Beef and Snow Peas with Garlic Quinoa

I've really paired my cooking show viewing down in the last couple of years. I used to be addicted to cooking TV, and I've slowly weaned my way off of it. It might have something to do with having an almost 7 year old, and 3 year old twins. My television time is seriously limited, so I have to be pretty choosy.

Once in a while, I'll flip to either Food Network or the Cooking Channel, but I don't have any type of steady viewership anymore. Well, with the exception of one... I've gotten down to only recording one show, and that is The Pioneer Woman. I've followed her website religiously for years, went to a book signing for her first cookbook, and was so excited when she finally came out with her own show (it's really not so new anymore; I think it's actually in it's second or third season??). Needless to say, I LOVE PW! I have tested so many of her recipes and I think I've always received rave reviews for her stuff. She knows what she is doing, that's for sure.

Anyway, this recipe was demonstrated on one of her TV episodes entitled "16 minute dinners". She put together some fast, go-to weeknight recipes for when there was a time crunch. (READ: every night for us.) They all looked tasty, but this one stood out for me. I made it a few nights ago for dinner, and as promised, it was fast and delicious! PW has never steered me wrong!

Beef and Snow Peas with Garlic Quinoa
Adapted From: The Pioneer Woman cooking show

Ingredients:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry or cooking sherry
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed of fat and sliced very thin against the grain
3 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
8 ounces fresh snow peas, trimmed
5 whole scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal
Crushed red pepper
Salt, as needed (I didn't use any salt, so this is totally optional-use sparingly.)
Garlic quinoa (see below) or serve over cooked rice of your choice

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, brown sugar and ginger. Add the beef to a separate bowl and pour one-third of the liquid over the top. Save the rest of the liquid. Toss the beef and set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet (iron is best) over high heat. Add the snow peas and stir for 45 seconds and get as much color on them as possible. Remove to a plate.

Allow the skillet to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Spread out the meat as you add it to skillet, but do not stir for a good minute. (You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible.) Sprinkle half the scallions over the meat. Flip the meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with the other half of the meat, allowing the skillet to get very hot again first. After flipping, add the first plateful of meat, the reserved liquid, the crushed red pepper and snow peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, and then turn off the heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. The mixture will thicken as it sits. Serve immediately over quinoa or rice.

NOTE: I didn't separate the marinade into two different bowls. I just added to the pan and made sure it boiled, rather than separating and using half and then discarding half. It's better probably to separate and be better safe than sorry, but I've never had an issue doing it my way. It's your choice, man.

Garlic Quinoa

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained in a colander
water to cover by 1/2 inch or so (Usually it's about equal parts quinoa/water, but I don't measure.)
2 tablespoons butter
5 cloves minced garlic cloves
pinch of salt

Directions:
Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a colander, under running water, until it runs clear. Shake any excess moisture off of quinoa and set aside. I just place the colander on a kitchen towel until I'm ready to start cooking it.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute; until garlic starts to get fragrant and just a tiny bit of color on it. Add prepared quinoa to sauce pan and toast it for 2 minutes, or until some of the quinoa bits get slightly browned. Add water, a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat down to low. Let quinoa steep in water until all the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve as a base for the Beef and Snow Peas.

Honey Sesame Chicken and Quinoa

I had grilled chicken breasts slated for dinner last night, but when I got around to prepping/marinating the chicken I realized I didn't really feel like having grilled chicken. Normally I love grilled chicken, but for some reason it just seemed like a mundane meal to have yesterday. Not only that, but my chicken was still partially frozen at 3pm. I remembered reading that my friend, Claire did this recipe in the slow cooker and she used frozen chicken breasts. Also, I remembered that it didn't take that long to cook (a couple of hours versus all day). Thankfully, I had all the ingredients in my pantry and I even had some additional veggies to add to the party. Score! It ended up turning out perfectly. The chicken and sauce were delicious (Claire was right...the chicken didn't dry out at all), and the quinoa was a perfect compliment. Yum! Hubby and kiddos all happily munched this down and it really didn't take all that much effort on my part. I love it when that happens!

