Quinoa Salad and Week 68 Menu

Last week I bought some quinoa for the first time. It was kind of hard to find at my little Smith's and it was kind of pricey, but I bought it anyway. It is supposed to be super healthy and my sister-in-laws have been cooking with it for a while, so I thought it was time to try it.

I made this quinoa salad yesterday using a recipe from Maggie. I loved that it was really healthy and you can put whatever you want in it. We had it with a juicy, grilled steak and it was perfect!

Quinoa Salad
recipe from Maggie

1 c. quinoa
2 c. water

Cook quinoa according to package directions (just like rice). I used my rice cooker.

Chop up any veggies you like and add to cooled quinoa. I used:
cucumber
tomatoes
chopped flat leaf parsley (1/2 c.)
any bell pepper, I used red
green onions

Salt and pepper. Then pour on any vinaigrette of your choosing. I used a combination of lime vinaigrette and this balsamic vinaigrette (to balance out the lime-i-ness). Or you can try this recipe from Maggie:

Whisk together:
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
3 T. lime juice
1 T. honey
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil

I'm going to use Maggie's vinaigrette next time. Enjoy!

Now, menu time!

I planned my shopping list and menus pretty well last week and only went to the store once (does it count that I had my hubby pick up some eggs and apples?). Hopefully this week will be planned out well too:

Monday: taco salad

Tuesday: broccoli chicken braid

Wednesday: pepperoni bread

Thursday: Chicken Spaghetti

Friday: Italian Meatball Soup w/bread

Saturday: easy

Sunday: Bistro chicken w/potatoes

There it is! Now your turn. If you have your menu go ahead and post it in the comment section. Ever wonder what I do with all your menus? Well, the comments are sent to my email inbox and I put them in a "menu" folder. Then if I need meal inspiration I just go through all the lists of your wonderful menus. Thanks for sharing!

One Hour Rolls

These rolls are amazing! I've been making these rolls since 2001 when I was a newlywed and my sister-in-law shared the recipe with me. The rolls are light, fluffy, easy to make and they only take one hour! And delicious too! I've made these rolls more times than I can count, so I've perfected the art of making them. Here are some step-by-step instructions with pictures for you. Here's what you'll need. I buy pretty much all of the ingredients in this recipe at Sam's club, thus the huge containers. You need warm water, yeast, oil, sugar, salt, egg and flour. In the mixer bowl, add warm water (not hot), oil, sugar and yeast. Mix together. After ten or fifteen minutes the yeast mixture should be puffed up like this. Time to add the salt and beaten egg. Then mix in the flour. (I've used a mixture of half wheat and half white flour successfully.) Keep adding flour until the dough is manageable. It will be a little sticky, b

The Best French Bread I've Ever Made

This is the best french bread I've ever made. I got this recipe from my friend, Nikki, who gave us some of this bread as a thank you for my hubby helping them move a piano. I remember it being delicious and we gobbled it up fast. I was intimidated for some reason by the recipe and waited a few years before I made it. We needed some bread for to make some turkey, provolone, avocado sandwiches, so I made some of this bread and it was perfect! We sliced one loaf like they do at Subway. Then later I made normal shaped sandwiches with the rest of the bread. Delicious... light and fluffy and yummy! Update 2/22/12: This is still my favorite bread after making it for a year! It turns out perfect every time and it's gone in a flash! printable recipe French Bread recipe from my friend, Nikki Yield: 2 loaves Ingredients 2 c. warm water 1 pkg (or 1 heaping Tbsp.) yeast 1/4 c. granulated sugar 1 T. olive oil

Don't like your house to smell like food? I've got a kitchen tip for that!

I have a smallish, one story house and if I cook food that is kind of smelly, like onions, the smell tends to linger in every room. This is a pet peeve of mine and (also my husband's). Over the years I've found a few ways to cook smelly food without smelling up the kitchen. Use your garage! I use my garage quite often to cook things in. I open the window and it airs out, especially when you open the garage door. I'm sure my neighbors wonder what I'm cooking. I've used two different kitchen appliances in the garage: my crockpot and my food dehydrator. Crockpot - I did this very thing today since I'm simmering chicken, onions, carrots and celery to make chicken noodle soup tonight. I don't want my house to smell like onions all day, so I plugged it in on my husband's workbench. Food dehydrator - when I make jerky, I plug the food dehydrator in in the garage. I don't really want my house to smell like meat for hours

What is on your menu this week?

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