BIZZY BAKES

Have you ever been uninspired and tired but had dinner to make?  That was me and we find it is too hard to get local gluten-free food to bring in so it is ME and the kitchen.  Hubby offered to play sous chef and I happily accepted.  Fortunately, there was little to do for this meal other than the chopping.  With help, it was a pleasure. With the tomato crop in full bloom, it is fun adding tomatoes to many dishes.  This is another of those meal that was based on what was had in the house and those items worked well.  This is a filling but not overpowering meal.  It has a good balance and we like all the components. It means, we don't always have to be inspired to make a good dish. Chicken Strips with Quinoa Plus Ingredients : 1 cup rinsed quinoa 2 cups vegetable broth 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2  boneless chicken cutlets, cut into chunks 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 zucchini, diced 1 tomato, dic...

I had no idea what to call this recipe.  I was supposed to make this for Monday night but I remembered, we had a wedding to go to and there was no need for me to cook.  I changed things around a bit and here we are with one of the best meals, I have had in a while.  I think it is better than the fancy meal served at the wedding.   Giving a name to a recipe that I put together, with what is on hand, is a challenge and in this case, I came to a dead-end.  Listing the ingredients for a title seems wrong and boring. I thought about what I did and that was to perk up the quinoa. Quinoa is something that takes on the identity of the ingredients or other foods on the plate.  Like rice, barley, orzo or kasha, you can vary what you do with it in innumerable ways.  I think, quinoa is the easiest to cook especially with many of the ones on the store shelves do not need to be rinsed. To make this recipe work, do a lot of the prep  before hand.   ...

Two years ago, I started posting my lunch dishes which resulted in my making better and more interesting lunches.  Since my hubby and I are both home, this summer, I am planning to add some recipes to the page of lunch dishes above.  This is my first choice.  It was originally meant for a dinner dish but I had forgotten, we had a wedding on Monday night and I had no need to cook.  A great dinner became a great lunch. You could choose other vegetables in this dish such as spinach, red bell pepper or cauliflower.  You could add red pepper to any combination.  You could also flavor this with different spices.  I used basil because the original recipe called for it.  I can see it with oregano or parsley. Chives is a safe bet to be added at any time.   I was looking for ways to use my goat cheese and found a recipe that intrigued me at Food 52 .  I owe them for my inspiration.  I added broccoli to the corn.  I used sour cre...

During a visit to Mary's of One Perfect Bite , I came across this recipe although her's used whole wheat pasta while mine is gluten-free.  This does not change the recipe.  Each of followed the directions on our packages of pasta.  The rest of the meal should be the same except.......... Pesto originally was made in Genoa. Italy.  The traditional pesto is made up of basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and Parmesan.  That was the first kind, I made.  To my surprise, I found pesto with a multitude of vegetables and nuts.  The word, pesto, comes from a pestle because it was made, using a pestle and mortar. A pesto is versatile and can be used in a multitude of ways.  I like it on a baked potato with some vegetables on top.  Then comes the pesto to pull it all together. Try it on pizza.  Nowadays, we see the many faces of pizza and no longer do we have a limited choice in toppings or sauces.  We see white pizza, red pizza and green p...