Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Strawberry Sauce

The ladies and I went strawberry picking today along with my mother-in-law and we came home with a big ol' bucket of strawberries that were just screaming to be made into something delicious. I adore strawberry sauce on pancakes and ice cream so I just knew I had to whip up a batch. I've never had homemade sauce before and I couldn't believe how delicious this was. Addison helped me make this and we both had giant smiles on our faces after we gave it a taste test. If you love strawberry sauce as much as I do, you must make this as soon as possible.



Katie's Homemade Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 cups of sliced strawberries

Directions:
1.) In a medium saucepan over medium high heat add sugar, vanilla, and strawberries.

2.) Bring to a boil and allow to boil for about ten minutes. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for another five to ten minutes.

3.) Allow mixture to slightly cool and then blend about 2/3 of the mixture. Add blended mixture back to saucepan and allow to completely cool. Store in an air tight jar and keep refrigerated.

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Quinoa

Daniel is on a wellness committee at work and for each meeting they all bring in healthy dishes to share with each other. He requested a quinoa salad of some sort so I found him a good one for his meeting which left me with an extra cup of quinoa that needed to be cooked. I came up with this dish tonight trying to use it up and come up with something different. All four of us really enjoyed this dish and surprisingly, it is very filling. I can't wait to experiment more with quinoa.


Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa

Ingredients:
1 Cup uncooked quinoa
1 TBSP. chicken flavored broth and base seasoning
2 Cups of water
2 zuchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, peeled and sliced
2-4 red tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP. minced garlic
2-3 medium chicken breasts
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.) Slice zuchini and squash and coat evenly with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic. Grill until tender. Cut tomatoes in half and place on the grill until the skin starts to peel off.

2.) Salt and pepper chicken breasts and grill until cooked through.

3.) Bring two cups of water with chicken broth and base seasoning and quinoa to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat to medium low and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

4.) Allow vegetables to cool and then dice them up along with the cooked chicken breasts. Gently fold quinoa into the chicken and veggie mixture and sprinkle with 1/3 of grated Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.