Quinoa

So. QUINOA. Quinoa gets a terrible rap for being this faddish Gluten Free food. And it is true I probably wouldn’t have tried it if I wasn’t gluten free - but I never did grits before I went gluten free either, and live right down in grits county, North Carolina in the U.S. of A.!

You need to give quinoa a chance. I buy it in bulk at Sams, now, as you can see - eat it instead of rice with dinners. 

I've put up a post (copied and pasted shamelessly here) on how to make quinoa in the Instapot. https://myashleyetc.blogspot.com/2019/09/instapot-quinoa.html

I'm going to show you how to make quinoa salad in a couple weeks, so I wanted to put how to make your basic quinoa if you don't have an Instapot. It turns out just fine on the stove, that's the way I did it for years. The only thing is - you have to keep an eye on it, because once it boils, it boils over QUICK.

BASIC QUINOA

2 cups quinoa
3 cups water or broth

Put two cups of quinoa in three cups water or broth in a saucepan over high heat. Heat to boiling. When quinoa starts boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes on low. Let sit five minutes, covered, then fluff with a fork before serving.

Ashley’s Favorite Sauces: Blender Hollandaise

A hollandaise is the traditional sauce for Eggs Benedict, which is what I’m using it for this week! It’s also great on vegetables: I love it on roasted asparagus or wilted spinach too.

Eggs Benedict is tricky when you’re gluten free. Usually an Eggs Benedict is poached eggs on top of ham or Canadian bacon, on a split English muffin, covered with hollandaise. I haven’t met a gluten free English muffin I’ve liked yet! 

I do my Eggs Benedict on top of roasted asparagus (break the woody ends off, break the rest into bite-sized pieces, wrap in foil, and put in the oven on top of a baking sheet for 12-15 minutes at 375) or on top of hashbrowns, which is what I’m using today.

Anyway, now that I’ve set off my smoke alarms cooking my hashbrowns- don’t let your cast iron get too hot! that’s what I did there! -I’m ready to put my sauce together.

BLENDER HOLLANDAISE

1 cup butter

3 large egg yolks

2 T lemon juice

1 T hot water

1/2 t salt

2 T finely chopped fresh tarragon (optional, but great if you’ve got it)

Melt butter in the microwave in a small bowl. Skim and discard any foam. Pour butter into a measuring cup, leaving white solids behind.

Place yolks, lemon juice, hot water, and salt in a blender or food processor. Immediately whirl on High one minute.

If butter is not hot, reheat. While motor is running, slowly pour butter through hole in lid. Whirl until thickened, about one minute. Stir in tarragon. Whisk just before serving.