Quinoa, Chickpea and Red Pepper Patties

Quinoa, Chickpea and Red Pepper Patties

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 Tbsp mild ajvar (or Trader Joe's red pepper spread with eggplant and garlic)
1/4 of a red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 of a small red onion, finely diced
about 2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, yolk broken

avocado oil or olive oil, for cooking

Combine chickpeas and quinoa in a bowl and mash loosely, using a potato masher or fork.  Stir in other ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Using a fourth of the mixture for each serving, form a patty (just like you would form a hamburger), by smashing the mixture between your hands.

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat.  Cook about 4 minutes per side in a *hot* skillet, searing both sides to form a crust on the patty.  Use caution when flipping them, they might want to crumble.

HINT:  If you end up with leftovers (or a crumbly one), add it to your scrambled eggs in the morning!  Yum!

Curried Veggies and (no-fail) Saffron Rice

Curried Veggies

• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• sprinkle of ground cardamom
• sprinkle of ground cloves
• 2 Tbsp avocado (or olive) oil
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 15 oz can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar (or more to taste)
• salt to taste

*Veggies of choice*  ...just try to keep proportions close to what I've listed here...

• 15.5 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed
• 12 oz bag frozen Florentine vegetables (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower)
• 12 oz bag frozen Brussles sprouts
• you could also try peas, sweet potatoes, cabbage, potatoes, etc.

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, cardamom and cloves to oil and stir so spices and oil thicken to a paste.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  Cook, covered,over medium heat for 20-30 minutes (or until the veggies are fork tender), stirring periodically.

...MEANWHILE...

(no-fail) Saffron Rice

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter (or use salted and omit the extra salt)
• salt to taste
• small pinch of saffron

Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.  Cover and cook on high for 5 minutes.  Continue cooking, covered, for another 15 minutes at 50% power.  Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

New "Items for Sale" page on my blog!

Good afternoon!  If you follow either my personal or my blog facebook pages, you've probably seen that I've been making wire jewelry.  I've decided to put together a page here on my blog where you can order directly from me.  Just click on the "Items for Sale" tab on the top of my blog to see what I'm currently offering.

See it all here!

Refrigerator [sweet] Pickles

Refrigerator pickles are one of the easiest things to make and they keep my kids and I happy on warm summer days...

The very basics that you'll need for any kind of refrigerator pickles are:

• produce to pickle
• vinegar
• filtered water
• salt

The combination of the vinegar and the salt are what do the actual pickling/preserving for you.  From this very basic recipe, you could make so many different kinds of pickles!  Just change up your seasonings and you could have a whole new flavor combination.

This is how I make my sweet pickles...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

• cucumbers, cut into coins
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup filtered water 
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp cumin seeds 
• 1/8 tsp dill seeds
• 1/8 tsp celery seeds
• a sprinkle of turmeric
• a sprinkle of ground cayenne
• 1/8 tsp onion powder (though I prefer adding thinly sliced red onions instead, tonight it was an afterthought, so I opted for onion powder)

Wash and chop the cucumbers (and red onions, if you're using them) and place in a sanitized pint sized jar (or similarly sized air-tight container).  Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dill seeds, celery seeds, turmeric and cayenne (and onion powder, if you're using it) to the jar.

In a microwave safe container (that's easy to pour from), combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt.  Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally until the salt and sugar have mostly dissolved.  Pour this liquid over your cucumbers (there should be enough liquid to cover the tops of the pickles), close up the jar and give it a good shake to evenly distribute all of the seeds and spices.

Wait 24-48 hours before eating to allow the cucumbers to absorb all of the flavors.  They should keep well in your fridge for at least a couple of weeks (maybe longer).....  if they last that long!

**PLEASE NOTE that this recipe is written strictly for refrigerator storage...  DO NOT try to process these pickles in a water bath or pressure canner!  

ENJOY!

This week's menu... 4/28/14-5/4/14

Monday:  BBQ chicken legs & garlic mashed potatoes

Tuesday:  Brats and sauerkraut

Wednesday:  veggie curry

Thursday:  pizza night

Friday:  leftovers

Saturday:  veggie stir fry

Sunday:  smothered chicken (recipe coming soon)

What's on your menu this week?

4 week cleaning schedule

Gah!  There's so much going on that I want to share right now, but I've been told that I have to wait...

...So for now I'm sharing a cleaning chart that I made incorporating At Home With Nikki's "1 Hour Home Cleaning Routine".  It works when I remind myself to do it...

(click for a printable version)

Find more of my cleaning and organizing posts here.

Homemade "Pedialyte" Mix Recipe

There's something going around my kids' schools...  Whatever it is, it sucks.  The kids don't think they're sick then out of nowhere, lots of vomit.  Sorry for the detail, but it is what it is.

Anyway, two of my three kids are sick, and the third says she feels nauseated when she stands up.  Oh, my husband is home sick today too...  I, on the other hand, feel fine (if not entirely exhausted from taking care of everyone).

Needless to say, electrolyte drinks are highly valued at times like these.  It's just so expensive...  and nearly impossible to run to the store when everyone but me is sick.  So, the last time one of my kids was sick, I tried making some from [the first of three recipes that I found on] this website (via Pinterest, of course).

She loved it.

She said it was better than the store-bought stuff.

So, when I needed to make more today, I figured that I might as well make as much as I can so I have it on hand when I need it.

I made a double batch of the drink to

hold us over until the kids feel better.

To make the dry mix, you will need:

• 2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp salt
• 2 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c (one 3 oz. box) flavored gelatin (I used pineapple Jello)

Mix the ingredients well and store in an airtight jar. I used a one quart mason jar.

To prepare electrolyte drink, you will need:

• 3 Tbsp dry mix
• 1/2 c hot water
• 3 1/2 cups cold water

 Combine dry mix and hot water, stir to dissolve.  Top with cold water and serve.

I hope everyone in your family is staying healthy!