MEDITERRANEAN THREE BEAN QUINOA SALAD

FOR THE SALAD:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
½ lb. green beans, trimmed and snapped into 2-inch pieces
1 (15 oz) can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
1 cup chopped seedless cucumber
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

FOR THE DRESSING:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until for 15 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, blanch the green beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain the green beans and place in a bowl of ice water.
Drain well and pat dry.

Add the green beans, garbanzo beans, white beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, olives, and basil to the bowl with the quinoa.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and gently stir until salad is coated with dressing. Season with additional salt and pepper. Serve.

https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/mediterranean-three-bean-quinoa-salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

8 ounces whole wheat pasta (bow tie, elbow, or pasta of choise)
1 (15-ounce) can corn
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2 large avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
3 whole green onions, thinly sliced
1 large jalapeno, cored, seeded, and diced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

FOR THE DRESSING:
3/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 limes, plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon Tabasco or similar hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions:

Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Rinse with cool water, drain, and place in a large serving bowl. Add the corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, avocados, green onions, jalapeno, and cilantro.

To make the dressing, in a small bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lime zest and juice, hot sauce, salt, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Taste and add additional salt or spices as desired. Pour over the pasta mixture. Toss to coat, then sprinkle the feta over the top.

If time allows, chill for 2 hours prior to serving or enjoy immediately.

About 6-8 servings
https://www.wellplated.com/mexican-pasta-salad

Spicy Black Bean Soup

This healthy black bean soup recipe is easy to make with canned beans. Thanks to some basic aromatics and Cuban spices, it’s incredibly flavorful and delicious. This soup is naturally vegan, vegetarian and gluten free. The recipe yields quite a bit of soup (6 to 8 servings)—it is easily halved, or you can freeze the leftovers.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped fine
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
4 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (use ¼ teaspoon if you’re sensitive to spice)
4 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 to 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, to taste, or 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional garnishes: diced avocado, extra cilantro, thinly sliced radishes, tortilla chips…

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and carrot and a light sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetable are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the beans and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until the broth is flavorful and the beans are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Puree about 4 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth (beware the steam that escapes from the top of the blender, it’s very hot). Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir in the cilantro, vinegar/lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

https://cookieandkate.com/2016/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/

Chopped Greek Salad

Yield: Recipe yields 6 to 8 side servings or 3 to 4 meal-sized servings. If you store the salad separately from the vinaigrette, it will keep well for up to 4 days.

INGREDIENTS
10 ounces chopped romaine lettuce* (about 2 medium or 3 small heads, chopped)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium cucumber (about 8 ounces), seeded and chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper
1/2 medium red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
6 ounces feta cheese, sliced into 1/4” cubes (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 can of chickpeas (optional)

Greek vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes, for heat (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large serving bowl, combine the chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, parsley, olives and feta. Toss the ingredients together and set aside.

To prepare the vinaigrette, combine all of the ingredients in a liquid measuring cup or OXO’s Twist & Pour Dressing Mixer. Whisk (or twist) until blended. Taste, and add more vinegar if you’d like a more tangy dressing, or more honey for a more tame dressing.

If you’ll be serving all of the salad at once, go ahead and drizzle enough dressing in to lightly coat the salad and toss to combine. I prefer to store the salad and dressing separately so I can enjoy salad for a few days. Whisk the dressing again before drizzling (if the olive oil solidifies a bit in the refrigerator, don’t worry, that’s normal—just let it warm up for about 5 minutes at room temperature or microwave for 10 to 20 seconds).

https://cookieandkate.com/2018/chopped-greek-salad-recipe/

Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS
Salad
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa or millet
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup thinly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/4 cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, for garnish

Peanut sauce

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I love ginger so I used 2 teaspoons)
1/2 lime, juiced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
Pinch of red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ½ cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool. (Here’s how to cook millet.)

Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce: Whisk together the peanut butter and tamari until smooth (if this is difficult, microwave the mixture for up to 30 seconds to loosen it up). Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick to toss into the salad, whisk in a bit of water to loosen it up (I didn’t need to do this).

In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, shredded cabbage, carrot, snow peas, cilantro and green onion. Toss to combine, then pour in the peanut sauce. Toss again until everything it lightly coated in sauce. Taste, and if it doesn’t taste quite amazing yet, add a pinch of salt and toss again. Divide into individual bowls and garnish with peanuts.

Author: Cookie and Kate Yield: 4 servings cookieandkate.com

Healthy Sesame-Orange Ginger Chickpea Stir-Fry

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce:
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)
2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
zest of 1 orange

For the stir-fry
1 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, divided
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
8 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Green onion, for garnish
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Red pepper flakes, if you like a little heat! (@ 1/8 teaspoon)-can add to sauce
Cooked Quinoa or brown rice, for serving if desired

First make the sauce: Add the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, ginger, cornstarch, orange zest to a large bowl; whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside for later.

Next preheat a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. Add chickpeas, stir frequently and cook until they begin turning slightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Once chickpeas are cooked, transfer to a large bowl or plate and set aside for later. Keep the heat in the pan.

Add the other 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan (over medium-heat); add in onion and saute until onions become slightly translucent and golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Next add in garlic and bell pepper; cook for about 3 minutes until slightly softened. Next add in the green beans and saute for 3-4 minutes. You want them to still have a little bit of crunch!

Pour the sauce into the pan. Stir frequently as the sauce will start to thicken up. Add in chickpeas and stir again. Reduce heat to medium low and let the sauce simmer and thicken some more, about 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately over quinoa or brown rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, green onion and a little red pepper flakes, if desired.

Serves 4.

ambitiouskitchen.com

QUINOA CHILI VERDE

INGREDIENTS:
1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium sweet or yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1-1/4 cup salsa verde (Herdez Roasted Salsa Verde Medium)
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, undrained
1 (15 oz) can great northern beans, undrained
1 (15 oz) can navy beans, undrained
4 cups vegetarian chicken broth
1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
optional toppings: fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro, avacado, tortilla chips,
1/2 bag quorn (added at the end of cooking, enough to heat up)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot, over medium-high heat melt butter.  Once melted add onion and cook until translucent and tender, approximately 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.  Add remaining ingredients stirring to combine.  Bring mixture to a boil then reduce and let simmer for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve warm with choice of toppings.

NOTES:
Soup will appear very liquidy at first, as the soup and quinoa cook a lot of the liquid will be absorbed/cooked off.  If you like your chili thicker reduce broth by 1/2 a cup.  You can always add more liquid/broth but you can't so easily take away.  If your salsa is thick you may need to add additional broth. 

4-6 servings
nomingthrulife.com