Baked Acorn Squash Stuffed With Quinoa and Feta

Earlier this week I pinned a bunch of quinoa recipes and one of them was a squash stuffed with quinoa and blue cheese (I think). I decided to make it last minute this morning while the kids played outside. I searched my pinboards for the recipe and couldn't find it. What board did I pin it to??? I do this all the time..."lose" pins. I would have spent some time looking for it, but Avery was starting to lose it and throw tantrums so I figured I needed to head out and get my ingredients before she melted any further. I figured I would just "wing it" and hope it turned out ok. I decided to just go to the nearest produce stand since I needed to get a bunch of produce since I was going to be making this other quinoa recipe for lunches this week for work. With that said I wouldn't have any blue cheese so I figured I would sub feta, which I had a bunch of. This turned out pretty good and it was really easy to make. Even the hubby who is not a fan of squash or quinoa for that matter (but he's trying to eat healthier) said it was "pretty good". I think next time though I'm going to try using butternut squash to add some color. The acorn squash and the quinoa are basically the same color and you can't really see the squash very well.

Gather it:

3 small acorn squash

1.5 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup of red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup of yellow bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup of feta cheese (we like feta so you can certainly use a little less if you like)

olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Make it:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and boil 3/4 cup of quinoa with 1.5 cups of water in a small sauce pan with a lid. Once it starts to boil, simmer for 12 minutes until the water is gone and the quinoa has puffed up and has little "white tails". Mine typically still has a little it of water in the pot after 12 minutes, but I just turn the burner off, fluff the quinoa, replace the lid and leave it on the burner. Allow to cool.

2) Wash the acorn squash. Cut in half lengthwise and rub a small amount of olive oil. Place cut side up on a baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes.

3) Scoop out the flesh of the squash while it is still hot so it will be easy to scoop out. Be careful not to tear the skin - it will be somewhat soft from baking. Place the squash shells back in the oven to help crisp out the skin while you do the next stop.

4) Mix together the scooped out squash, quinoa, bell peppers, feta, and salt and pepper. 

5) Place mixture into squash shell. I piled mine up and ended up not using one of the shells. Place back in oven and bake for another 10-15 min. 

I can't wait to have this for leftover lunch!!!

Can't beat $0.79 each for red and yellow peppers at the produce stand! It's normally over $1 at Publix. I spent just under $10 and got a bunch of produce!

Southwest Quinoa Salad w/ Spinach

It's after midnight and I just finished making and devouring this salad. I do feel a little bit guilty for eating so late, but in my defense it was a healthy salad and I just couldn't help myself. I was text messaging all night with a friend whose mother has to go on an unprocessed diet and was having to eat a lot of brown rice. I suggested trying out quinoa and shared with her my tropical quinoa granola recipe and fried quinoa (think fried rice) recipe. The more we talked about food, the hungrier I got. Then I went to the kitchen to take a picture of the bag of quinoa I use so she could see what it looked like and before I knew it I was scooping some out to cook. I had no idea what I would add to it since we haven't gone to the grocery store since last week! After some rummaging, I had a pile of ingredients and started to chop my veggies and cook the quinoa. Then my heart fell as I realized I didn't have any lemons for my dressing (I was going to make a simple lemon/olive oil dressing). But a bottle of white wine vinegar that was tucked way back in the corner of my cabinet saved the day. As I cooked, I kept sending my friend pics and she will now be making this tomorrow since she also has all the ingredients. You probably do too!!! It's so easy and yummy!

Note: 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa will make about 1 cup of cooked quinoa. Those tiny little things expand quite a bit! 

Grab it:

FOR THE SALAD:

1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

4-5 stalks of scallions, sliced

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced

spinach leaves

2 large handfuls of frozen corn (I did not defrost it, see #2 below)

half of a tomato, seeded and diced (I would prefer grape tomatoes, but I was lucky to even have a tomato on hand!)

salt and pepper, to taste

FOR THE DRESSING:

white wine vinegar

olive oil

Make it:

1) Cook the quinoa: boil 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup of water in a small sauce pan with a lid. Once it starts to boil, simmer for 10-12 minutes until the water is all gone and the quinoa has puffed up and has little "white tails". 

2) Allow the quinoa to cool. If you are making this last minute, spread the hot quinoa on a plate and toss the frozen corn with it - it will cool the quinoa down quickly and the heat from the quinoa will defrost the corn. I'm so smart! lol

3) Combine all the salad ingredients except for the spinach in a large bowl. 

4) I didn't measure the amount of vinegar and oil I used, but used a rough 1:2 ratio of vinegar to oil.  If I had to guess, I used about 3 Tbsp of white wine vinegar and 6 Tbsp of olive oil. Whisk (or in my case I used a fork) together until mixed well then drizzle over salad and toss salad.

