Dogs, treats and quinoa stuffed peppers

This month of May is starting off beautifully!

 This past weekend was a busy one for us.  My in-laws and grandmother-in-law came up last Thursday and stayed until Sunday.  Friday was grandparents day/Greek Festival at Keaton's school.  Then on Saturday we celebrated my in-laws 45th wedding anniversary.  We took them to see Keaton's guitar teacher's band play  and then had some friends drive up to surprise them and stay over to celebrate with us. They were truly surprised so that worked out perfectly!!!  Then on Sunday we all went to breakfast then everyone went home.  The house was so quiet after that.

Since it was so beautiful out and I didn't want to laze around inside the 3 of us headed up to Cold Springs Tavern to listen to some live music and have a drink.  We ended up meeting a Russian couple along with their son and it ends up the husband is the bass player for a popular Russian band called Mumiy Troll. Of course when we got home we had to look that band up on line.  lol! They were really nice people and love it here in America.

Oh and Cleo turned 8 on May 1st as well.  I don't know how the rope toy got around her neck but she didn't seem to mind it.

Yesterday when I went to pick up Cleo's dog food  I found these cool doggy snacks.

Dehydrated sweet potato.  At least it takes them a few minutes to chew these up instead of one or two crunches then they're gone.

Alter Eco Pacific white and red quinoa.  This is before it was cooked.

I mixed the white quinoa with the red and look how pretty this is.  This is after it was cooked.

A few weeks ago I saw Cheryl Crow on a morning show along with a Chef that she made a cookbook with.  The recipe they showed was one for Quinoa Stuffed Pablano Peppers.

When they are cooked and plated it's so pretty.  What I liked about this recipe is that it's a really light meal do to using quinoa instead of rice.  So it is perfect for Spring or Summer.  This is probably the first time I followed a recipe exactly, well pretty much. lol!  It was kind of on the bland side I think because there is no salt used.  I ended up adding just a bit of salt because I felt it needed it and next time I would adjust the seasonings and kick up the heat.  Oh and I didn't use any type of cheese on top.

  I loved the Romesco Sauce but it needed a bit more heat and a bit of salt as well.  I didn't want the leftover sauce to go to waste so I was using it on everything from wraps to veggie "sushi" rolls.  I'll definitely make this sauce again
 

You can find the recipe for this dish by clicking here.

It's Spring!

It's a beautiful day today!   Everywhere you look there are orange poppies popping up   In our yard, in our neighbors yards, on the side of the roads, on the moutains.  They are so pretty!  I love the Spring.

One of my favorite flowers is the Sweet Pea.

They are so fragrant.  I put some on my nightstand.

As you can see Merlin is enjoying the weather and flowers as well.  Although he is laying under the bird feeder!

Cleo and Ace trying to look for trouble.

Peaches!  Our one peach tree is loaded with peaches this year.  I can't wait until they are ripe.

If you are looking for a yummy hot cereal that's gluten free try Cream of Buckwheat.

This is Keaton's new favorite and I've gone through 3 boxes already within a very short period of time.  The brand we are buying is Pocono %100 Organic Cream of Buckwheat.  It has a very mellow flavor nothing like the taste of buckwheat flour at all.

This is the buckwheat cooked.

For dessert last night I made some vanilla cupcakes from VCTOW.  Made some vanilla pudding.  Sliced up some strawberries and melted some chocolate with a bit of non-dairy milk. Then I put it all together to get this!



Yumminess!

Enjoy your beautiful day. 

Quinoa, basil and tofu / ALSO DON'T FORGET THE GIVEAWAY ONE POST DOWN FROM THIS!!!

This is so easy to make. Seriously. The original recipe is on the box of a

Trader Joe's Quinoa box that I saw years ago. Here's my version.

Quinoa, basil & tofu

1 C. Quinoa , dry

2 C. vegetable broth

1 bunch of basil, chiffanade

2 bell peppers, yellow, orange, red (your choice)

2 C. yellow onion, sliced

5 cloves garlic, sliced

8 oz. extra firm tofu

1 tsp. oregano

s & p

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp garlic, minced

In a small saucepan bring 2 C. water to boil then add 1 C. Quinoa. Cover and turn down heat to low and cook for about 25 min. Once done turn off heat.

Rinse, drain and dry tofu. Dice tofu and coat with a bit of olive oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. thyme and a bit of salt to taste. Broil on low in oven just until slightly brown. Set aside once done.

Heat up a large pan and add 1 T. olive oil. Then add the onions,bell pepper & garlic, cook until just starting to get soft. Add about 1 tsp oregano cook for another 1 minute. Next add the Quinoa, basil and tofu mix thoroughly and turn off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. I drizzled a bit of basil olive oil on top.

Enjoy!