Mexican Chicken, Bean and Quinoa Bake

I just had to make this yummy bake after my friend bought it into work and filled our staffroom with the delicious Mexican aroma at lunchtime! I was surprised by how easy this was to make, and it tasted delicious and the recipe made HEAPS so great for the budget conscious and families. The use of quinoa makes it a gluten-free alternative, and also generally healthier alternative than pasta or rice due to its higher protein, fibre, mineral and amino-acid levels. It is also such an easy way to hide stacks of vegetables in a dish.

 

Mexican Chicken, Bean and Quinoa Bake

 Serves 6-8 or 4 with leftovers

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa (I used black and white combined, cook per packet directions)
2 chicken breasts - pre-cooked in oven then shredded
1 cans of beans (your choice, I used 5 bean mix)
1 large sweet potatoes, grated
1 large zucchini, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tbsp chilli powder (optional)
Liberal pinches salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 tub of salsa
Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, chicken, beans, sweet potato, zucchini, carrot 1⁄2 of the cheese, and the cumin, chilli, salt, and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix together the eggs and the salsa. Pour the
salsa mixture over the mix, combine and then pour everything into the prepared casserole dish.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Enjoy! :)

The Gluten Free Challenge- Strawberry and Passionfruit Friands

It was Australia's Biggest Morning Tea at school this week, so I decided to make another of my gluten free challenge dishes. I had fallen in love with a strawberry and passionfruit combination after having the best muffin of my life from Tanck's Corner, my local coffee shop that beautifully paired strawberry and passionfruit.

So I decided to attempt to make this in gluten free, friand form! They were super yummy bite sized treats (I used a mini muffin tray) and my gluten intolerant friend was very impressed. They didn't last long at the morning tea either, which obviously speaks for itself ;)

Gluten free Strawberry and Passionfruit Friands

200 grams of unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups of gluten free plain flour
1 cup of icing sugar
120 grams of almond meal
5 egg whites
1 small tin of passionfruit pulp
10 strawberries, hulled and chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C. Melt butter and use a little to grease a 12-hole friand pan or muffin tin. I used a mini muffin tin and it worked just as well. Dust with a little flour, shaking out excess. The flour dusting means that the friands should just pop out of the tin really easily.

Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl, then stir in the almond meal.

Place eggwhites in a small bowl and lightly froth with a fork. Add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter and stir until completely combined. Add the strawberries and passionfrui pulp and stir again.

Fill each friand/muffin hole 3/4, trying to make sure each one has at least one or two pieces of strawberries. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden on top. Be careful you don't overcook if using the mini muffin tin. Remove from oven and leave in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack- they will firm up whilst cooling.

You could use any kind of combination you like with this recipe- chocolate chips and hazelnuts, mixed berries, lemon etc.

Enjoy! x

The Gluten Free Challenge- Lemon, Broccolini & Goats Cheese Pasta

In the last six months I have become very close with a new friend who is gluten intolerant. This has been a new journey for me discovering what she can and can't eat, and challenging myself to cook dishes that she can safely eat.

Recently, she has suggested that I challenge myself by eating gluten free for a week just for the health benefits, and so I can tell her how much different things really do taste when I eat the gluten free version. I don't think I can commit to a week just yet, especially with a bit on in the next fortnight... but I have decided to set myself a chellange of cooking at least one gluten free meal per week.

After some research I have discovered that there are several benefits to eating gluten free regardless of whether you suffer from Coeliac's Disease or not, such as:
- weight loss
- lowering cholesterol
- enhanced digestion
- boost in energy
- reduced joint pain
- enhanced mood
- improved sleep
- decrease in symptoms for Autism sufferers

I have been enjoying this muesli for quite a while now. The consistancy can be a little weird, with the grains sticking together and having to be broken apart but I quite like the flavour and the texture and often enjoy it with fresh berries (when they are not ridiculously expensive) and some Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of Chia seeds.

For my first attempt at cooking a completely gluten free meal, I turned to a very delicious looking recipe from a fellow local blogger- Lemon, Broccolini and Goats Cheese Pasta.

http://livinglovingdreaming.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/living-easy-peasy-and-super-healthy-pasta-recipe/

I was unable to find the multigrain and quinoa gluten free pasta even though it sounds super yummy, so I used gluten free buckwheat pasta. I also added a chopped red chilli (seeds removed), a teaspoon of garlic and a handful of cashews (my Nan used to make this vegetable pasta with cashews for me, so I think I may have been channelling that, as well as my inability to follow any recipe directly!). The result was really yummy. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the consistency of the pasta. I often eat wholemeal pasta anyway, and it was really no different to that. I would not hesitate in eating it again.

I know goats cheese is really an acquired taste, but I quite love it so didn't really mind the rich, bitter cheese flavour. It is a great way for the lactose intolerant to enjoy a creamy pasta dish.

I made two mistakes with this dish. 1) I used lemon juice from one of those squeezy containers rather than fresh lemon (blashphemy, I know!) and for a dish that relies on the zesty lemon flavour, it really didn't do the job. I won't make that mistake again! 2) Between Safeway, Coles, 2 fruit shops and IGA I could only find one bunch of broccolini, so used that along with some broccoli also. Whilst the brocollini stayed firm and delicious, the broccoli cooked too quickly and went quite mushy.

It is a dish I would definitely make again though, and in comparison to when I have eaten your usual creamy pasta dish I felt much more nourished and less bloated afterwards.