From Our Kitchen - Sweet Potato & Quinoa Soup

A little while back I posted this recipe on quinoa stuffed bell peppers. The stuffing was great, but the peppers were kind of a flop.  That was the first time I tried quinoa, and I cooked way too much for my recipe, so I had all of this quinoa leftover. I tasted it to see if I could just serve it up as a side, like rice, but it wasn't very flavorful.  In my opinion, it's definitely an ingredient I enjoy, but it needs to be dressed up a little bit.

So I turned to my old ways, and used to to create a spin on one of my favorite soups. (I didn't realize it had been 2 years since posting that recipe. The photos show our old stove in Auburn... so reminiscent!) Sorry, back to the point: quick and simple! All you need is 1-2 diced sweet potatoes,

a can of black beans (drained and rinsed),

cooked quinoa (a cup or so),

shredded chicken (mine was from leftover rotisserie chicken; 1-2 cups),

chicken stock (one carton), and the most important ingredient to make this soup a hit: cilantro! Roughly chop a small handful and through it in right at the end. I promise you won't feel like you are eating salsa. Cilantro is a frequent ingredient in Thai and Indian soups, and it brings a great refreshing flavor to the dish.  You can also season this soup however you'd like with salt and pepper, thyme, or other herbs.

A few tips:  I made this a second time with low-sodium chicken stock and it just wasn't the same. I'm usually all for healthier options, but if you're making a soup that is heavily based on it's broth, the broth itself needs to have good flavor, and unfortunately for our palettes, that means salt.
Also, I finally tried preserving my cilantro by placing it in a cup of water in the fridge with a damp paper towel over top. This made the cilantro last SO much longer! Definitely do this to extend the life of this fresh herb so you can use it in other dishes without rushing.

Click HERE if you'd like a printable recipe version.

High Five for Friday

I am thrilled that it is Friday! Jesse has been at a training session in Pennsylvania for two weeks, and I am SO ready to see him today when he gets back! I tried not to let on in last week's High Five that Jesse was gone, because I didn't want the interwebs to know I was home alone (because I'm crazy like that). So let's recap from this week:

1.  You might have already thought that this means Jesse wasn't home for Valentine's Day. We never go all out for Valentine's anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal. He did, however, have our friend (and neighbor) Kelsey come into our apartment and leave a card and chocolates from him for me. It was a sweet surprise when I got home from class on Friday. But don't worry, I didn't spend Valentine's alone. Kelsey's hubby was also out of town, so she and I, plus friends Ronda and Rebekah had a girl's night. We stuffed our own calzones for dinner, and Kelsey made an amazing chocolate raspberry cheesecake! Then we watched a southern classic: Fried Green Tomatoes. It was a fun night!

2.  My mom came to visit me over the weekend. I took her to one of my favorite lunch spots (Urban Cookhouse) and she was able to stay to go to church with me on Sunday and meet some of our friends here in Birmingham. I loved that she came to visit me and keep me company over what would have felt like a long weekend without Jesse home.

3.  Meanwhile, Jesse was battling snow storms to get to work nearly every morning. In weather that was well below freezing!

4.  Jesse's half-brother, Stan, and his family are currently living in Pennsylvania and were in driving distance for Jesse. He went to visit them over the weekend, which was great because it's been a long time since they've seen each other, and it gave Jesse something to do with his free time there.

5.  I also received this picture from Jesse during his trip. He consumed nearly all of this sandwich that was twice the size of his own head. I'm not sure how he packs away the food, but if you know him at all, you know that he can!

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday!  I think I've missed a couple lately.  Let's link up with Lauren and run through this weeks high five:

1. Jesse and I ate at a new-to-us sushi place recently. It was quite delicious, and we will definitely go back to try more!

2. Maggie got cute and comfy.

3. I got a new nail polish color this week. I think it's my new absolute favorite.

4. It snowed. Again. I think I can speak for 99% of the state of Alabama and say we are over the snow. I know I can speak for my classmates. Snow days are no longer fun when you have to reschedule classes to your lunch hour or until 7:30pm. Not fun, snow. Not fun.

