Red Quinoa with roasted chicken breasts and veggies

I've had a box of red quinoa sitting in my pantry. I also bought a bag of heirloom red grains at the farmers' market a couple of weeks ago (the same time I bought the beautiful, black heirloom beluga lentils.) So this morning as I was thinking about what I would cook for dinner, I decided I was going to use quinoa.

I searched the 'net and came up with a recipe that spoke to me and then changed it to fit my family. This is what I came up with:

1 c. mixed red heirloom grains
1 c. red quinoa
4 c. water
mixture of basil, oregano, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, salt & pepper
1 tsp. chicken base
drizzle of EVOO
3-4 leaves fresh lemon balm
2-3 leaves fresh basil

Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low until water is gone and grains are puffed. Once the grains are cooked, add in lemon balm and basil.

While the grains are cooking, take 3 medium sized chicken breasts and cut thin cutlets (about three from each). Place on 1/4 sheet pan and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Drizzle lemon juice and EVOO and place in 400 degree oven to roast.

For the veggies, I used two large carrots that I trimmed, washed and grated, about 1 c. of frozen spinach and 1 c. of frozen peas. I placed them all in a pot with just enough water to cover the bottom and brought them to a quick boil and shut off the heat.

When the chicken was done, I drained the veggies, cut the chicken into strips, added in the chicken drippings and mixed everything all together and served. While it wasn't anyone's favorite dish, there were no complaints and most of us had seconds. I think that if I make it again, I will likely add in dried cranberries or something else with some "tang". I think that sort of addition would make it a favorite in my book.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken, Homemade Applesauce, Bobs Red Mill Organic Brown & Wild Rice and Lemon Coconut bars, OH MY!

So, Mondays are a bit problematic regarding dinner. Number 6 has dance from 5:45 until 6:30 which means our usual dinnertime is interrupted. We are not home until 6:50 or later which means dinner really needs to be ready when we get there.

Yesterday I looked up Slowcooker Mexican Chicken, found a recipe that looked decent and made my own thing. I have an over abundance of jalapeno peppers from my garden. Seriously. Those little buggers are like RABBITS they are multiplying so fast. Oh and a word to the wise: Don't even think of scratching that itch at the corner of your eye near your nose while slicing jalapenos. Dude - I burned my eyelid! hahaha

Along with the crocked meal I made some applesauce from the abundance of apples we have and decided to cook the rest of the Bob's Red Mill rice that I bought for Number 2's birthday dinner. It all went super awesome together. The applesauce was the perfect foil to the Mexican's spice. The Bob's Red Mill brown & wild rice is freakin' awesome. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! It takes a bit longer to cook than regular rice, but I cook it the same - Adding in dried onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Oh and a splash of EVOO, if I remember.

The lemon bars are one of my favorites. They are super easy and super yummy. I just have to stop myself from eating them. That's the difficult part.

Slowcooker Mexican Chicken

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or chunks
1 recipe homemade taco mix. (You can find that HERE. The ingredients are listed within the taco recipe)
3-4 fresh jalapenos, sliced (I take the membrane & seeds out to cut down on the spice)
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (I would have preferred fresh, but I only had two ripe from the garden)
green pepper, sliced
onion, diced

Cook on low 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. I did a combo of both since my chicken was still partially frozen.


Applesauce

6-8 fresh cooking apples (my blend included Golden Delicious, Empire & Cortland), cored, peeled & sliced
a pinch or two of salt
1/2 c. water

Cook over med. to med. high heat until apples are tender. Fork mash or use food processor if you don't like chunks.

No need to add sugar, but sometimes I do add cinnamon.

Lemon Coconut Bars

BASE:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar

Mix above ingredients in a small bowl. Press into a slightly greased 13x9 and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

FILLING:
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. brown sugar (I've reduced this to 1 c. before and it's fine)
1/2 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 c. coconut
The zest & juice from two medium sized lemons

Mix all ingredients in same small bowl (less mess) and pour into base, making sure filling is evenly spread. Bake another 25-30 minutes on 350.

Cool completely before cutting.