Slow Cooker Smoked Sausage and Root Vegetable Hash with Quinoa

It was 29C yesterday. And it's only April. Slaving over a flaming stove in the heat last night was not an ideal experience, so I'm playing smarter today by busting out the slow cooker. 

I went with a chipotle beef smoked sausage for this recipe because I like spice in everything I eat, but you could easily substitute with any Polish, summer, smoked or Hungarian sausage. I used about 3/4s of of a 12oz package because I'm not feeling super carnivorous; feel free to reduce/increase this amount to your preference. 

You can change up the veggie combination if you like. I picked these ones for their beautiful red, orange and yellow hues. Nutrition-wise, the list is long... Highlights? 
   Beets: omegas, folate and manganese.
   Butternut squash: SO MUCH vitamin A.
   Sweet potato: MORE vitamin A, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and potassium.
   Garlic: anti-cancer, immune-strengthening and heart disease prevention.
   Onion: anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, pro-heart health, pro-immune system, and pro-digestion

Serves 4-6

• 2 large beets
• 1 small butternut squash, divided
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 bulb garlic
• 9oz chipotle beef smoked sausage
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika 
• 1 ground cumin
• pinch chili flakes
• fresh ground pepper and salt
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/3 cup quinoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 1/3 cups vegetable broth or water

Start by peeling and chopping the beets, butternut squash (reserve half squash, unchopped, for later), sweet potato and carrot into bite-sized pieces (~1inch). 

Peel and mince garlic. 

Slice sausage lengthwise in half, then halve again into semi-circles. 

Add sausage and garlic to a non-stick pan over med-high heat. No need to add any oil as the sausage will produce enough once heated. Cook for 3-4min until nicely browned, stirring occasionally. 

Meanwhile, lightly spray your slow cooker with non-fat cooking spray. Add chopped beets to slow cooker. 

Once your sausage and garlic are browned, remove from heat. Add chopped butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili flakes, pepper and salt to the pan. Stir and toss to coat the vegetables in the spices and sausage oils. 

Add contents of the pan to the crock pot, cover, and set to cook on low for 4.5-5 hours. Go do other stuff, like not sweat over a hot stove in the heat :)

A little closer to meal time, finely dice the onion and reserved half butternut squash. Add to non-stick pot, with 1 tsp olive oil, over med-high heat. Stir for 2 minutes, then cover with lid, reduce heat to low, and let cook for another 8 minutes. Increase to high heat, add quinoa, salt and cumin, then stir for another minute before adding vegetable broth or water. Once it has reached boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 15-20min or until all liquid absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing and dishing out. 

Serve the quinoa and slow-cooked hash side by side, or dish the hash out over top of the quinoa. Enjoy! 

Lentil and Prosciutto Soup

To satisfy those soup cravings on cold days like these, try this lentil and prosciutto soup out that's hearty enough to satisfy a dinner-sized appetite. Lentils are ridiculously rich in protein, fiber and folate, and a solid source of iron too.

Serves 4

• 1 large onion
• 2 small carrots 
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 roma tomato
• 4 oz prosciutto
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley

Dice the onion, carrots, celery and tomato, then set aside. 

Remove as much of fat off the sliced prosciutto as possible, then cut roughly into 1-inch pieces. 

Heat olive oil in a large pot over med-high. Add prosciutto and saute for a 1-2min to release smoky flavor. Add diced onion, carrot and celery and let cook for 8min, stirring often. 

Add rinsed lentils, chicken broth, pepper and salt to the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer 30min. 

With 10min left in simmering time, stir in fresh chopped parsley. 

Serve with bread for dunking. Also tastes great with gnocchi for an even more filling meal. 

Asian-inspired Cucumber Cups

This healthy and refreshing appetizer is perfect because it won't fill your guests up before a meal. Plus they're pretty to look at! And it's a perfect way to use up some of the to die for spicy peanut sauce from my Chicken Nood Wraps recipe! 

Yield: 10 cucumber cups (+/- depending on length of cucumber)

• spicy peanut sauce: 

• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch section of fresh ginger, minced
• 2 small chilis, minced, with seeds 
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1-2 limes) 
• 2/3 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• note: this yields more peanut sauce than you will need, but it lasts a few days in the fridge, and can easily be used up for stir-fry, thai curry, veggie dip, etc. 
• 1 cucumber
• 1 small carrot
• 30 lo-mein  noodles (approx) 
• 10 peanuts, crushed

Prepare peanut sauce. Start by mincing the garlic, ginger and chilis. Heat a small amount of olive oil to a small frying pan over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and the edges of the garlic turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat and set aside. 

