Groovy Recipe: Cheesy Quinoa Quiche

Do you ever experiment with recipes?  I do.  I often look at a new recipe and think "Hmmm.  I should add this, or take out that, or substitute this for that."  Sometimes, these experiments do not work in my favor.  Then, we order pizza.

Sometimes, though, the experiment turns out so well that I proclaim "Holy balls!  That shit was GOOD."  Last night, I riffed on a recipe I found via Pinterest.  My sister-in-law (who had a baby today, by the way!) pinned this yummy looking thing, with the caption "quinoa quiche."  That sounded right up my alley, so I repinned it, then clicked for the recipe.  Turns out the recipe, from Iowa Girl Eats' blog, is actually more of a frittata...of sorts.  So that got me thinking...what if I made a quiche, a true quiche, but added some quinoa to it?

Sunday supper, consider yourself conquered.

Cheesy Quinoa Quiche

* serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

3 eggs

1 egg white (save the yolk)

1 medium zucchini, grated

1/2 cup grated carrot

1 small onion, grated

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 cup shredded cheddar

3/4 cup whole milk (or heavy cream)

1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning (I use Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)

Dash of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Crust of your choice (I usually make a pat-in-pan butter crust for quiche, but I used a pre-made deep-dish pie shell that I had in the freezer for this dish)

Preheat the oven to 350; place crust in a quiche pan or pie pan (or whatever you have...I keep it loose in the Groovy Cucina), then place on a cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush the inside of the crust with the egg yolk.  Sprinkle the parmesan evenly inside the crust.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and egg white with the milk, then fold in the veggies, spices, quinoa, and cheddar.  The mixture will be "lumpy" because of the quinoa.  Fret not.  Pour the filling into the crust (Note: you will have extra filling.  I'll tell you what to do with it in a minute.).  Don't overfill it - remember that quiche rises a bit when baking.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until it's set in the middle.  Remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes, then slice and serve.

Extra filling: my friend Angie (mama to Babydoll's BFF) mentioned that she makes extra quiche in muffins cups, to have for breakfast, lunch, or whatever.  I always have extra filling when I make quiche, so this idea is brilliant.  I sprayed 6 muffin cups with cooking spray, then filled with the extra mixture and baked them alongside the big guy for about 20 minutes.  I let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then used a butter knife to loosen and remove the babies from the tin.  No crust needed!

This is, to me, a self-contained meal.  Veggies, lean protein, whole grains, all in one package.  It was SO good.  If I'd had salad fixin's, I would have served it with a small salad on the side.  But honestly, we were so satisfied with just the quiche.  Babydoll's Daddy got down like James Brown on it, only coming up for air when he went for seconds.

Groovy Recipe: Totally Healthy Ranch

I am an American, so it's only natural that I love ranch dressing.  What's not natural is your typical store-bought ranch.  This is the ingredient list for Hidden Valley Ranch:

Vegetable oil, egg yolk, sugar, salt, buttermilk, spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, MSG, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate

I don't even know what half that shit is.  Gross.  MSG?  Are you kidding me?  Do people still eat that?  And 2 tablespoons of HVR contains 140 calories, 14 grams of fat, and zero nutritional value.  This does not jive with my healthy, clean-eating goals.

I love entertaining, and several years ago I came up with my own ranch dip recipe for crudite (or "cut veggies," if you're not fancy like me).  No mayonnaise, no packet of mystery powder, no sour cream needed.  It's so simple and SO good.  And the best part: 2 tablespoons of my ranch has about 20 calories, no fat, and around 3 grams of protein (plus calcium).

Ingredients:

1 16oz tub of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon all-purpose seasoning (I use Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute, but you can use Mrs. Dash)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 tablespoon fresh, snipped chives*

1/2 tablespoon fresh, chopped dill*

Stir all that together.  Let set in the fridge for at least an hour, but overnight is better.  Serve.

Yeah.  That's it.  I started using Greek yogurt in place of regular yogurt a couple of years ago, because Greek contains a ton of protein, and the texture and flavor are more similar to sour cream.  If you want to use this as a salad dressing, just thin it out a bit with nonfat milk (or whatever milk substitute you have on hand - just make sure it's not sweetened).

This is my lunch today - no fat, low calorie, low salt, lots of protein, and a bunch of organic veggies:

It's upside down.  I know.  You get the picture, though.  Ha.

 

* I really recommend using fresh organic herbs, but if you don't have them on hand, just use about a teaspoon each of dried chives and dill.

Fresh Air, In Human Form

In my experience, everyone needs one person to whom they can turn when they need a breath of fresh air.  On those days, when you feel like screaming the F word at the top of your lungs and hurling random objects at whomever crosses your grumpy path, you need someone to connect with, whether in person, by phone, e-mail, or Facebook.  Someone who puts you in check, stops you in your pissed-off tracks, and helps you see that life is, truly, good.

My "fresh air" person is my friend, LMB.  We've known each other for close to twenty years, and she is consistently one of the better people on Earth.  When I'm having one of the above-mentioned days, I know that I can click on her FB page and find something that makes me genuinely smile.  I can e-mail her and she responds with something positive and thought-provoking.  When I see her in person, which isn't often enough, her very presence is uplifting.

My goal one day to be that person for someone else.  I'm pretty cranky, though.  And I swear a lot.

Veggie Baby

After doing some research, I decided to hold off on introducing meat and poultry to Babydoll until she was about a year old and/or had more teeth.  The very idea of pureed meat makes me gag, not to mention that the smell of it is disgusting.  I want the babe to enjoy food, not be repulsed by it, and I figure that if she sees Mama vomiting over her dinner, it probably won't elicit a very healthy response to what's being served.

Bleh.  I am still shuddering over the thought of pureed meat.

Between 12 months and 14 months, we introduced turkey (in the form of meatballs), chicken and ground beef.  She's definitely not into the beef.  That's cool with me - we don't eat it very often, anyway.  Chicken has been hit-or-miss, and that's okay with me, too (I don't really care for the bird).  I cut up the turkey meatballs to put in her pasta-veggie lunch combo.  Sometimes she gets down on it, other times, the dogs get a super yummy snack.

If my baby is naturally inclined to be a vegetarian, I'm all for it!  My only concern is that she gets enough protein and iron in her daily diet.  She drinks cow's milk like a champ, and she loves yogurt and cheese.  While these are good sources of protein, I know that a growing toddler needs around 15 grams of protein per day and 10mg of iron.  I've started looking into non-meat sources of iron and have come up with the following foods (that I know she'll eat):

• lentils
• quinoa
• spinach
• beans (kidney, pinto, black)
• chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
• potatoes (with skin)

Fortunately for us, this kid LOVES quinoa.  Not only is it a good source of iron, but it's a pretty kick-ass protein, as well.  We don't love cleaning it up off the floors after dinner time...nor out of her hair.  Man, that stuff sticks like crazy to baby hair!  She also loves lentils.  Yay!  Lentils are a staple at the Groovy Homestead - we eat them about once a week.  Trader Joe's sells a 1 pound bag of steamed black lentils that are so yummy and super easy to add to almost any meal.

I should mention that soy is a good source of both iron and protein, but we don't do soy.  After corn, it's the most genetically-modified food in America.  And it wreaks havoc on women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (that would be me).  Soy in small amounts is very healthy, but most people tend to eat/drink far more soy than is healthy for your body.  Ah, but that's a post for another day.