Thai Fried Quinoa {Annah}

I was excited about this recipe because it was something I had never tried to make before (fried rice/quinoa). Although the recipe sounded exciting the flavor was less then exciting.

I did have most the ingredients which is always nice with a new recipe to see if it is going to be an easy go to dinner. The flavor just did not taste right. I am not sure if it was the mix of vegetable broth with coconut milk or what. I will say that I thought the second and third day tasted a little more blended then the night I made it. Now I was shocked when the husband said he liked it. Usually if I am if-y on it he never likes it.

Overall, I would say it is worth a try for your family, because it had mixed reviews with us. Tell me if you like it or if you modified the recipe. By the way I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and of course it looked delicious.

Thai Fried Quinoa

Makes 4 servings

• 1 c. dry quinoa
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1 c. vegetable broth
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions
• 1 T. minced ginger
• 2 t. minced garlic
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 1 c. pineapple
• 1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
• 1 T. lime juice (I did not have this on hand)
• 2 T. reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 c. scrambled tofu (I did not put this in)
• Optional garnishes: lime wedges, peanuts, cilantro, cherry tomatoes

1. Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add quinoa, stirring every minute or so until quinoa is toasted.
2. Combine coconut milk and vegetable broth and add to quinoa.
3. Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
4. Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray or a light spritz of oil and place over medium-high heat. Add green onion, ginger and garlic and saute for a minute or two.
5.  Add peas, pineapple and cilantro and saute for an additional minute.
6.  Add quinoa to the skillet and cook until starting to slightly brown and crisp.
7.  Finish with lime juice and soy sauce and add in scrambled tofu, if using.
8.  Serve and garnish.

Lazy Stir Fry and Product Review

Lazy Stir Fry and Product Review {Annah}

This is a recipe I always go to when I come home tired from work. It is ready in about 30 minutes depending now how long it takes your oven and stove to warm up. I will call this meal semi-homemade, because I am adding ingredients to store bought products. I took the stir fry sauce mix from Rachel Ray's Cashew Vegetables recipe from her Veggie Meals cook book. The veggies in this recipe are similar to the ones in this bag. I would say mine is a time and money saving spin on her recipe.

I enjoy this birds eye stir fry bag the best because it has thin noddles in it, broccoli, water chestnuts, green beans, red peppers and carrots. The stir fry does not come with any flavor packets. For Tyler and I it makes about 3 servings, I usually eat a lot because the veggies don't fill me up. This goes well with brown or white rice, I use whatever I have on hand.

The Ling Ling spring rolls I purchase at our wholesale store BJ's. They are vegetarian and come with a delicious sweet chili sauce. They can be made in the microwave which I don't recommend because they come out soggy or in the oven and they will come out crispy. Since the veggies from the stir fry don't fill me up I like that the spring rolls add substance probably not the healthiest thing. They always say everything in moderation though right!

  

            Directions

• Basically just follow the instructions on the back of the packages
• The spring rolls go into the oven for about 10 minutes
• The stir fry goes into a saute pan for I think 8 minutes
• The rice is made in a sauce pan, boil water pour in the rice simmer for 20 minutes
• Once the veggies are cooked add
• 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce for every
• 2 tablespoons of sweet and sour or duck sauce
• Let the two sauces combine with the veggies at medium to low heat for about 4 minutes
• Then serve the veggies over top of your rice
• Sit down and enjoy a kind of healthy quick to make meal

Fried Bok Choy Ravioli with Soy Dipping Sauce

Annah's take: If you are a fan of fried wontons you are going to love this recipe. These were very easy to make and did not take too much time from start to finish. Only issue I had is there was a lot of cleaning up to do since oil splattered out of the frying pan and you have to use a food processor.

These recipes were taken from the April issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray. The ravioli did not have a very strong flavor of bok choy that was a little disappointing. All I could really taste was the Parmesan cheese and the pine nuts, this is not a bad thing but it didn't have that Asian flavor I was expecting. I am a huge have of crab rangoons, with that being said I would try this recipe again, but use soften cream cheese instead of the Parmesan cheese. Overall I really liked these fried ravioli and I think it would be great paired with an Asian stir fry.

The sauce on the other had was a big let down. It was a marinate that was supposed to go with another bok choy recipe in the magazine, but I thought it would be a good dipping sauce for the ravioli. Since it called for it to be brought to a boil I thought it would thicken up, however it did not. It ended up being a bowl of very salty soy sauce with subtle hints of ginger and mustard. I ended up dipping the ravioli in a sweet and sour sauce that I already had in my fridge and it was a great pairing. All in all I will be making the ravioli again the sauce I will not."

Fried Bok Choy Ravioli

Serves 4 ( I got about 6-7)

Ingredients
1 cup oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
8 ounces bok choy, stems chopped and leaves shredded
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
24 wonton wrappers

Directions
In skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium; cook onion, bok stems and garlic until soft, 7 minutes. Add bok leaves and cook 1 minute; season. Pulse in food processor with cheese and pine nuts. Add heaping tsp. to wrappers, moisten edges and fold to seal. In skillet, heat remaining oil; fry ravioli until golden.

Soy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Directions

In small saucepan, bring soy sauce, sugar and ginger to boil, stirring; remove from heat and stir in mustard.