Caramelized Onions

Onions are my absolute favorite vegetable. I know that many people probably consider that weird, but holy moly--do I adore them! I love them in practically everything! I especially love to caramelize them. They shrink down really small and get so delightfully sweet. Truly spectacular.

It's really easy to prepare them. You just need butter (or oil), an onion, and about an hour! They are definitely time consuming, but once you do this one time, you won't care! You'll make them all the time, too. :) 

Simply slice an onion nice and thin (as thin and uniform as possible). Then add to a frying pan with a two or three tablespoons of butter (or oil). Heat over medium-high. Stir and cook for about ten minutes until the onion turns translucent. Then, lower heat all the way down to low. Continue cooking and stirring. Do this for about an hour or so. If it seems to get too dry in the pan, add another little dollop of butter. 

The onion will shrink down and begin to get brown. This is good! Just beware not to let it burn. You want to be close to the stove the whole cook-time, just to be sure it isn't burning. If you'd like, you can cook them down to be little crispy straws (by cooking longer), or keep them soft (less time on the stove). Either way, they are wonderful--the perfect addition to tacos, enchiladas, potatoes, and any vegetable!

Enjoy!

Roasted Green Beans

These are a wonderful substitute for french fries or any other starchy, fried deliciousness you oft crave. I also have it on good authority that people who typically loathe veggies actually enjoy these. Shh, don't tell! 

It is yet another non-recipe. It's entirely up to your own tastes and preferences! 

Ingredients:  

• A few handfuls of fresh green beans (I get mine in bags in the produce section) 
• Olive oil (a couple tablespoons)
• Coarse salt
• Seasoning salt
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425F.

In a large bowl, drizzle about two tablespoons of oil over the green beans. Use a hand to mix. 

Sprinkle a little of each spice over the green beans, then mix more with hand. Continue until it seems as though every green bean has gotten a good amount of seasoning. (I typically do a couple pinches of salt, a lot of garlic powder, a couple sprinkles of cayenne, and small sprinkles of the other seasonings each time I stir the beans).

(If your hand looks like this when you're done, you did it right!)

Once everything is good and mixed and the oven is heated, pour onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. 

Bake for 20 minutes, then flip. 

Continue cooking for about 15 more minutes, until they are nice and brown looking. 

Try to get these to your plate before finishing them off...

Drew and I always end up eating them all straight from the oven, standing at the stove. They make a pretty excellent appetizer.

Enjoy! 

Let Me Tell You ‘Bout My Best Friend…

There are a lot of really great foods that came into my life two years ago when I gave up gluten and animal products. And I do mean a lot. One of my favorites, though, is absolutely, hands down QUINOA.

Quinoa is incredibly good for you. It's high in protein (it's actually a complete protein!), fiber, and low in fat. It also happens to very easy to make and super versatile. No kidding, I seriously eat it about four times a week.

But how to cook it?

When it is cooked plain, it's less than delightful, but if you know what you're doing, it quickly becomes a staple food item! 

Here are my two favorite ways to prepare it:

1) This is so easy, it's hardly a recipe: 

1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)

1 cup water (or vegetable broth)

1/2 tsp vegetable bouillon (omit if using broth)

~ 1/2  tbs oil (your choice!)

~ 1/4 onion, chopped (or more or less to taste) :) 

a few mushrooms (optional)

In a small/medium sized pot (with lid), heat oil over medium heat. Add in onion and mushroom (if you're using any) and sauté for a a few minutes. Then, add in the uncooked quinoa and stir it all together. Continue sautéing for a couple more minutes. Add in the water and bring to boil. Add in the bouillon. Stir. Turn to low, cover, and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the water has absorbed. (You want a tiny amount of water dotted around the bottom of the pan, ideally.) Leave the lid on for about five more minutes, then serve! This is a great, simple way to make quinoa for most meals. It's a great addition to a meal full of veggies of any kind, cooked any way. 

(Serves about 2)

2) This is another non-recipe that is entirely customizable to your own preferences. Personally, I am obsessed with Mexican food, which is how this particular way of cooking quinoa came to be.

1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)
~ 1 tsp of your favorite salsa seasoning packet
1 cup water

Add all ingredients into pot and bring to boil. Then lower heat to simmer and cover with a lid, for about 15 minutes, until water has absorbed. Then, remove from heat and keep covered for about 5 minutes before adding to your favorite Mexican dish.

This is really great for tacos, enchiladas, nachos, and burritos! Use with black beans, onion, and lettuce. Viola! A fancy meal!

These are some of my favorite tacos! They have the Mexican quinoa, seasoned black beans, caramelized onions, lettuce, and some taco seasoning. Seriously, quinoa is so easy and scrumptious! You are sure to love it!

Happy quinoa cooking!

Obsession: Roasted Chickpeas

Confession: I have a slightly obsessive personality. And by "slightly", I of course, mean insanely.

This personality flaw fact is especially bad when it comes to food. It's a definite problem. I tend to find a random food that I love. I obsess over it and eat it constantly until the very thought of it makes me nauseous. You can see why that may be a problem, right?

That said, though, I get to know the ins and outs of those foods pretty darn well.

Enter roasted chickpeas.

Wow. They are good. They are absolutely my latest food obsession. I make them a lot.

They are nice and crunchy, a perfect alternative to popcorn or nuts. They are low in fat on their own. High in protein (one can has roughly 20 grams--and that's how much I eat...). High in flavor. And easy to make. Really. Perfect snack food? Absofreakinglutely.

You can find hundreds of recipes online. You can make them sweet, spicy, salty, or a combination of all of those. Try them all.

Here is the one I loosely follow, via This Chick Cooks.

One piece of advice: drain and rinse the chickpeas very well. Then towel dry them. Then lay them flat upon a couple paper towels to get nice and dry.  I typically allow them to dry for about an hour. 

Drying.

Ready to be devoured. And oh, they always are!

What are some things you obsess over?