Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I bought a bunch of colourful bell peppers and needed to find a recipe for them - I found this great recipe from Damn Delicious.  This dish was beautiful and delicious - there is something about preparing and eating lovely looking food… So, I'm posting some extra pictures!

I think this would be a great side dish if you're having company over and wanted to impress them.

A few notes:

• I excluded the green chilies and pepper jack cheese
• I didn't exactly measure any of the ingredients that went into the quinoa mixture, I think that is what is great about this recipe as you can tweak it to how you like it!
• 1 cup dry quinoa yields approximately 3 cups cooked
• I happened to have celery in my fridge so I diced a stalk and threw it in

 

Just out of the oven!

Banana Oat Cookies

Thanks to Colleen for directing me to this recipe. These cookies were tasty and moist, quick to prepare and I was happy to use up some frozen bananas in my freezer! I also liked that sweetness could be adjusted extremely easily.

A few notes

• Colleen suggested not to skimp out on the chocolate as that is really the only sweetener in these cookies (aside from the bananas and unsweetened coconut). I used about 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (rather than 1/2 chocolate bar as per the original recipe) and thought this amount was adequate.
• I used 4 (instead of 3) bananas.  I think this made my batter wetter so I ended up baking the cookies for closer to 18 minutes
• I used a blend of large flake and quick oats
• It was unclear in the recipe how many cookies this recipe yielded. I made about 24 cookies that were about 2 inches in diameter.  These cookies don't flatten when baking so shape them on the baking sheet exactly how you want them
• I couldn't really taste the unsweetened shredded coconut so I might increase the amount when I make these again

One-Pot Curried Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

This recipe from Oh My Veggies caught my attention.  This curry was perfect for a chilly day like it was today - warm and very filling!

A few notes:

• I didn't use frozen butternut squash.  I peeled, chopped into bite sized chunks, then baked the squash in the oven on a lightly 'olive-oiled' baking sheet for about 25 minutes at 400F
• I also didn't use frozen peppers.  I chopped about 3/4 of each a yellow and red bell pepper
• I think cilantro would also have tasted nicely as a garnish instead of parsley

Smashed Chickpea Guacamole Egg Salad

This recipe is from Kitchen Treaty. I really enjoyed this sandwich!  I chose to eat these open-face style on toasted brown bread, and added some spinach, tomato and cucumber.

A few notes:

• I mashed 2 avocados instead of 1 (make sure they are quite ripe - much easier to mash)
• I used 7 eggs and removed 3 or 4 yolks
• I increased the chickpeas to 1.5 cups (as I was mashing the chickpeas, the skins were coming off so I took about a minute to remove some of the bigger skin chunks, I'm not sure if this was necessary though…)
• I added half a jalepeno pepper, diced
• I used lime instead of lemon
• I excluded the mayonnaise
• The bread I used is Silver Hills "The Big 16".  One of my fav breads, I store it in the freezer as it can really dry out quickly before I get a chance to finish the loaf.

Alternatively, without the cucumber and tomato

Zucchini Nachos

After making sweet potato nachos a few weeks ago, I thought there must be a recipe for zucchini nachos somewhere that I could try.  I found this recipe from two peas & their pod.

I enjoyed this dish and served it as a side to grilled chicken.  It was quick to prepare as well.

A few notes:

• I baked the zucchini rounds rather than grilling (400F for 25 minutes, then broiled for an additional 5 minutes)
• Instead of the cheddar cheese, I used a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese
• My zucchini rounds didn't get super crispy, but that was ok with me.  I ate these nachos with a knife and fork.

Orzo Salad with Chickpeas, Cucumbers, Lemon, Dill, & Feta

This recipe is from Two Peas & Their Pod.  I liked this salad - light, fresh, and quick to prepare.  Using dill was a nice change too with it's very distinct flavour!  This salad held up well the next day - when I was eating it I thought it would be a good one to bring to a potluck.

Green Taco Wraps with Lentil-Walnut Taco Meat

I saw this recipe from Oh She Glows - glad I tried it.  I liked everything about this dish!  The lentil-walnut mixture had a nice texture and was flavourful, there was no shortage of vegetable toppings, and the cashew sour cream was a pleasant surprise!

Be prepared to get messy!