Roasted Russian Chicken Drumstick With Quinoa & A Side Of Cauliflower Casserole

Roasted Russian Chicken Drumstick With Quinoa And A Side Of Cauliflower Casserole
Nutrition Facts (per plate): 393 calories, 16.9g fat, 3.5g saturated fat,
3.6g sugar, 24.5g protein, 37g carbohydrate, 5.5g fiber, 0.5mg sodium

I whipped this meal up real quick for dinner the other night. A few days later, the whole thing was gone! I cooked a lot too. It was pretty excellent if I don't say so myself.

There should have been 1 serving of the cauliflower casserole on that plate - there's only half a serving shown in that picture. I got too excited and forgot to put the other serving in. Oops. Also, the spice I used on the chicken is a Russian seasoning for potatoes but it still worked its magic on the chicken. The flavor was mild, yet middle eastern tasting. Like I said, EXOTIC!

Russian Seasoning For Potato Dishes
Ingredients: salt, sweet paprika, onion, sugar,
ground parsley, garlic, black pepper,
caraway seeds, cucuma, dill seeds, bay leaf.
Click Here

Roasted Russian Chicken Drumsticks
(serves 8)

Ingredients
8 organic chicken drumsticks
2 packets Russian seasoning for potato dishes
1/4 cup of olive oil (use less if you have to)
1/4 cup water (use less if you have to)

Place chicken drumsticks in a quart size Ziploc bag. Add water, olive oil, and 2 packets of the Russian seasoning. Shake until chicken is coated evenly with the mix. Marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven 300° F.

Spray glass bakeware with spray oil (I used our pyrex bakeware). Place chicken and bake for a total of 30-40 minutes flipping the chicken over and basting every 10 minutes.

* If you want the skin to be crunchy, broil for 1-2 minutes after it's cooked.

Plain Quinoa
(serves 8)

2 cups organic quinoa
4 cups water

Place quinoa in a sifter. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hands and rinse until the water is clear.

Combine quinoa and water then bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes covered then fluff with fork.

* Some people use chicken, beef or vegetable broth to substitute for the water. Some add olive oil as well.

Cauliflower Casserole
(serves 8)

1 large head of cauliflower chopped
1 medium sized red onion chopped
1 medium sized red pepper chopped
2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Chop cauliflower. It doesn't need to be fine. Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes on high until tender, stirring once or twice. Add red onion, red pepper, garlic, eggs, and mozzarella. Mix evenly.

Coat a glass bakeware with spray oil and press the mix evenly in the pan.

Bake at 300° F for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Cool for 10 minutes and then serve.

* I also used this casserole as a crust for pizza. Just top with sauce, cheese, and toppings and then bake until cheese on top is oozing.

Blackened Seared and Steamed Tilapia with Mashed Cauliflower and a Side of Asparagus

Blackened Seared-and-Steamed Tilapia with Mashed Cauliflower and a Side of Asparagus
Drink: Republic Of Tea - Decaf Ginger And Peach Iced Tea

Whipped this up in 20 minutes right after my workout at the gym. This was our family dinner tonight. Healthy and absolutely fantastic. Without further ado, the recipe is below.

Sauteed Asparagus
(serves 2)

Ingredients
8 asparagus spears
2 tbsp olive oil (1 tsp if cooking only the asparagus)
Salt, pepper to taste

Heat up the pan and add 2 tbsp of asparagus. While the pan is heating, cut the end of the asparagus and discard. Add the asparagus to the pan just so they are coated with olive oil. Remove immediately.

In another plate, season the asparagus with salt and pepper to taste. Add the asparagus back in the pan and cook until desired, turning over as needed. (We like ours a little crunchy so we don't overcook them)

Place in plate.


Blackened Seared and Steamed Tilapia 
(serves 2)

Ingredients
2 fresh tilapia fillets (4oz)
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
2 tbsp olive oil (from the olive oil from above)
Lime

While cooking the asparagus, pat tilapia dry and then sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides. Set aside.

Once asparagus are cooked and placed in plate, turn the stove up to high heat. Place both fillets in the pan and cook for two minutes.

Turn the fillets over and cover the pan with a lid. Take out of the fire and let it steam for 10 minutes. Do not take the lid off till 10 minutes are through.

Squeeze lime on top.

(This comes out perfect every time)

After 10 minutes, place in the plate.

Mashed Cauliflower
(serves 2)

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
10+ cups water
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Chop the cauliflower and boil until fork tender.

Drain cauliflower and place in a food processor with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Add Pulse till consistency of mush.

Serve on plate and top with a dash of black peppr.


Nutrition Facts (per 1 plate): 270 calories, 16.0g fat, 50mg cholesterol, 87.7mg sodium, 10g carbohydrate, 3.3g sugar, 5.7g fiber, 25.2g protein.

California Sandwich

The California Sandwich
Ezra Pound Cake
The Kitchen Confessional Of Rebecca Crump

I got this recipe from the blog Ezra Pound Cake, The Kitchen Confessional Of Rebecca Crump. I decided to try it out this morning with a few changes since I didn't have the ingredients with me at the grocery store. Instead of mixing up the ingredients for the spread, I used the Oikos Cucumber Dill Dip Greek Yogurt. I LOVE DILL! It's fantastic that they came out with their dip line. I also didn't put any cheese. It still turned out fantastic.

Here's the recipe from her website below:

California Sandwich 

Rebecca Crump (EzraPoundCake.com)

Makes 2 large sandwiches or 4 small wraps

Chive Spread:
• 1/4 CUP GREEK YOGURT OR MAYONNAISE (OR 2 TABLESPOONS OF EACH)
• 1 TABLESPOON FINELY CHOPPED FRESH CHIVES
• SALT AND PEPPER, TO TASTE

Avocado Salad:
• 1 AVOCADO, PEELED, PITTED AND DICED
• 1 TOMATO, CORED AND CHOPPED
• 1 CUCUMBER, PEELED, SEEDED AND DICED (OPTIONAL)
• SQUEEZE OF LIME JUICE
•  2 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED FRESH BASIL OR CILANTRO
• SALT AND PEPPER, TO TASTE

• 4 SLICES BREAD (PREFERABLY WHOLE GRAIN) OR 4 SMALL TORTILLAS (FLOUR OR MULTIGRAIN)
• 1/4 CUP ALFALFA SPROUTS
• 2 TO 4 SLICES PEPPER JACK CHEESE

1. To Make the Chive Spread: In a small bowl, mix the Greek yogurt and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. To Make the Avocado Salad: In a medium bowl, gently toss together the avocado, tomato, cucumber, lime juice and basil or cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. To Assemble: Spread the chive-yogurt mixture on all four bread slices. Divide the sprouts between two slices of bread, and top with avocado salad and cheese. Cover with the remaining slices of bread. (If using tortillas, spread the chive-yogurt mixture on the tortillas, and top with cheese, avocado salad and sprouts. Roll, and eat.)

Here's what mine looked like. I didn't whip out my Nikon. This is my mobile camera. Not too shabby.
It tasted all sorts of fantastic! HEALTHY too.