Juice lime(s) and pour into small sauce pan with lid. Combine all other peanut sauce ingredients, including the cooked garlic, ginger and chili peppers with lime juice in sauce pan. Cook over low heat til peanut butter melts. Stir frequently to mix and prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Remove from heat, cover with lid and set aside. 

Set a small pot of water to boil and cook noodles per package instructions. Rinse with cold water and strain. 

Peel carrot. Cut carrot into thin strips using peeler and set strips aside (note: you'll likely only need half of a small carrot). 

Wash cucumber. Using a peeler, strip the length of the cucumber four times, creating a stripe pattern (optional step, just to make it look pretty). Slice cucumber into 1 1/2 inch "cups". Using a small spoon, scoop out the center. Be sure to leave 1/8-1/4 inch at the bottom to hold cup contents. 

Scoop a small dollop of peanut sauce to coat the bottom of the cucumber cup. 

* Make sure your hands are washed and clean for this part! *

Gather 1-2 noodles with 1-2 strips of carrot, holding them at one end between your finger and thumb. Use your other hand to twirl the length of the noodles and carrot around your finger. Carefully slide the coiled noodles and carrot off your finger and into the cucumber cup. Press the coil gently into the cup to ensure the ends don't spring loose. Repeat until all cucumber cups are stuffed. 

Top each coil with another small dollop of peanut sauce. Sprinkle crushed peanuts over top. 

Volcano Wraps

On our honeymoon, we went volcano boarding at Cerro Negro in Nicaragua. It was a challenging hike given the strong winds, and overall a petrifying experience. The rewards of this adventure came in the form of a gash in my left shin caused by fallen volcanic rock, black ash lodged firmly into every crevasse of my body, a wind-designed hairstyle that impenetrable by brush, comb or fingers, and a delightful lunch made by our guide at Quetzaltrekkers. This meal tastes extraordinarily good devoured while sitting on a hammock, sipping on a Toña cerveza, but tastes just as good now that we're back home, reminiscing about the goodtimes in Nica. 

Going down the side of Cerro Negro
as slowly and fearlessly as possible. 

Victory meal for volcano boarding survivors.

Makes 4-5 medium wraps. 

Nica journaling

• 3 large carrots
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 ear of corn (use frozen if fresh isn't available)
• 1 very small onion (more or less to taste)
• 1 squeeze of lime
• salt and pepper, to taste
• soft, medium, whole wheat tortilla wraps
• 14oz squeeze pouch Ducal refried beans (canned variety is close enough if you don't live near any Mexican & South American grocery stores)
• topping: spicy nacho Doritos

 

Peel carrots, then shred through large-hole shredder of your grater. Place shredded carrots into large salad bowl. 

Wash cucumber (you only need half), then quarter lengthwise before slicing thinly. I prefer thin slices, but you can make chunkier if it suits you. Add sliced cuke to salad bowl. 

Wash tomato, slice in half, then remove seeds and slime. Dice, then add to bowl. 

Shuck the corn, then take a sharp knife to slice the kernels off in swaths. I lay the corn flat on a large chopping board instead of holding it vertically so the kernels don't fall everywhere. Add kernels to salad bowl. 

Dice as much onion as you'd like and add to the mix. I use most of a small onion, because although I don't mind the taste of raw onion, it is not meant to overpower the salad. 

Add a squeeze of lime, salt and pepper to the salad, then toss to mix. 

Wrap assembly can be done however you like, but this is the order I like:  Squeeze a good dollop of refried beans into the center of the wrap. Pick up the wrap and fold lightly to evenly distribute beans. Re-open the wrap, crush a few spicy doritos into the beans, then pile high with salad mix, before topping off with a few more crushed spicy doritos. Hot sauce can be added if you are a fan of goodness. Fold up, enjoy and repeat as necessary! 

Spicy Chicken & Vegetable Stirfry on Udon

More often than not, I make noodle stir fries using the thin yellow chow mein noodles (see: Kung Pao Chicken Chow), but it's a delicious change of pace, when I remember to mix things up a little with udon. Udon is usually served as a hot noodle soup, but I find these fat, juicy noodles are particularly susceptible to soaking up sauce, so I like to use them in stir fry. 

