Mushroom & Quinoa Salad with Tilapia

I cooked!! And it was good!! But seriously. This meal was inspired by the need to use the mushrooms, tomato, and goat cheese that were in the house. Also it's Fish Friday...so tilapia was an obvious choice. And I like quinoa and balsamic. So ta-da! Dinner.

The rest of the day has been fairly uneventful. Errands. Refinishing furniture. Recovering from yesterday's X2 Chest+Back+Balance, ab ripper, and Zumba combo. Like things are sore that I didn't remember could be sore...Yoga-X was much needed this morning. Still, it's been a pretty chill day...and evening. I feel like Friday nights should be more exciting... Anyways, here is your recipe: 

Mushroom & Quinoa Salad with Tilapia

Ingredients:

2 tilapia filets (maybe like 6 oz each), thawed

1/2 cup quinoa

1 lb. sliced mushrooms

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced 

1 large tomato, cut into small pieces 

2-3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Salt & pepper

EVOO

Balsamic vinaigrette 

Directions:

• Set the oven to broil on low. Line a pan with foil and place the tilapia on it. Season with a little salt and pepper. Drizzle with some EVOO. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, have your quinoa cooking (according to the directions on the package...I like to use chicken or vegetable stock for my liquid...more flavor).
• This is also a good time to drizzle your saute pan with EVOO, and cook the mushrooms and garlic. 
• Once the fish, quinoa, and mushrooms are done, you can combine everything in a large bowl. Drizzle on your balsamic. Top with goat cheese. Eat up!

Grilled Peach, Chicken & Goat Cheese Salad with Roasted Pecans

Here's a little break from my travel tales to share a new favorite salad. I honestly haven't been doing much cooking at all since being back. I've been out a lot more than usual. I was seriously spoiled not having to do any cooking or clean up any dishes in Zambia...so I'm having a little trouble getting back into the groove. 

Anyways, a couple nights ago, we enjoyed a salad that was just as tasty as it was pretty. The mother had gotten a ton of fresh, juicy peaches. Which, naturally, were ripening way faster than we could eat them. Someone had suggested using them on a salad. Brilliant. I had totally intended to marinate and grill some chicken up, but I ended up using a rotisserie chicken... We had gotten tied up running some errands. It was already 1900, and I hadn't eaten since lunch. There was no way I was waiting for chicken to marinate and cook. The rotisserie chicken worked out really well! I'm sure grilled chicken would be quite delish as well. 

Here's what you need:

• Mixed greens
• Chicken (rotisserie or grilled)
• Fresh peaches (I cut them in half and put them on the George Foreman for a few minutes, then sliced them)
• Chopped, roasted pecans
• Goat cheese, crumbled
• Balsamic dressing (recipe below)

Just pile it all together and enjoy!

If you want to make your own balsamic dressing, just mix together:

• 2 TBSP EVOO
• 1 TBSP Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• A pinch of sea salt 

Warm Quinoa Cranberry Salad with Butternut Squash

I came across this yummy recipe on Pinterest one day.  Great find.  While, I'm sure it's technically more of a fall dish, we happened to have everything needed to make this tasty dish.  Kind of.  I realized after I started that I had dried cherries, not cranberries.  However, I don't think it really made a huge difference.  It was still scrumptious.  Other than using cherries, the only thing I really changed from the original recipe is not adding butter...which I just totally forgot about.  Also, I simplified the whole butternut squash cubing process buy using the frozen, already cubed kind, from Sunflower Markets.  The family thought it was pretty great too.  The only "problem" was my brother wished I had made some kind of meat too.  I explained to him that it was Monday, and, therefore, meatless.  In reality, I just wasn't up to also cooking meat.  Oh well.  Here you go:

Warm Quinoa Cranberry Salad with Butternut Squash

Ingredients: 

1  c quinoa

2  c vegetable or chicken broth (low-sodium)

1  bag frozen, cubed butternut squash 

1/2  medium red onion, thinly sliced or diced

1/2  c dried cranberries (or cherries)

1  sprig of rosemary & a sprinkle of sage

2  tbsp EVOO

1/2  tsp salt

1   tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Cook quinoa in pot with broth over high heat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Leave on stove for about 25 minutes or until broth is absorbed, stirring occasionally.  

Meanwhile, throw everything else into your Pampered chef steam-in-the-microwave thing.  Toss it around for a bit.  Cook it in the microwave until the butternut squash is cooked through and the onions are tender.  If you don't have a nifty steamer thing, you can bake it in the oven at 425.  

Once everything is done, mix the butternut squash mixture with the quinoa and add the apple cider vinegar.  Stir.  Serve.  Enjoy!

Tilapia in White Wine & Lemon Sauce

Tonight we had a dish that I found on Kraft's website (www.kraftfoods.com) probably a few years ago.  We love this recipe, and I hadn't made it in quite a while, so I brought it back tonight.  You basically coat (lightly) the tilapia filets in flour and cook in a hot pan until golden.  Then, add finely chopped onions...wait around until they are translucent.  Next, you add butter, lemon juice, capers, and white wine (real or cooking, whichever you prefer)...wait until the sauce is "silky." Add some fresh parsley and enjoy!  We had a salad of baby spinach, field greens, mandarin oranges, craisins, and feta on the side.

I'm still fighting with the wall shelf.  On the bright side, I scored FREE ground turkey at the grocery store today!  Not that the wall shelf and ground turkey are related...at all.