5. The Olympics are on!!! We've been watching lots of those, at least in the background. My favorite for the winter would have to be ice skating. They just make it look so effortless and graceful. Jesse enjoys the snowboarding events, which were full of frustration this year on the half-pipe. USA is not doing so hot on the medal count, but there are plenty more events to compete in!

And a special bonus:  it's Valentine's Day!  Don't forget to tell people how much you love them today!

From Our Kitchen - Breakfast Quiche

This week I made a quiche for Jesse and I to eat for breakfast. I've been inspired for months (maybe longer) to try to make quiche. My mother-in-law has made it a couple of different times while we've been home. Then my friend Kelsey served up a variety of quiche for Community Group one night. I've even marked Pioneer Woman's Cowgirl Quiche in my cookbook I received at Christmas. But it was during our "snowpocalypse" that I got the final nudge to boost the inspiration. My friend Rachel whipped up a quiche to serve us for breakfast with just the few ingredients she had on hand. I told her I love quiche but have never tried to make one. To which she said, "It's so easy!"  So I put her words to the test on Sunday night and tried to use up some ingredients hanging out in our fridge.

I used the Pioneer Woman's cookbook as a guide, but I didn't really follow the recipe. I wanted to throw in the ingredients and see what came out. Rachel was right, it's SO easy! I chose to add red bell pepper, onion, spinach, and bacon.

I didn't want to have big chunks of onion, even diced, so I used my food processor. (A secret from my mother-in-law because Jesse doesn't like bites of onion in dishes... it only took me 2+ years of marriage to try this and make his dish more pleasing...) It took about 3 seconds and I had very finely diced onions, and no watering/burning eyes. This was a life-changing moment. I will be doing this forever more. I've always thought it was unnecessary to dirty up the food processor just to chop an onion. I was wrong. Totally worth it.  Then I did it to my red pepper, and smiled again with satisfaction.

For my quiche: it all started with bacon. Everything's better with bacon.

All I did was whisk some eggs (I did 6), added some heavy cream I had on hand (milk would obviously work and be a healthier option).  Then I added in the bacon, onion, red pepper, spinach, salt, and pepper. I used a pre-made pie crust to make it quicker.

I mixed all the ingredients together in one bowl.

Then poured into the pie crust.

I covered it with foil and baked at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Then I removed the foil and cooked for another 15. It should just barely be "jiggly," so pop it back in covered if it's not ready.

I will say that all the spinach floated to the top, and the bacon to the bottom. I'm not sure how to fix the bacon, but next time I might saute the spinach before adding it into the quiche mixture.  But the flavor on this thing was excellent! Even if you don't like onions, by chopping them so finely in a food processor or blender (or by hand!) you couldn't pick out an actual onion flavor, but it added so much depth to this simple meal.

We both ate a slice each morning throughout the week. I loved having a warm and delicious breakfast without any work in the morning!  Let me know if you decide to make one too!

Snow Day

(photo credit: Mike Nelson)

Instead of a high five this week, I'm telling my version of the past few days. In case you've been....I don't know... in a dark closet or somewhere without human interaction since Tuesday morning, Alabama had the worst snow storm since the blizzard of 1993. And yes, it's been that long since it really snowed here, and we all remember that day like it was yesterday. Little dustings here and there bring back fond childhood memories for many of us from that year. We actually got to build real, tall snowmen that weren't dirty with the grass that is usually only centimeters beneath the "snow."

(photo credit: Mike Nelson)

This most recent experience was not filled with as many fun and games. Many of you were also snowed in, and have stories to tell of your own. Here's mine:

(I-65 - photo credit: Mike Nelson)

Tuesday morning I went to school. Normal right? Not so much. I didn't really have to be there. I was trying to be a good little optometry student and take advantage of my morning "off" by practicing with other good little students in the clinic. So I got all dressed up in clinic attire, but decided to take a different pair of warmer shoes to swap and walk in (thankfully). I knew a light amount of snow was on the forecast, so I was a little excited in anticipation. But mostly I was just still grumpy about this cold weather, and am ready to have the option of wearing a T-shirt outside again, like normal, here in AL. 