5) Place spinach leaves on a plate and top with salad mixture. Enjoy...and try not to eat the rest of the salad.

this was the whole dish...it made a lot! I'm sure nobody will miss the midnight snack I had when it's time for lunch tomorrow (or rather today!)

*** UPDATE *** I had every intention of adding feta cheese to this dish last night, but I got totally caught up with trying to find a replacement for the lemon for the dressing that I totally forgot. So today for lunch I topped my salad off with some feta. It was delicious, light and yet very filling!!! Oh, and my girlfriend made hers this morning and she kept texting me and saying she can't stop eating it! lol

Wedge Salad

I don't know about you, but I've never been a huge fan of iceberg lettuce...that is until I had a wedge salad. I've had wedge salads before, but for some reason my taste bud changed the weekend of my 5th wedding anniversary. All the restaurants we went to had a wedge salad and for some reason each one just drew my eye!

Yesterday afternoon I asked Kevin to go to Publix after work to get some ingredients to make a wedge salad. I JUST HAD TO HAVE A WEDGE SALAD FOR DINNER!!! Thankfully he indulged my craving and had it all pretty much prepared by the time I got home from work. Have I said before that I have the most amazing husband??? My stomach was growling during the drive home and my mouth was literally watering at the thought of that first bite. Crazy? Yeah probably!

The kids had already eaten, but my kids like to eat off my plate, especially Avery. She kept asking for "more sah-wee". I would only give her small pieces of lettuce with a little dressing. One time I snuck a little piece of bacon and her eyes lit up as if I had just given her chocolate! lol Parker will occasionally eat salad too, but he didn't want a bite of mine. Is it bad that I was a little relieved since I already had to share my plate with Avery? lol Anyway here's the deliciously mouth watering wedge salad recipe:

Gather it:
1 head of iceberg lettuce, quartered (you can cut it in smaller wedges, but this was dinner so we had bigger portions)
tomatoes, diced and seeded
red onion, diced
bacon, cooked and crumbled
blue cheese crumbles
hard boiled eggs
blue cheese dressing
freshly ground pepper

Make it:
1) Hard boil eggs and fry bacon. Allow both to cool. You can place eggs in an icewater bath to cool faster. Meanwhile cut and dice everything else.

2) Place lettuce wedge on plate and top with everything else.

The Friday before our anniversary we went to Mitchell's Fish Market for drinks and then the wedge salad literally called out my name...I think the dressing was homemade and I was tempted to ask if I could buy a bottle of it!

This was our actual anniversary dinner at Island Way. I was only going to get sushi, but again the wedge salad just kept saying: "pick me! pick me!". It was good, but I think they decided to add the bacon drippings too and def slathered on the dressing, which wasn't homemade and not as good as Mitchell's. Regardless, it was still delicious.

Typing this all up makes me want another wedge salad...at 8:15 am...lol



What's in a preschooler's lunch?!?

I have a hard time figuring out things to put in Parker's lunch. When I was a stay at home mom he ate really well, but now that I pack his lunch he has refused some of the things he used to eat like peanut butter sandwiches, cucumber rings, and carrot sticks. There have been times when I open  his lunch container and I see that it's full of food and I'm like "what did you eat???" Uusally when I find something that he will like and then that's what I pack for his lunch for the next week or so until he gets tired of it.

I try to keep his lunches simple, but he MUST have fruit, carb, protein, and milk. If I can squeeze veggies in there then I try even if it's just a few carrot sticks, otherwise, he gets his veggies at dinner time. But, I need ideas! What do you feed your preschooler?

before he started preschool I made Parker a lunch similar to what I was thinking of packing for him: half an apple, carrot sticks, peanut butter sandwich, and a few mini chocolate chips. He also had milk. Note: the chocolate chips were a special treat and he does not get treats at lunch. The beginning of February was the last time he ate a peanut butter sandwich. Every time I pack him one, he doesn't eat it.

lunch all gone!!!

ham sandwich, apple slices, carrot sticks, grapes, cashews...and milk

Parker's fairygodmother suggested using pita pockets to see if he would eat sandwiches. Parker loved the idea, but ate only half a pita. he also had plums, carrot sticks, pecans, and milk.

Daddy packed his lunch: pretzel chips, honeydew, red ants (craisins) on a log. Kevin was so proud of himself for this idea. Unfortunately Parker who normally loves celery ate only a few bites.

grapes, plums, hard boiled egg, carrot sticks, and banana/blueberry/pecan mini muffins. Fairygodmother said the muffins didn't sound too appetizing, but all I tasted was banana and pecans.

pecans, hard boiled egg, blueberries, and muffins

clementines, pretzel fish, pecans, and peanut butter sandwiches cut into teddy bear and giraffe shapes. sandwiches weren't as a big of a hit as I hoped they would be.

strawberries and blueberries, ham pieces cut in animal shapes, colby jack cheese cut into flower, a plain rice cake. This lunch was a huge hit!

