Southwest Quinoa Salad

I'm on a Quinoa kick right now and love to find new ways to eat it.  That little powerhouse grain is so good for you.  Here's a quick and yummy recipe that I love, and wanted to share.

 Southwest Quinoa Salad

In  bowl combine:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1/2 can black olives sliced
1 cup cilantro chopped
2 avocados diced
1 bell pepper, color of your choice, diced
1 small can green chiles
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes sliced
1/2  purple onion chopped
Toss to combine.

 Cook 1 cup quinoa as directed on package.



I served mine with a drizzle of Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing.  Here's how.


Cafe Rio Dressing

1 small buttermilk Ranch Dressing package-prepared as directed
2 tomatillos, peeled and washed, and cut into quarters
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (optional) use the seeds if you want it spicy.
Blend well in a food processor or blender.  Chill and serve.

You can toss the all 3 ingredients or just layer on the plate and serve.

So good and yummy!

Artisian Cheezy Bread Sticks

I am so loving Artisian Breads right now.  Super easy!  Super yummy!

The latest is a Savory Brioche dough that is made into Cheezy Bread Sticks.  Heavenly!

I even snuck in some cooked Quinoa to increase the healthy factor.  No one knew except me and they were gobbled all up!  Hooray for sneaky nutrition! So here's the how to:

Savory Brioche

In a container that has a sealable lid combine the following:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbsp yeast

1 - 1 1 /2 Tbsp kosher salt

6 eggs lightly beaten

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

6 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cooked quinoa (optional)

Mix until just combined in container with wooden spoon.

 It shouldn't have any dry patches, but don't work too hard.  Just enough to combine the ingredients.

At this point you can use this dough right away, but I'm going to let it rise for a few hours.

 Cover the container with it's lid but don't seal.

 After about 2 hours, seal the lid and put container in the fridge until ready to use.

 When ready, pull out about a 1 lb section of dough.  This batch made 3 - 1 lb pieces.  Roll out on floured surface.  I put mine on parchment to save on clean up.  Roll out to a rectangle or as close as you can.  Mine's kind of oval-ish.

Brush top with olive oil then sprinkle with Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Press cheese into dough.  Flip the dough over and repeat oil and cheese.  Cut with pizza cutter into strips.

 Twist each piece to make sticks.

 Cover with plastic wrap while you pre-heat the oven.  About 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I baked mine on my pizza stone.  You could also use a cookie sheet, adjust cooking times as needed.

 Bake for 20 minutes, Turn breadsticks over and bake for another 5 minutes.
You could brush with melted butter again if you want, but they can stand on their own.

Let cool slightly and serve.

Light. Flaky. Perfect!