I practiced and my partner practiced. Then friends came in and said "It's snowing! A lot!" And then the school emailed out that they were closing at noon. Well, it was almost noon already and I knew a lot of people would be leaving, so I ate my lunch with friends and we decided to wait out traffic. We even walked outside to greet the snow with some excitement.

 We quickly realized there was no waiting for the traffic to die down. We were watching live news footage on the classroom's projector screen and all over the city roads were covered in ice and cars... cars... lots of cars. This was the first time I had heard the term "gridlocked," and I knew it wasn't good.  People being interviewed on the news were leaving their cars on the side of the road to walk home, or to their children in school, and then to just find a warm place to sleep through the night. Many people, specifically those that were still in their cars until darkness came to freeze more of the snow, were in a much worse situation than I was.  But it's a bit of a sinking feeling when you realize you are somewhere and you can't make it to where you want to be. A 10-15 minute drive away is impossible. It takes a little while to realize. Normal days on the highways are busy with cars zooming around each other - people in a hurry. But not this night. The roads were all stand-stills, including University Boulevard, right in front of my school.

Some girl friends and I debated to spend the night in the school, but were thankfully offered a couch at another friend's apartment in walking distance. We walked through the snow then, finally seeing what was happening outside. Cars for as far as the eye could see down University Boulevard, cars sliding back down hills, and wrecks all over. We were all so very thankful for our warm and comfy place to stay (and the delicious food that was made for us)!  On Wednesday we all wanted to figure out a way home. Thanks to more friends with vehicles capable of handling ice and snow, some of us were able to get a ride home. Well, close to home. We live in a valley between two hills - a hill along our path that was clogged with cars and trucks. So that our driver didn't get stuck as well, we told him to turn around while he still could, and we would walk the rest of the way. 1.8 miles, which is not nearly as far as others walked. Once we made it passed were the cars could go, the roads were wide open with nearly untouched powdery snow. It was then that I could finally appreciate its beauty. I had been being selfish that the weather had ruined so many people's day(s) that I couldn't let myself enjoy this rarity. It probably had to do a little with the hope of being so close to home, as well.

(Nick & Alicia were my hiking buddies. Thankfully they were going to the same place!)

We made it - sweating in 30 degree weather. Home here has never looked so good. Again, I realize hundreds, maybe thousands of people, had a much more severe and alarming situation. I cannot imagine being a parent that couldn't get to their child, or someone away from life-sustaining medications, or in labor on the interstate that wasn't budging (yep... that happened - in Birmingham and Atlanta).  

So in honor of High Five for Friday - here are my favorite moments from this week's choas:

1. The top spot goes to this humble, dedicated doctor. Watch his interview after surgery HERE. 

2. Chilck-Fil-A handed out free sandwiches to those stuck in their cars. Just another reason to love Chick-Fil-A.

3. My friend Kelsey's response to my message that we were walking home, before she realized it was not from downtown. Can you tell she's a mom? Hilarious.

4.  It was a wonderful to see how a city like Birmingham worked together to help each other through a difficult couple of days. Maybe it has something to do with Southern hospitality. I'd like to think so. HERE is an article full of "Good Samaritan" stories.

5.  The fact that my husband was away on a work trip, which meant he was not trapped in his office for the night or stuck on 280. Also that each one of my friends were safe and warm through the night, either by making it to their own homes or each others'.

I was back to my normal routine today, and there is only patches of snow that remain, along with a few abandoned cars here and there. Thankfully it didn't take long to return to normal around here. 

High Five for Friday

I'm a little behind on this week's top five moments. Mostly because not much happen around Birmingham this week. Jesse was out of town for work, so I buckled down and tried to get a lot of studying done = boring! But, Jesse was able to have a little fun on his trip, which was to Texas.