This recipe also uses red cabbage, which I recommend over the usual green variety, because it contains significantly more protective phytonutrients (cancer-fighters) and 6-8 times more Vitamin C! 

Serves 4

• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne 
• 7-8 cloves garlic (less if you don't prefer garlic)
• 2-3 dried red chili peppers 
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 small head red cabbage
• Sauce: 
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 cups water 
• 1/3 cup oyster sauce
• sriracha, to taste
• 4-5 packs of fresh udon (200gr per pkg)
• 4 cups packed fresh spinach
• 1 small bunch cilantro
• sesame seed, garnish

A couple hours in advance, trim any fat off chicken breasts, and slice into bite-size pieces. Mix well with all marinade ingredients and set aside in fridge, allowing marinade to soak in.

Mince garlic and dried chili peppers together. 

Prepare the remaining vegetables: Thinly slice the onion. Julienne (matchstick) the carrots and red cabbage. Chop cilantro. 

Heat a small amount of olive oil over med-high in a large non-stick frying pan. Add minced garlic and dried chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and edges of garlic turn golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside (use a large bowl or container so you can continue adding stir fried items to the bowl before mixing together at the end).

Using the same frying pan, and without adding more oil, add marinated chicken over high heat. The moisture from the marinade will keep the chicken from sticking to the pan. Stir for a few minutes until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Using the same pan, add onion slices, reduce to medium, and let cook until onion softens and becomes clear (about 5min). Add small amounts of water occasionally as the pan becomes dry. Remove from pan and set aside when cooked. 

Add half a cup of water to the pan, increase heat to med-high, and add julienned carrots. Let steam-fry for 1min, then add the red cabbage to the carrots in the pan. Stir, and allow to steam-fry for another minute or two. Remove from pan and set aside.

Prepare the sauce in a small bowl, mixing together the cornstarch, soy sauce, ground pepper and water. 

Add the udon noodles to the frying pan over high heat, and add half a cup of water. Add more water as necessary as the water will steam off. Once the noodles have warmed up a bit, you can use a pair of chopsticks to loosen them up from their packaged brick form. When the noodles have been loosened, stir in the spinach, cilantro and all other stir fried ingredients set aside in the bowl. Give the sauce a stir as the cornstarch will have clumped at the bottom, then add to the pan, along with the oyster sauce, and sriracha to taste. Reduce to med-high heat and stir to mix everything together. Add more water to achieve desired sauce consistency. 

Serve in deep dish bowls (the noodles are slippery!), and garnish with sesame seeds. 

Rainbow Quinoa Salad

They say the more colorful the vegetables are on your plate, the more benefits to your health and waistline, so... I decided to go all out and let the rainbow color wheel be my inspiration at the grocery store! (Covered every color except blue because I didn't think blueberries would go great in this creation). And since October is apparently the SF bay area's warmest month (30°C today!!), a salad felt most appropriate. Hope you all enjoy this extremely nutritious concoction as much as we did!! Already can't wait to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow mmm.

Yield: 2 dinners & 2 leftover lunches

• 1 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• Dressing

• Juice from 1 lime (I got about 3.75 tbsp out of mine)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 1 large carrot (I used 2 small)
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1/2 small purple onion
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 2 medium beets (I used 1 large, 1 small)

Quinoa should be cooked in advance so it has time to cool. Add quinoa, water, salt, cumin & garlic salt to a small pot over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce to low and cover with lid. Set timer for 15min. Remove from heat, let stand 5min. Fluff and set aside to cool to room temperature (or refrigerate if making very well in advance). 

Add all dressing ingredients to a cup/jar, stirring well to incorporate. Set aside. 

Measure out frozen corn and place in colander to thaw and drain. 

Meanwhile, shred the carrot using a grater, and dice the zucchini and the purple onion. Add to large salad bowl. 

Chop another 1/4 fresh parsley and add to the salad bowl. 

Pre-heat a double-sided grill (like a George Foreman). Peel the beets and cut into approx 1cm thick slices. Grill the beets for 8min. Dice, then add to salad bowl along with the corn and quinoa. Mix well. 

Drizzle dressing over the salad, and mix well again. Enjoy! 

Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Sumac & Tarragon

Cauliflower never got much love in this home, mainly because a whole head always seemed way too big for just the two of us. But knowing how extremely high in fibre, vitamin C, and anti-oxidants, among other nutrients this bulky bland looking vegetable is, I decided to give it a whirl about a week ago (also, it was ridiculously on sale). I chopped the head up into florets and tossed it into the grill basket with some seasoning salt, paprika and chili powder, and 30min later, I was amazed by the amount of smoky flavor these perfectly crisp on the outside, yet soft in the middle, spice sponges had soaked up! I could eat these things like they were chips (me and chips go waaaaay back)!


And so, my love affair with cauliflower continues! Since my parents just bought me a new baking pan, oven-roasting  cauliflower seemed the next logical experiment! Our patio potted limequats (cross between key lime and kumquat) also bore two tiny yellow fruits that were ripe for the picking, so these were plucked for flavoring. It makes sense that most of you will not have a pot of limequats conveniently at hand, so a wedge of lemon will also do the trick!

Serves 4

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 large carrot
• 1 lemon wedge (or 2 limequats!)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sumac

Preheat oven to 385.

Wash and pat cauliflower dry. Trim leaves then slice into bite-size florets. Set aside in large bowl/pot. 

Peel carrot and chop into bite-size wedges. Place in large bowl/pot with cauliflower. 

Slice and de-seed the lemon/limequats. Squeeze juice over cauliflower and carrots. 

Measure out olive oil and drizzle over veg. Toss to coat. 

Add all seasonings and toss again to evenly distribute. 

Arrange so that everything sits in one layer directly on baking pan (tin foil and/or cooking spray are not required). Bake for 30min and serve immediately as a simple, nutritious and delicious side dish!

Asian Quinoa Salad with Mango & Snow Peas

Summertime! 'Tis the season for dreaming up new creations so the salad rotation doesn't get dull. I like my salads filling enough to be a main dish, so quinoa usually works its way into the mix. Today's inspiration? Asian! Because mangoes are on sale, and my boyfriend can't get enough of snow peas. 


I feel extremely guilty though for using store-bought salad dressing in this recipe... I always make my own dressing, but there's a bottle of Litehouse Toasted Sesame in the fridge that needs using. As guilty as I feel, thank goodness the dressing is guilt-free, meaning zero grams of fat! Whew. 

Serves 4

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 

• 1/2 tsp bombay curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1.5 cups quinoa (3 cups water)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 25 snow peas
• top half of a bunch of green onion
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 carrot
• 1 large, ripe mango
• juice 1/4 of a lemon
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup Litehouse toasted sesame ginger dressing (fat-free)

Trim any fat off chicken breast and dice roughly into 1cm cubes. Marinade with seasoning, and set aside in fridge (can be done the night before, or just an hour prior to cooking, so flavor sets in). 

Bring water, quinoa, salt and ground coriander to a boil in a medium pot over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce to low and cover for 15min. 

stripped snow peas

Meanwhile, wash and prepare all your fruit and veg. With the snow peas, this next step has been firmly ingrained in me thanks to years of helping my mom out in the kitchen... Feel free to skip this step if you don't mind a bit of chewy toughness in your snow peas. Instead of just trimming the ends, she taught me to take each of the ends and strip them down so the tough stringy parts on each side of the peas are removed. Slice each snow pea into 3-4 bite size pieces. Set aside.

Dice the green half of a bunch of green onion and place into large salad bowl. 

Roughly chop enough fresh cilantro to fill 1/4 cup and add to large salad bowl. 

Peel then shred carrot, using a medium grater slot. Add to large salad bowl. 

diced mango

By now, the quinoa should have finished cooking. Remove from heat, fluff, then add sliced snow peas to the quinoa, allowing the heat from the quinoa to lightly steam the snow peas. Fluff again, then let cool completely. 

Remove skin from mango, using a peeler or sharp knife. Dice, then add to large salad bowl. Toss all ingredients in the salad bowl so far with the juice of a quarter of a lemon. 

Sesame sprinkles on chicken.
Golden brown chicken.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a small pan over high heat. Add cubed chicken to the pan and sprinkle sesame seeds over chicken. Cook for 10-15min, turning chicken pieces so that all sides are golden brown. Remove from heat and cool completely before adding to salad bowl. 

Once chicken, quinoa and snow peas have cooled, add to salad bowl and toss with salad dressing. Enjoy!