Mix Veggies with Sausage served with Quinoa

Generally on weekdays, we try to eat healthy and save all the binging for the weekends :)  This is one of the healthy, quick and easy and tasty recipes for a weekday dinner/lunch.

Ingredients:

• Asparagus - 1 pound - Cut into bite size pieces
• Zucchini - 2 medium - Cut into bite size pieces
• Carrots - 2 medium - Cut into bite size pieces
• Onion - 1 small - Chopped fine
• Chicken/Vegetable stock - 2 cups
• Sausage - 2 number - Cut into bite size pieces (I used Italian hot chicken sausage) - This is optional if you want to keep it vegetarian
• Olive Oil - 1 table spoon
• Soy sauce - 2 table spoon
• Garlic powder - 1 tea spoon
• Ginger powder - 1 tea spoon
• Italian seasoning - 1 table spoon
• Salt - 1 table spoon (Add per taste. Soy sauce contains salt also) 
• Pepper - 1 tea spoon (Crushed)
• Corn flour - 1 table spoon (add this to 1/2 cup of water and mix well)
• Quinoa - 2 cups Cooked (to serve it with)

Method:

To a pan on medium heat, add chopped Onions.  Saute till translucent.  Add sausage and stir fry for 5 minutes (omit this step if you are keeping it vegetarian).  Add all the other vegetables and stir fry for 5 more minutes.  Add all the other ingredients except the corn flour and let cook covered till the vegetables and sausage is cooked. Open the lid and add the corn flour mixed with water.  Let cook for another 2-3 minutes till the stock thickens.  Serve it hot with Quinoa, Brown or white rice.

Bread Upma (Stirfried Savory Bread)

Breakfast for lunch or dinner is my favourite.  One pot meal..quick and easy to make...delicious to eat!!  This dish takes about 15 to 20 minutes including the preparation.

Ingredients:

• Bread -  8 to10 slices (I used sourdough with crust on) - cut roughly into bite size pieces
• Olive Oil - 2 table spoons
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Cumin seeds - 1 table spoon
• Turmeric powder - 1 tea spoon
• Curry leaves - 8 to10 number
• Green Chilies - 4 to 5 chopped fine (add per taste)
• Salt - 1 table spoon (add per taste)
• Water - 1/2 cup to 1 cup

Method:

To a pan on medium heat, add Olive oil.  Once the oil is heated, add Mustard and Cumin seeds.  Wait for them to splutter.  Then add the curry leaves and Green Chilies.  Then add Salt and Turmeric powder.  Lower the heat on the pan.  Now add the cut bread and mix well.  Sprinkle water till the bread is a little softer but not wet.  Mine needed about 1/2 a cup.  Cover the pan and heat for about 5 more minutes.  Turn the heat off.  Hot fragrant Breat upma is ready to be served.  You can serve it by itself or with some plain yogurt.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Khichidi (Quinoa and Lentils Indian style)

Khichidi is soul food for many.  I could eat it from breakfast, lunch or dinner.  It is so easy and quick to make and so very delicious to eat.  Also guilt free as I am using Quinoa.  Slow cooker (crockpot) is my best friend on weekdays.  This is one of those recipes which just takes 5 minutes to assemble.  Just put it to cook when you leave to work in the morning and you will enter a fragrant home. 

Ingredients:

• Quinoa - 1 cup
• Toor dal (split yellow lentils) - 1 cup
• Jeera (Cumin) - 1 tea spoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Curry leaves - 5-8 number
• Salt - to taste
• Pepper corns - 1 tea spoon crushed (add per taste)
• Olive oil - 1 table spoon
• water - 6 cups (use less if you like thick consistency.  I love it a little runny)

Method:

Add all the above ingredients to the slow cooker.  Put it on low for about 6-8 hours.  Hot and fragrant Khichici is ready to be served.  You can serve this with some potato chips, pickle or just plain drizzled with some ghee.

Note: 

• If you do not have a slow cooker, you can use a pressure cooker instead.  Just add all the ingredients (water=4 cups instead of 6) and pressure cook it until 3 whistles (that is about 10 minutes depending on the size of the pressure cooker).
• You might need to adjust time for the slow cooker depending on the kind of cooker and sometimes the type of dal also.  Just increase the cooking time by another hour or two if you see that the dal is not completely cooked.  Also, cooking for little longer does not harm the taste or quality of the dish.  The slow cooker does not burn food.