This very quick and easy quinoa pilaf has been one of my favorite go-to dishes when I want to make something fast. What makes this pilaf a breeze to make is the frozen quinoa and kale blend that I buy at Costco and keep in the freezer. The frozen quinoa has four individualy wrapped packets, each with cooked quinoa and super green such as kale. This way I can use one, two, or three packets depending on how many people I am serving. Â All this recipe requires is cutting an onion, a pepper and a few garlic cloves. Then just cook the veggies with spices and add them to the quinoa. That’s it. For a scrumptiously delicious quinoa pilaf in as little as 15 minutes give this quinoa blend a try. Continue reading Kale Quinoa Pilaf
Category Archives: Quick & Easy Recipes
Oreccheitti Pasta with Dried Herbs & Vegetables
Pasta with fragrant dried herbs and a variety of vegetables is perfect comfort food on a cool fall-afternoon. Fresh herbs from my garden are what I reach for when making pasta but on this Sunday afternoon it was my daughter Sri who was making lunch and rather than take the few extra steps into the garden for fresh herbs she just reached into my pantry for my homegrown dried herbs. I have to say I was surprised how different dried herbs taste from fresh herbs.  I would even say that dried herbs have a stronger flavor profile giving pasta a real kick of herb fragrance. In this oreccheitti pasta Sri used veggies that I had at hand which happened to be asparagus, mushrooms, and tomatoes. With a pinch of chili flakes and lots of garlic, this pasta tastes amazing with fragrant dried herbs and fresh vegetables đ. Continue reading Oreccheitti Pasta with Dried Herbs & Vegetables
Apple Zucchini Salad
Apples are in abundance everywhere I look this fall season. I’ve already made an apple crisp, and apple ginger cake, and I’ve been eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away, yet I have lots of apples in my fruit basket. That’s why when I stopped by my friend Rose’s place for lunch to celebrate our mutual friend Devi’s birthday, I came up with a recipe that used lots of apples – an apple zucchini salad. Continue reading Apple Zucchini Salad
Saag Paneer. Spinach and Paneer with Indian Spices
Saag Paneer is a popular Indian dish chock full of finely diced spinach cooked with paneer cheese, garlic, ginger, onions and Indian spices. Saag paneer is extremely easy to make and tastes amazing. Saag paneer is usually served with chapatis, but one can easily have it as a stuffing inside a burrito or serve it as a side dish. There are many versions of saag paneer, this recipe is the simplest way to make it which is typically made in the home kitchen and the villages of India. Continue reading Saag Paneer. Spinach and Paneer with Indian Spices
Bok Choy Fried Rice
Bok choy fried rice is a dish I had at a cute little Asian restaurant in San Francisco called Chubby Noodle. We got the recommendation for this eatery from one of my daughter’s friends who lives in SF and suggested we try their weekend bottomless brunch. With two locations in the city, the one we were told to head to was the Chubby Noodle in the Marina District on Lombard Street Chubby Noodle Marina.  Folks, this is an awesome place for awesome food. The decor is eclectic, space intimate, and the wait staff super friendly.  Sprinkle in family and friends and it’s absolutely perfect.  Awesome food, awesome service, awesome decor –  what more does one require for a great eating out experience? If you are looking for a fun place to grab a long 90-minute brunch with friends and family give this Asian restaurant a try – Chubby Noodle. Continue reading Bok Choy Fried Rice
Lime Juice Bundt Cake
I usually don’t bother looking through a a department store magazine such as Costco’s, what could they possibly communicate except promote the products they are selling is what I used to think. Then my friend Basanthi shared a piece of chocolate cake she had made with avocado of all things! I asked her where she found this unique recipe and she said from the Costco Magazine. Continue reading Lime Juice Bundt Cake
Creamy Goat Cheese Fettuccini with Spinach and Leeks
Here is a quick and easy weeknight pasta with baby spinach, leeks and fresh garden tomatoes, all tossed in a delicious creamy goat cheese sauce. This is the ultimate comfort food that is packed with good for you veggies and warm feel-good pasta. I love spinach and have started to really like leeks a lot too. I grew up with Mom making spinach often, and it’s to the point now that I miss it if I haven’t had any it in a few days. Any opportunity to use spinach I am all for it – in rice, quinoa, daal, curry, salads, and of course pasta! I especially love spinach in pasta, it wilts into the warm pasta so delicately and always tastes great. Try this gourmet tasting easy to make pasta with spinach and leeks and creamy cheese sauce for a stay-at-home Thursday night dinner or a Friday night dinner or on any night really. Continue reading Creamy Goat Cheese Fettuccini with Spinach and Leeks
Chanterelle Wild Mushroom Risotto
Last week I went shopping for produce at Costco and came across these gorgeous looking wild mushrooms called chanterelles. Usually I find wild mushrooms to be pricey at the grocery stores and even at the Famer’s Market, but at Costco for a large carton of about 4-5 cups of chanterelle mushrooms it was just more affordable and they looked so fresh too. I picked up a carton and decided to make wild mushroom risotto that same night. Gorgeous golden colored chanterelles look and taste amazing in a creamy risotto. Continue reading Chanterelle Wild Mushroom Risotto
Broad Bean Salad
I can’t say enough great things about my friend Shalini and her culinary skills. She has to be the most creative cook I know. Any time I am at a party where Shalini is invited I always look forward to tasting her interesting new veggie dishes. Dinner at our mutual friends Swati and Tarak’s place was one of those occasions when Shalini once again brought a couple of her creative and delicious vegetarian dishes – a broad bean salad and a spicy roasted butternut squash. Both were exceptional. I will post the recipe for her spicy butternut squash soon, here I am sharing Shalini’s delicious broad bean salad recipe which is easy to make and requires minimal effort. Continue reading Broad Bean Salad
Cauliflower Sauté with Peppers and Tofu
I picked up this recipe from watching an episode of Ree Drummond’s Food Network show Pioneer Woman which was focused on quick AND healthy 16-minute meals. Of the three meals she made, two were vegetarian! One of the vegetarian dishes was a hummus wrap with roasted peppers, artichoke hearts and feta cheese with a tossed green salad  – Yum đ.  The other vegetarian dish was a cauliflower sautĂ© with Asian flavorings. The dish I chose to make right away was the cauliflower sautĂ©. This dish has loads of cauliflower and easy to find store-bought Asian sauces. I modified the original recipe by adding bell peppers and tofu to amp up the vegan protein and served this outstanding cauliflower sautĂ© with royal rice made with coconut milk, garlic and onions. Give it a try. Continue reading Cauliflower SautĂ© with Peppers and Tofu
