Monday, May 19, 2014

Welcome back- Quinoa taco bowls and microwave cheese cake

Howdy all!

It has been way too long since I has lave posted. A lot has happened since then. I went to California (where I payed to work 40hrs a week at a hospital) and got to go to Disneyland for the first time!! Oh- and I also graduated with my doctorate of physical therapy aka DPT!!! Now all I have to do is study for the next eleven weeks so I can pass to boards and get my license and then get a job! I am back home now and hoping to cook an epic meal once a week, and even more hopefully actually remember to blog about it. So, lets get to it! Last week I made amazing quinoa taco bowls and microwave cheese cakes. All was super awesome and fairly healthy and really easy to make. Basically if you can use a microwave and boil water you can make this meal. 

Quinoa Taco Bowls-
1 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (will make about 3 cups cooked)
1 package taco seasoning or you can make your own with this recipe
Toppings of your choice- I used corn, black beans, cilantro, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, onions, shredded cheese, and sliced black olives. 
Top it all with your favorite salsa

Spices used in taco seasoning
Steps- 
Cook quinoa in 3 cups water (quinoa will cook until water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender), it should take about 10-15 minutes. While cooking, this is the perfect time to prepare the taco seasoning (if making your own) and prepare your toppings. After the quinoa is finished cooking, stir in taco seasoning. Divide quinoa into bowls for serving and top with the toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

The left overs also make a great breakfast with a fried egg over top. I didn't use all of the toppings, only the corn, black beans, and cheese. YUM!
Ingredients used for Taco Bowls


Toppings and quinoa with taco seasoning mixed in

Completed little piece of heaven!
For the microwave cheese cake I used this recipe. It is so very easy and quick. Great for when you are craving a little sweet treat that won't break your waist line or leave you with pesky left overs to tempt you. 

You need:
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fat free sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons low fat cream cheese
  • ⅛ teaspoon lemon juice- fresh squeezed is always best
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ egg, beaten fluffy (egg substitute works too)
  • topping/ add in of your choice- I used semisweet chocolate chips.
 Mix the first five ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add in the beaten egg (I beat it with a whisk, I was too lazy to get out the mixer and clean the beaters and it still turned out just fine). Finally add in your add-in. I made four at once, so I started in a bowl and transferred them to small ramekins and proceeded to microwave. I did about a minute, let it rest for 20sec, and microwaved for another 50sec. They looked mildly underdone, but after cooling they set well. 





 Well, I hope you enjoy these recipes. They truly were quite delicious and are on the list to make again. 

Happy eating, 
Smashley