Roasted Beets & Feta Cheese Quinoa Salad

 There is another beet with feta in the Nanner recipes but one is with farro or bulgar and I find those a bit dense for my liking. Also, it had you cooking up the greens. I know that would be the right thing to do, but honestly, it's a lot of work. Just roasting beets is a lot of work. But using fresh beets is worth all the effort, as far as I'm concerned. This makes enough for a table full of people so if you live alone, you might want to make a half recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• 2 Red Beets, cubed
• 1/2 cup (100g) Feta Cheese
• Salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Dressing:
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 1 cup (2 ounces/60 grams) Mint or other Fresh Herb
• 2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 6 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Peel and quarter beets and toss with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for 35 minutes, turning once.
2. Prepare dressing ingredients. I used a tupperware and shook to mix. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Place the quinoa in a serving bowl. Stir in the toasted pine nuts, Feta cheese and beets. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve drizzled with salad dressing. It turns out pink! It's so pretty. And so good!

Craig Claiborne's Blue Cheese Dip

Ed Rushton found this recipe, probably 40 years ago and it has remained a favorite of mine. Fresh parsley is a must. Somehow, it's just not the same without it. And don't fart around with the mayonnaise. I tried making it with olive oil mayonnaise and it came out like soup. But you know what? Turns out that blue cheese soup is pretty good, too. :)

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbs. onion (I don't put the onions in because raw onions don't like me)
1 tsp. garlic (squeezy garlic is so nice in these situations)
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 pound crumbled blue cheese

Mix it up and let it sit for just a while before serving. Better yet, don't serve it at all and just keep it for yourself.

Umbrian Lentil Soup

Or as I like to call it, "Best Soup Ever!" Randy Harvey drops off his Sunday edition of the NY Times for Mike to read on Mondays. Inside last week's were some delicious soup recipes that promised to "sustain us through the chilly days of early spring." Could have probably used these recipes last week when it was snowing. Onyhoo, this is so delicious that I had I had to share. Mike feels that leaving out the bacon would not harm the taste and I would agree. Although, what's better than bacon?

TOTAL TIME: 1 1/2 hours. SERVES: 4

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to finish
1/2 cup guanciale, finely chopped (Or bacon if your local Kroger doesn't stock cured pork cheeks.
   Peasants.)
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons finely chopped celery
4 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
1 leek, white and pale green parts only, quartered vertically, then thinly sliced horizontally
1 cup canned, whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 green lentils
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of one lemon (I believe Mike left this out)
1 bay leaf
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper (Mike pinched twice)
pinch of black pepper, plus more to finish
salt
1//4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot over low heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring until golden and fat renders, about 5 minutes. Add onion and butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and leeks and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Raise heat to high and stir in tomatoes. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes.

2. Add lentils and stir to combine. Add broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, cloves, cayenne, and black pepper. Season with salt to taste. Increase heat to high and bring broth to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and maintain simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. If soup gets too dry or thick, add stock or water as necessary.

3. Serve in warmed bowls, topped with grated Parmesan, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos

I first started making these breakfast burritos when Meredith and I were working hard to look hot for Alex's NYC event. BTW - we nailed it. This recipe is from My Fitness Pal. It's almost all I ever eat for breakfast. I double the recipe and make 10 burritos from it on a Sunday afternoon and then there's breakfast for two whole weeks. I don't remove the yolk from any of them. And you can be creative and add anything that suits your fancy or is hanging around in your refrigerator - corn, beans, whatever. If you can get someone else to chop the sweet potato (thanks, Mike!) the rest is pretty carefree. I have some really hot chili powder at the moment so I only use a scant teaspoon, even with doubling the recipe. It's also great if you're having people overnight so breakfast preparation doesn't have to be a big deal, but it looks like you care. Probably their best use is to volunteer to bring a whole bunch if there is a large group gathering for breakfast. Like when Chris invited everyone to the cottage they were renting or when my book club goes up north to a cottage for a fall weekend.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 3⁄4 cup frozen, sliced tricolor bell peppers, thawed
• 2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon chile powder
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 large egg whites, beaten
• 4 (9- or 10-inch) whole wheat tortillas
• 1 ounce shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
In a medium skillet on medium, heat oil. Add potato, onion and bell peppers, and sauté for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and onions are translucent. Add spinach and chile powder; sauté for 2 minutes more.

Increase heat to medium high. Add eggs and egg whites. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until eggs are cooked through. Turn off heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Tear off 4 16-inch rectangles of foil and lay 1 tortilla on top of each. Divide egg mixture evenly into the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. To wrap, fold edges in, then roll forward tightly. Wrap burrito tightly in foil.Place wrapped burritos in a large zip- top freezer bag and freeze for up  to 3 months.

To serve, preheat oven to 400°F. Place a burrito, still wrapped, on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. (NOTE: Baked burritos will stay warm for 15 to 20 minutes; they can be eaten on the go or when you get to work. If reheating in the microwave, make sure to remove foil first.)

Nutrition Information
Serves: 4 |  Serving Size: 1 burrito
Per serving: Calories: 226; Total Fat: 9g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 3g; Cholesterol: 113mg; Sodium: 500mg; Carbohydrate: 32g; Dietary Fiber: 10g; Sugar: 7g; Protein: 13g
Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 296mg; Iron: 14%; Vitamin A: 124%; Vitamin C: 8%; Calcium: 29% 

Greek Salad Dressing

To go with the Greek Spaghetti Squash Toss, may I recommend making your own Greek dressing?

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk ingredients together. You can see that this makes quite a bit of dressing. So either halve the recipe or store the rest for later.

Greek Spaghetti Squash Toss

Original Recipe from Cooking Light

This recipe is super close to my standard pasta salad fare so I made some adjustments based on my preferences, and just used the spaghetti squash in place of the pasta. I'm not including precise measurements on all of the ingredients as I just eyeballed what looked right.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• about half of a red onion, diced or thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 can unsalted chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 Spaghetti Squash
• 1 cucumber 
• kalamata olives
• baby spinach
• Dash of salt
• crumbled feta cheese
• Greek salad dressing (the original recipe doesn't call for this but I recommend it)

Spaghetti Squash

1. Pierce skin of squash several times with a sharp knife.
2. Place on tin foil on a baking sheet and bake for an hour at 375.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
4. Slice in half lengthwise.
5. Scoop out seeds and gunk.
6. Use a fork to scoop meat out into a bowl. It will pull apart into strings like spaghetti.

The Toss

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. 
2. Add onion and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. 
3. Add chickpeas and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. 
4. Add spaghetti squash; cook and stir 2 minutes. 
5. Add spinach, and salt; toss gently to combine. Cook 2 minutes or until spinach is just wilted. 
6. Allow to cool.
7. Drizzle with some dressing and add olives, cucumber and feta.
8. Stir to combine. Serve with extra dressing and cheese.

Cream of Carrot Soup

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 2 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add carrots, potato, onion, celery, chicken broth, and ginger. 
2. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. 
3. Uncover and cool for 15 minutes.
4. Transfer soup in batches to a food processor; blend until smooth. 
5. Return soup to the Dutch oven; stir in cream. 
6. Add curry powder, salt, and black pepper; cook over low heat until heated through, about 10 minutes.