pineapple (he normally loves it, but barely touched it!), carrot sticks, ham cubes, rice cake, and milk (not shown)

milk, clementines, pecans, hard boiled egg, granola bar, pretzel chips...most of this was eaten except for a couple of nuts and a few bites of the egg

ham, pecans, rice cake, granola bar, dried mangoes...most was eaten!

diced mangoes, peanut butter crackers, yogurt raisins, yogurt, milk...this lunch was a HUGE hit. Parker's teacher said he was so excited about his mangoes! lol

this was Parker's lunch the Thursday before Easter (he didn't go to school on Good Friday)...he LOVED his blue hard boiled egg. Ate almost everything except the mangoes...guess the newness of it wore off. lol

yogurt raisins, peanut butter crackers, milk, string cheese (he had boycotted cheese months ago, but decided he likes cheese again), cantaloupe. this lunch was ALL GONE!!!

Now please share your lunch ideas for your preschooler! I need some ideas!!!



Valentine's Day Lunch & Gift

I'm not huge on celebrating Valentine's Day. It was never a big thing growing up and even when Kevin and I were dating we never did much for it. I love that it's a day about love, but we celebrate that every day. I'm still not huge on it, but Parker is almost 3.5 years old and he has been doing Valentine's Day stuff at school so he knows what it's about. Plus it's his first Valentine's Day since starting school and I wanted to do something extra special and cute for his lunch...maybe entice him to eat his lunch more at school. Nothing big or time consuming but I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it. I wish I could bribe one of his teachers to take a picture of his reaction!

I'm cheesy...I cut his strawberries, carrots, and rice cake (or as Parker calls it popcorn cake) into little hearts. I was going to do a heart shaped peanut butter sandwich, but Parker has developed an aversion to them since Sunday and the kid rarely eats turkey sandwiches. For protein he gets a hard boiled egg. You can't see it, but the cupcake liners have red and pink hearts all over it. 

Everything smushed together. I added 5 little peanut butter stuffed pretzels as a special treat. 

And umm, slacker mom I decided to do something super easy for gifts for his friends in his speech class. Miss Phyllis got the same gift...I was going to do an additional gift, but Valentine's Day kind of snuck up on me! lol Anyway, I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so easy! Plus it's something he can give to his 2 friends that are boys that isn't all sweet and lovey! I went to the Dollar Store and bought the rulers. It came in packs of 2 so I only spent $2 since I already had the red paper and the red ribbon. Parker kept saying he wanted a ruler...bad Mommy didn't buy him one so I promised him that I'd go to the store and buy him one. Parker picked which color ruler he wanted to give to his friends and Ms. Phyllis. He was very adamant! 

English Muffin Pizza

Parker LOVES pizza! It is his favorite food! He's not picky either. He will eat pepperoni, sausage, veggies, plain cheese...whatever I put in front of him. Kevin and I used to buy Bagel Bites, but my kids are big eaters! Parker can eat 8-9 of those in one sitting and Avery can eat about 4 so one big box is gone in one sitting! I decided to make a healthier version when I started to stay home with the kids. It's super easy and the kids gobbled it up! I mix the toppings up depending on what I have on hand, but the kids aren't picky when it comes to their pizza. Now that Parker is older, he gets to help me make the pizzas...which of course means Avery wants to "help" too. It gets a little messy with cheese and herbs everywhere, but the kids have fun. Not that they don't already love pizza, but they tend to eat more of whatever we are having if they help make it...even if it's just to shake the dried parsley container (hence the reason why I have parsley on A LOT of our meals!).

Gather it:
English muffins, sliced in half
pizza sauce (pasta sauce will work too if that's all you have on hand)
pepperoni (regular or mini - the kids LOVE the mini)
yellow bell peppers, diced
shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian herb seasoning

Make it:
1. Set oven to broil. Place English muffins on a pizza stone (or baking sheet) and broil for a few minutes to allow it to crisp up a bit. If you like a soft "crust" you can omit this step. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.

2. Put sauce on top of muffins then the cheese. Sprinkle herbs on top of cheese then add pepperoni (and other toppings of your choice). Sometimes I add a little bit of extra cheese on top of the toppings so that they "glue" together and don't just slide off.

3. Place back in oven and broil until cheese is melted. I like a few little brown "burnt" spots on my cheese. Again, watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.

Easy and yummy!!!

This was last summer when Parker wasn't 3 yet and yep Parker had a whole English muffin pizza! 

I told Parker as I was tucking him in bed last night that if he has a good day at school we would make pizzas for lunch today - his eyes lit up and got excited. I also told him  he had to stay in bed and no getting out...guess what...he stayed in bed! lol

Parker wanted to know if he could eat the pepperoni instead of putting it on the pizza. lol he ate a handful before any others made it on the pizza. FYI the pot holders are there to protect their little hands/arms from burns. 

taking big bites of his pizza

Parker shoving a large piece in his mouth while Avery contemplates what to eat first.