one pan mexican quinoa

So I'm trying to be a little bit more healthy. Emphasis on "little bit".

I really enjoy food. I don't go overboard, I'm good at knowing when I'm full and when to stop and actually quitting while I'm ahead, and I make sure to stay active. So I pretty much eat whatever I want. I realize this isn't always a good idea, even if I'm not preoccupied with my figure, weight, or ability to exercise, so sometimes I try to find a healthier alternative to something I already enjoy. Especially if I can't tell that there's a huge difference when I make a substitution.

I also have this bag of quinoa that is going to expire if I don't use it all in the next month or two. So, honestly, my desire not to waste food was the larger motivator than my health. But whatever.

So I searched for quinoa recipes. Most were way too healthy for my tastes (if tofu is a main ingredient, I'll pass), but I realized I could just add what I wanted and take out what I didn't. And then I found this recipe that was basically just switching out rice for quinoa. And it was delicious. I made some changes, I added meat (because we're carnivores), and voila. Dinner 30 minutes later.

Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef (of course, there are great substitutions for this. Or you can omit it entirely. It's still really good without)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c quinoa
• 1 c vegetable broth
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (fire roasted is delicious, but. Use what you have)
• 1 c corn
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• lime juice (1 lime is plenty)
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 1 avocado, diced

1.  (If you're using meat) Brown the beef. Drain and rinse (I've learned that rinsing really gets all of the fat off. Less oily and gross that way). Set aside, and rinse out your pan.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat, and cook the garlic and jalapeno for about a minute, until it starts to smell delicious.
3. Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring it all to a boil, then cover it and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer until the quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in meat, heat through, then add lime, cilantro, and avocado. Eat immediately.

If eating healthy always tastes this delicious, maybe I'll up my healthy food game. Just a little bit. 

the "little black dress" of pizzas: garlic chicken pizza

I feel like I need to be completely honest about something that I don't think anybody really knows: I love pizza. But not like everybody loves pizza. I LOVE pizza. "Like a fat kid loves cake"? No, that would be "kind of liking" pizza. Every chance I get to eat pizza, I take it. I really honestly don't think I'd be sick of it if I ate a different flavor of pizza every day (which I did, for a few months of my life. I worked at Empire Pizza as a senior, and I wanted to try all of them. If you want a recommendation, should you be in that part of South Florida, mashed potato bacon is my favorite).
So I think it fair to say that I'm somewhat of a pizza connoisseur. Yes, I will (often gladly) eat pizzas that are below elite rank, but when there is a more elite pizza available, I will be there, trying to shovel it down in the classiest way possible.

Now, pizza is rarely a classy thing. In fact, I don't know that, even with my choice of title, pizza is ever classy. But you can certainly dress it up. Especially if you're making your own, you cut it into squares instead of triangular slices, and your pizza is a wonderful mix of looking delicious and being healthy (little to no grease). Throw together individual side salads, and you could have a dinner party (probably not a black tie event though. Pizza's name still hasn't been cleared of "frat parties," "tailgate parties," and other events where daisy dukes and beer pong might be involved).

So here we have a pizza that you can dress up or dress down. It is delicious AND healthy. I've used it for birthdays, FIFA nights, post-football game meals that turned into FIFA nights, and date night with stemware. I probably wouldn't wear a little black dress to most of those things, but. You get the idea.

You can use what you have on hand and omit some of the cheeses or vegetables (in the one pictured, we omitted a few things), or you can make a trip to the store if you're feeling up to it, especially if you want to pick up soda. Or sparkling cider :)

Garlic Chicken Pizza

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ready-made pizza crust (I make my own- recipe at the end)
• 1 1/2 c shredded cooked chicken
• 1 c chopped tomato
• 1 c chopped mushroom
• 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 c finely shredded Parmesan
• 1/4 c chopped green onion

1. Preheat oven to temperature listed on the package (or 375 if you've made your own pizza crust).
2. Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Place crust on baking sheet; brush vinegar mixture over crust.
3. Top with chicken, tomato, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with cheeses and green onion.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheeses melt.

With this pizza, I made the crust, and I left out green onions, mushrooms, and feta cheese. I rarely have those on hand, so more often than not, our pizza is like this. Still pretty dang delicious.

No-Rise Pizza Crust

• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 c lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil 
• 1 tsp salt
• ~3 c flour

1. Combine the yeast and sugar in a bowl, then add the cup of water. Let react for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Add the last 3 ingredients, starting with 2 cups of flour and then adding a little bit more at a time as needed.
4. Roll out in desired shape. Put on a greased pan, top, and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

If you decide to make your own crust, here's a tip: if you don't already have a can of cooked chicken (or want to save it for a more rushed day), use a chicken breast. Start the chicken boiling while you're waiting for the yeast to react, then it will be done cooking about the time you're done with your crust. Let the chicken cool while you prepare the vinegar mix, and after you've spread it on the crust, the chicken should be cool enough that you can handle it to shred it or dice it.

Enjoy!