Pimento Cheese

This is one of my favorite things I have ever put between two pieces of bread. Enough said.

Pimento Cheese, Gourmet

I used the above recipe more as a guide because I didn't measure anything. I also substituted 2 diced and seeded jalapenos for the cayenne pepper.

Quinoa with Jazzed Up Tomato Sauce

I love quinoa and just recently made it at home for the first time. It was a winner for the fact that it was simple to prepare, very reasonably priced, cooked quickly, and tasted delicious.

Quinoa with Jazzed Up Tomato Sauce

For the Quinoa
1 c. dried quinoa
Kosher Salt

For the Jazzed Up Tomato Sauce
5 carrots, finely chopped
5 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 small zucchini, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
~2 t. Worchestershire sauce
~2 t. Balsamic Vinegar
Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
1 14oz. can Hunt's Crushed Tomatoes

1. Rinse the dry quinoa well. Bring a pot of water to a boil, season it with kosher salt, add the quinoa, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the pan. Add the carrots, celery, and zucchini. Let cook for approximately 3 minutes. Add the garlic, stir. Then add the can of crushed tomatoes, combine well with the vegetables. Add the Worchestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Season with black pepper and salt (if needed) Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Combine the quinoa with the sauce.


And if your like me, top with some goat cheese.

Stuffed Mushrooms

When I was at the grocery store the other day I found a container of organic mushrooms marked down to the ridiculously cheap price of .99 cents. Now I am not one to turn down a good deal so I sort of impulsively put them in my cart and vowed to find some way to use them for dinner.

Well fast-forward a few hours later that evening and this is what I came up with based on the other ingredients I already had on hand:

Stuffed Mushrooms with Spinach and Blue Cheese

The ingredients:




1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion chopped
stems from the mushrooms, chopped
handful fresh spinach, chopped
1/8 c. breadcrumbs ( I used panko because that is all I had on hand)
1/4 c. bleu cheese
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a cookie sheet with foil (this makes clean-up a breeze) and place mushroom cups upside down like so

3. Heat oil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat and add the chopped onion and mushroom stems. When onions start to brown add the garlic and bread crumbs (if it looks dry add just a drizzle more oil). Then add the spinach and wilt and finally the bleu cheese. Stir to combine. Remove the mixture from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. It should look something like this:


4. Now take a spoon and fill up those caps

5. Bake in the oven until cheese starts to melt and mushrooms warm through