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  • Garden Fresh Salsa

    Garden Fresh Salsa

    Homemade salsa

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a Texas girl and therefore I love me some Tex-Mex. As you can probably guess from the picture above, this includes chips and salsa! YUM! My favorite Tex-Mex restaurants are the ones that make their own salsa in-house. There’s just something about wholesome, fresh, homemade salsa that always seems to hit the spot!

    My frequent cravings for fresh, wholesome salsa inspired me to make an in-house salsa of my own. Not only is homemade salsa delicious and refreshing, its MUCH healthier for you than the vast majority of the store bought options lining the shelves of the chip aisle. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your stereotypical store bought salsa has an INSANE amount of sodium. Think about this, if you’re like most people and enjoy your salsa with {salted} tortilla chips, don’t be surprised if you’re feeling a little {or a lot} bloated the next day. I know this feeling too well and let me tell you, it is not a fun feeling. Luckily, making homemade salsa can help alleviate this aftermath.

    Homemade salsa godsavethequinoa

    One of the great things about homemade anything is that you can see exactly what, and how much of a certain ingredient you put in. Don’t you just love being in control? I do. And I’ll take my salsa sans the 1100 mg of sodium! Having this type of control over what you eat is the best way to enjoy the foods you love without killing your diet! I’m sure you’re eager to read the recipe, but I wanted to mention that there are countless ways to enjoy your salsa other than with tortilla chips. Pair your salsa with fresh veggies, or drizzle it over salmon, chicken, or an omelette to get an extra kick! 

    Garden Fresh Salsa
    Yields 1 large cup.
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    Ingredients
    1. • 2 heirloom tomatoes
    2. • 1 jalapeño, diced (keep seeds)
    3. • 1/2 red onion, diced
    4. • 1 garlic clove
    5. • Handful of cilantro
    6. • 1 Tbsp honey
    7. • 1 tsp salt
    8. • 1 tsp ground cumin
    9. • 2 tsp cayenne
    10. • 2 tsp chili powder
    11. • 1 splenda or sugar packet
    Instructions
    1. • Slice the tomato, jalapeño (keep the jalapeño seeds), and red onion and place in food processor.
    2. • Combine garlic clove, cilantro, honey, spices, and sugar with ingredients in food processor.
    3. • Pulse until reaching desired consistency and enjoy!
    Notes
    1. To adjust how spicy or mild your salsa is, adjust the amount of jalapeño seeds you use. To make your salsa more spicy add more jalapeño seeds. Use less jalapeño seeds if you want your salsa to be mild.
    2. BE CAREFUL not to touch your eyes or other sensitive areas after cutting your jalapeño. Doing so will result in painful burning. To alleviate burning pain from jalapeños, soak the affected area in milk.
    God Save the Quinoa https://www.godsavethequinoa.com/
    What’s your favorite way to enjoy salsa? Comment below to let me know! 

    Fabulous recipes by Mandi at godsavethequinoa.com

     

  • Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili Kale Salad

    Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili Kale Salad

    Kale & Roasted sweet potatoes

    As I have mentioned before, I try to cook things I can easily incorporate into other dishes throughout the week. In an attempt to save money, I try not to be wasteful with the food I cook. Since I usually cook for two (myself and one other person) this can sometimes be tricky. No one wants to eat the same thing 3 nights in a row!

    Now, if you’re staring at the screen and scratching your head wondering how to “ingredient share” amongst recipes, wonder no more. This recipe is a perfect example of how to do this! For those of you who do not want to “ingredient share”, no worries! This recipe can easily be made to feed up to 6 people.

    Those of you who want to know how to “recipe share” read this: Earlier this week I shared my recipe for roasted sweet potato black bean pitas. I made 4 pitas with this recipe and had about 2 servings of the veggie mix left over. I didn’t want to throw the left-overs away, so I decided to leverage the ingredients I already had to concoct a new dish with a different taste.

    Since I had already cooked the veggie mix, all I had to do was cook enough quinoa for two people,  rinse my kale, and heat up the veggies. I don’t know about you, but as the week progresses there aren’t many things better than cooking a quickie meal and using the extra time to relax!

    If you’re using the left over veggie mix from the roasted sweet potato black bean pitas, all you have to do is make enough quinoa to go with the left-over veggie mix:

    • 2 servings of leftover veggie mix = 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (I use a little less than 1/4 cup red quinoa and 1/3 cup white quinoa)
    • 4 servings of leftover veggie mix = 3 cups cooked quinoa (I use 1/3 cup red quinoa, and 2/3 cup white quinoa)

    Use the chart below as a reference for how to cook the correct amount of quinoa. Feel free to use any color combination of quinoa you prefer.

