Improv Dinner

I don't know about you guys but I had a lovely long weekend! It was just long enough to be relaxing and productive. Not only did I catch up on my TV (Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica done - mind blown!) and almost finished The Help (also amazing) but I cleaned my apt top to bottom, put up some new pictures, did some cooking, did a lot of eating, got in some exercise, laundry, family time and boyfriend time! The weather was decent and waking up to no alarms was beautiful!

We did a Passover Seder for the first time with my family this weekend. While we've always been proud of our Jewish routes we never celebrated all of the religious holidays. In fact, we really only celebrated Hanukkah until I was about thirteen. So, this year was special! Sure, we all get together with family for dinners and enjoy the family time, but by including the seder it seemed that much more special. We've rekindled our relationship with Judaism and I think we all felt like Saturday was special. I'm really looking forward to many more years of continuing the tradition.

Sunday night dinners are often comprised of the weeks leftovers, especially if it's been a busy weekend where I haven't had the opportunity to grocery shop. Last night was no different.  I looked in the fridge and saw I had some left over quinoa, spinach, carrots, onion, mushroom and some frozen corn. I didn't really know what I was doing but I started chopping and stirring and came up with a sort of stir-fry/mash.

It turned out really great! Quick, easy, filling, lots of great textures and I even had left overs for lunch today. If you're looking for a balanced, quick dinner on a weeknight this is it!

Ingredients:
1T coconut oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup corn
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
2 mushrooms, chopped (that's all I had or I would have added more)
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I think you can get creative here, I'd like to try a peanut sauce next time)
S&P to taste

Directions:
In a small pot boil the carrots and corn for 5 minutes or until slightly tender. Drain.
In a medium pot heat the onion and garlic in the oil until tender, abut 5 - 7 minutes. Add the corn, carrots and mushrooms and heat for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until the leaves are wilted. Stir in the BBQ sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with quinoa.

I also added a bit of daiya cheese I had in the freezer. I really love quinoa and cheese!

I did something similar last week with quinoa. I steamed some broccoli and served on quinoa with tomato sauce and cheese. I love that quinoa isn't as heavy feeling as pasta, yet its totally filling and satisfies that carbo craving. I also love the texture :)

**Just a thought. Some marinated tofu or chickpeas would be a good protein addition to this meal!

I've got a full week of bootcamp ahead of me as I have a class to make up. I'm feeling OK now (besides a little bit of a food baby) but ask me again on Thursday when I've done class three days in a row! Looking forward to the pain!