1. This week I have done a little of this and that:

(not my patient)

(Click on the image to watch the video)

2. Meanwhile in Texas- Jesse had a conference and training program to go to. He and some co-workers ate at Downtown Aquarium, which is like an aquarium/amusement park with a restaurant inside.

3. Since Jesse was gone all week, we did a lot of Hangouts to see each other. Thank the Lord for technology (when it works properly)!:

4.  On Thursday night I went to our friends Kyle and Scarlett's home for the beginning of their Dave Ramsey Financial Peace focus group. I'm a little reluctant about it in ways (cash envelopes, no credit cards, etc.), but I'm excited to get some financial advice to see where Jesse and I currently stand and to see what we can work towards and improve upon. I'm sure there are lots of improvement that need to occur. Have any of you tried the Dave Ramsey program before?

5. My new phone came in the mail this week, which means soon (very soon) I can get rid of my current cell phone plan and carrier and finally have service at my apartment! This will be very good news to some of you, too! We can finally talk without having time delay or being dropped!

From Our Kitchen - Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I've been trying to knock out some of the recipes I've saved onto Pinterest recently.  I have an ever-growing list of things I want to try.  Some of them are more involved and time-consuming than others, but I rounded up a few that looked like quick and delicious weeknight meals.  This was the first I tried, and while we didn't love it, I'm still sharing it anyway.

I am more of a pepper-and-onions kind of person than Jesse, so when I saw this recipe I didn't think he would go for it.  I knew eating the whole pepper along with the filling would mean consuming a large amount of pepper in each bite, which I thought I would like. I was wrong. It was too over-whelmingly peppery that I didn't even finish my first one. I ate only half the pepper, and dumped the filling out of a second to even things out. My sweet husband, who doesn't care for peppers, finished the whole thing. Bless him.

So why would I even share this?
1) The filling is so yummy I ate it alone for lunch the next day. It's packed with flavor and texture!  I packed up our leftover that day by dumping out the filling for the remaining peppers and dicing up only one pepper to add into the mix. So, with all that said, I would make this recipe again but as a side dish this way.  So, if you are a pepper person try this as is; if not, make only the filling and add in one diced pepper. The pepper does bring in good flavor that blends with the others.

2) This recipe calls for quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) - which I have never cooked, nor eaten before this. But it's been all the rage in food-land for a while now, and I've been interested in trying it. I like that this recipe was packed with a variety of other flavors, in case I wasn't too fond of quinoa. Why quinoa and what is it? It cooks like a grain, like rice, but it's technically a seed. Many recipes use it as a healthier alternative for rice because it has nearly double the protein content and a lot more fiber, while remaining lower in carbs. (Quinoa is higher in fat, but it's of the unsaturated variety which is "good" fat that can help lower cholesterol.) Quinoa is a little pricey, but it's nutrition benefits make it worth it in my opinion, especially to sub for rice every once in a while.

Let's cook!

First, you will need 3 cups of cooked quinoa. If you were as unfamiliar as I was, read how to cook quinoa HERE. Sources I read varied, but I can attest that it more than doubles when cooked. I cooked 1.5 cups hoping for an even 3, but wound up with at least 5 cups of cooked. Cook up however much decides to cook, then scoop 3 cups into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Once you have your quinoa, take six bell peppers (whichever colors you prefer; I think the red and orange are a little sweeter and work well for this recipe).  Cut off their tops and spoon out their seeds. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and sit them inside.

Into your mixing bowl with the quinoa, add your green chilies, whole kernel corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Now give that all a toss to distribute everything evenly.

Scoop the filling into each of your peppers, then top with a little shredded cheese. Bake until the peppers are soft and the cheese has melted on top (about 30 minutes).

If you are making this as a side dish without filling the peppers, either chop up one raw pepper and through it in, as is. Or saute them before adding in, if you prefer.
(Original recipe found HERE @ damndelicious.net)

I used my leftover quinoa in a soup a few days later, and it was delicious! Maybe I will share that soon, too.