Mexican inspired Quinoa Party

We try and eat healthy as much as possible, sometimes we fall and stumble off the wagon but we always get back on again more enthusiastic than the last time.

When I say healthy, please don’t think steamed vegetables, boiled chicken and brown rice. While there is nothing wrong with that sort of meal, its just not us. We prefer something more interesting and that’s exactly what last night was all about.

We have kind of hopped aboard the Quinoa train but it definitely needs some colour and flavour otherwise its boring.

Last night’s meal was like a party, a coming together of delicious flavours and boy was it tasty! There’s no set recipe for this dish, its almost like a deconstructed fajita, kind of.

Loose How to:

I start off by cooking the Quinoa, according to the instructions on the packet. It takes the longest so this goes on first.

Next I chop up a whole bell pepper, either strips or dice and I like to use either red, yellow or orange for colour. This goes in a pan with a touch of olive oil. I then add chicken breasts which have been diced into similar sized pieces along with some cayenne pepper, paprika and freshly ground black pepper.

I then heat up some black beans and keep this on a low heat and that’s that for the cooking.

Next, its time for the garnishes.I like to use cottage cheese, cheddar, avocado and a touch of sweet chilli (Charles has a slight sweet chilli sauce obsession).

I then put it all on a plate and it looks so beautiful I don’t even want to eat it but it just tastes too good to resist!

That’s what I love about cooking, you can just let those creative juices flow.

Crustless Quiche

I’ve been on a bit of a health kick this month but I sometimes feel stuck when trying to come up with exciting new recipes which are healthy and tasty so that Charles will enjoy the meals as well.

Sometimes I tweak his portions so that they are more enjoyable without making him suffer while I try and be healthy.

Last night I made a crustless quiche, it was my first time making this but it came out really tasty and would definitely recommend trying this out if you’re looking for a lighter option for dinner.

Check out the instructions below if you want to give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 green pepper

5 rashers bacon

A good handful of spinach

5 eggs

60ml milk

Grated cheddar, as much as you like

Fresh Thyme

 

Method:

Fry the onions in a little olive oil until soft. Next add the green pepper, which I chopped into cubes, until just cooked but still crunchy.

Add the bacon and garlic and fry until cooked. Next add the thyme, I used a few sprigs, this gave it a lovely fresh taste.

I laid everything in a pie dish to cool slightly, while I whisked the eggs and milk, I then topped this with the spinach and cheese. Once the eggs were whisked thoroughly I added some salt and pepper and evenly poured it over the rest of the ingredients.

I cooked the quiche for 25mins at 180 degrees so it was just set and had a slight wobble.

 

You could serve this with a lovely green salad to keep it nice and light or just tuck into it one its own.

 

We hope you all enjoy

Chloe + Charles