Honey Sesame Chicken and Quinoa
From: Cooking Claire blog

Ingredients:
1 to 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts (this was 2 very large pieces of chicken for me)
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Cornstarch
Sesame seeds
1 bag of frozen broccoli, steamed in the microwave
quinoa (see below)

For Quinoa:
2 cups of quinoa, rinsed
4 cups of water
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
olive oil


Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker insert and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.

When done, remove chicken and cut into chunks. Prior to putting the chicken back in the stockpot, combine some cornstarch in water and whisk it into the slow cooker to thicken up the sauce a bit. Throw the chicken back in and stir around to re-coat the chicken in the sauce. Add the steamed broccoli and sesame seeds, stir to combine.

Serve hot over a bed of quinoa (or rice) and sprinkle some more sesame seeds on top, if desired.

For quinoa:
Rinse quinoa according to package directions. Get as much of the water out as possible and let drain on a kitchen towel while still in the strainer. Set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large sauce pan over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add sliced peppers and onions. Saute until soft and onions are translucent. Add quinoa and toast for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add water and simmer quinoa according to packaged directions (about 20-25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed). Add salt to taste. Add bed of quinoa to plates and serve it with chicken, sauce, and broccoli (see above) over top.

NOTE: This is a lot of quinoa. I have 5 people to feed and I wanted leftovers for lunches the next day. If you are not feeding a smallish army, then you can safely cut the quinoa and water amounts in half.

Broccoli with Garlic Butter, Cashews, & Chicken Over Quinoa

My friend, Claire emailed me this easy recipe a few weeks ago and I finally got around to trying it out. It's originally a concoction that her friend Heather invented and posted on their parenting message board. It was really easy, tasty, healthy, and family-friendly...all the criteria that I love. In fact, it was so easy it almost felt like a non-recipe. Given my lackluster approach to our meals lately, it was exactly the kind of new recipe that I was up for trying out.

As I said in my previous post, we have not been experimenting with very many new recipes and just sticking with old favorites. For example, tonight we are having grilled steak, baked potatoes, and swiss chard. It's not anything that I haven't posted before. I think I am just getting burnt out on always having something to do, so my blog and menu planning has been put low on the priority list. Lately, when I go to the grocery store, I just put the things in my cart that are needed and buy whatever meat is on sale. I got some ground chicken this week on clearance that was 30% off the normal price, so I bought three packages. I have been preparing whatever I have on hand and calling it good. Last night, I made a "casserole" layered out of torn corn tortillas, cooked pulled pork, salsa, canned pinto beans, and shredded cheese. It was good, but I feel like it really was not anything spectacular or note-worthy. I think it was more of a fridge clean-out project more that anything else.

Broccoli with Garlic Butter, Cashews, & Chicken Over Quinoa

Ingredients:
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cups cooked quinoa, rinsed and prepared according to package directions
1 lb of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1/3 cup of butter (I cut this to about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Several twists of black pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Chopped cashews, as few or as many as you'd like, but probably no more than 1/3 cup.

Directions:
Prepare the chicken and quinoa and set aside. (I seasoned my chicken with salt, pepper, and olive oil then broiled it in the oven on 'high' for 10 minutes to cook thoroughly.)

Steam the broccoli until tender/crisp.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or so. Mix in the soy sauce, brown sugar, and pepper. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes to thicken a smidge. Add the cashews, pour the sauce over the broccoli and stir to coat.

Combine broccoli and quinoa and stir to coat. Serve with cooked chicken.



The Result:
This was really yummy! As I said, this was a really easy dish to prepare and my family loved it. Thankfully, quinoa is gaining popularity because it is really an awesome grain and it is soooo good for you. I especially love the texture of quinoa. If you don't have it or can't find it, then you could certainly substitute another grain such as whole wheat cous cous or brown rice.