    Uncooked Quinoa Amount of Water/liquid Cooked Quinoa
    1/4 cup 1/2 cup 3/4 cup
    1/3 cup 2/3 cup 1 cup
    2/3 cup 1 1/3 cup 2 cups
    1 cup 2 cups 3 cups

     For tips on how to cook the perfect quinoa, check out my tips and tricks page.

    Once the quinoa is made, all you have to do is heat up your leftover veggies and mix in the cooked quinoa. Place the veggie quinoa mixture over a bed of kale, top with goat cheese, and (ding! ding!) dinner is served!

    Roasted Sweet potato black bean Quinoa chili over Kale

    Those of you who want to know how to make the full recipe read here: This recipe is super simple and easy to make! We will start by cutting our sweet potatoes and veggies and roasting them in the oven. While the veggies are roasting we will cook our quinoa on the stove and rinse the kale. We will add one can of drained black beans to the veggie mixture after removing from the oven. Finally, we will stir the cooked quinoa into the veggie mix, place over a bed of kale, top with goat cheese and serve! See, I told you it was simple! 

    Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili Kale Salad
    Serves 6
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    Ingredients
    1. • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
    2. • 2 jalapenos, diced
    3. • 1 red bell pepper, diced
    4. • 1 red onion, diced
    5. • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
    6. • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
    7. • Juice of 1 lime
    8. • 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
    9. • 2/3 cup red quinoa
    10. • 2/3 cup white quinoa
    11. • 1 1/3 cup veggie broth
    12. • 1 1/3 cup water
    13. • Salt to taste
    14. • Bag of kale (or baby spinach)
    15. • 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
    Instructions
    1. • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
    2. • Peel and dice sweet potatoes, jalapenos, onion, and red bell pepper.
    3. • In Casserole dish, combine veggies with olive oil and spices. Mix well so that veggies are evenly coated with olive oil and spices.
    4. • Roast veggies at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, tossing about halfway through.
    5. • While veggies are roasting combine quinoa, water, and veggie broth into pot over the stove on high heat. When quinoa starts to boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid, and let quinoa sit until cooked. When done, fluff with a fork and remove from heat.
    6. • When veggies are done roasting, remove from oven and let cool.
    7. • Add cilantro, black beans, and lime juice to roasted veggies. Mix gently.
    8. • Combine roasted veggies and cooked quinoa. Mix well and place over a bed of kale.
    9. • Top with goat cheese and enjoy!
    Notes
    1. Swap baby spinach for kale if desired.
    God Save the Quinoa https://www.godsavethequinoa.com/
    Fabulous recipes by Mandi at godsavethequinoa.com

  • Super Simple Guacamole

    Super Simple Guacamole

    Homemade Guacamole godsavethequinoa

    Being a Texas girl, I can’t help that I loooove me some Tex-Mex! I swear Mexican food is just not the same once you leave Texas! What could possibly be better than happy hour spent on a patio during “patio-perfect weather” sipping skinny margaritas and snacking on homemade guacamole? I’ll give you a minute to think.

    While you’re thinking, let me share my super simple guacamole recipe with you! This recipe is super simple (hence the name) and I suggest you keep it handy.

    …Why you ask? Well, when the guac is running low and your friends are hungry, don’t you want to be the hero who can run inside and whip up another serving of {deliciously good} guacamole in less than 5 minutes? Sure you do!

    Guacamole_godsavethequinoa_

    Psst- Be sure to check out my guacamole making tips & tricks for pointers on the easiest way to cut an avocado to make the avocado mashing part of guacamole-making seamless and more ways to keep your guacamole fresh! 

    Super Simple Guacamole
    Effortless guacamole that will leave your guests wanting more!
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    Ingredients
    1. • 2 large Haas Avocados
    2. • 1/2 red onion, diced
    3. • 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
    4. • Juice of one lime
    5. • Salt to taste
    6. •1/4 cup fresh cilantro
    Instructions
    1. • Slice avocado in half (lengthwise) and remove pit
    2. • Dice avocado in shell (see guacamole making tips & tricks) place in large bowl and mash until reaching desired consistency
    3. • Add red onions, cherry tomatoes, lime juice, and cilantro
    4. • Mix well and add additional salt to taste
    5. • Top with cilantro and enjoy!
    Notes
    1. Takes approx. 5-10 minutes to prepare
    2. Yields 2 cups based on size of avocados
    3. Add additional lime juice to preserve freshness
    God Save the Quinoa https://www.godsavethequinoa.com/
     Fabulous recipes by Mandi at godsavethequinoa.com