Crock Pot Banana Bread Quinoa
PIN IT!Guys, I have to come clean about something. I’m having an affair. Now, before y’all get all crazy on me, it’s not a Lifetime movie affair here. Instead, just a dirty, elicit, down right nasty affair with an appliance. To be blunt, I’m cheating on my stove with my crock pot. But, do you blame me? This gorgeous hunk of appliance has made so many delicious things for me since it’s arrival, like the over night apple crisp and now this crock pot banana bread quinoa.
Now, this is easily something I could have made on my stove. But you know what? I don’t want to sit by the stove for 30+ minutes. On a Friday night. When I could be drinking wine and watching Lifetime. SO! I threw the ingredients into my sexy KitchenAid machine and let it do all the work. Because you know what? When you cook as much as I do, it’s nice to have something else do all the work sometimes.
Moving on from the affair talk, let’s chat about quinoa.
I’ve had it before, and I’ve been okay with it. It’s good, kinda chewy, tastes a bit like strange rice and barley. But never really cared all that much about it. Despite it’s superfood qualities (like 8 grams of protein per serving!). However, I think that’s because I never had it slow cooked with bananas, brown sugar and butter. I think that was my main problem right there. But then again, if you slow cooked cardboard or dirty socks with bananas, butter and brown sugar I’m pretty sure that would taste great too.
Friends, the reason this is named “banana bread quinoa” and not just “banana quinoa” is because it tastes EXACTLY like banana bread. With each spoonful you think you are eating a moist, right outta the oven slice of banana bread. Except since it’s protein packed quinoa, it’ll stick to your guts a little longer.
If your family (or picky husband) refuses to eat quinoa because “it looks weird” or “it sounds too healthy” disguise it to taste like banana bread. You’ll have them eating out of your hands (or in this case, directly out of the crock pot) in no time!
Crock Pot Banana Bread Quinoa
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields about 6 1/2 cup servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of quinoa (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/2 cup of Seasonal Coffee-mate Warm Cinnamon Sugar Cookie *
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 banana (past ripe)
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Mash the banana in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the brown sugar and walnuts together.
- Pour quinoa, creamer (or light cream), milk, water, butter and vanilla into the crock pot. Add the mashed banana and stir to evenly distribute. Sprinkle the sugar and walnut mixture into the quinoa and stir to mix.
- Cook on low for 4 – 6 hours, or until the quinoa is fully cooked. If you need to, add additional liquid or sugar to the mixture for taste.
- Serve warm and garish with slices of banana!
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 260
Fat: 7 grams
Carbohydrates: 38 grams
Fiber: 2.5 grams
Protein: 5.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 6
Roasted Vegetable Personal Pizzas
Once upon a time there was a girl.
A blazing, fierce red head with vigor, passion and spirit. This girl, the most beautiful one in all the land (ha ha), could have anyone she wanted. But you see, she didn’t want just anyone. In fact, what she loved wasn’t a “one” at all. Her love, the thing that made her heart skip a beat? Food. But not just any ol’ food, you see. She had a love affair with a pizza pie. Not just to eat one, though, to make one. Many say she went mad in her tower, spending night after night trying to construct the worlds very best pizza. Until one, warm muggy night. After many delicious, albeit failed, attempts to create the perfect pizza, she finally had it.
“I’LL MAKE MY OWN SAUCE, WITH MY OWN SPIN!” She proclaimed, startling her little fuzzy companion. Of course, how had she not thought of this before? So, with her mind running faster than her body could react, she chopped, sliced and peeled an assortment of delicious vegetables she had acquired from the castle garden (Wegmans). She then tossed them in magic oil, some spices and salt and set them to roast until absolute perfection for 40 minutes.
Once the vegetables had filled her home with such an incredible aroma, the girl pulled them out and dumped 3/4 of them into a food processor, to which she also added some diced tomatoes and some special herbs. Then she tapped her magic wand to the processor and pulsed the sweet smelling mixture until it was a thick, and chunky sauce.
After tasting a few spoonfuls (read 8) of this mind-blowing sauce, she set it aside and prepared her go-to quick pizza dough. She mixed, she kneaded, she sang while she rolled. This pizza was it, that she knew.
After cutting out personal size crusts from the dough, she placed them with care on top a greased pizza pan. She then slathered each crust in the magical sauce, topping each one with the remaining roasted vegetables and fresh mozzarella. She baked them with love for 10 minutes, until the she could no longer handle the drool-inducing smell. She removed then and topped them with chopped fresh basil. Even the sight of them made her heart a-flutter.
She could no longer wait, the anticipation was killing her. She called down to her knight in shining armor “dinner is ready, you better hurry or I’ll eat it all!” Then, like a ravenous beast, she sunk her teeth into the soft, moist dough and took a bite. The taste nearly brought her to tears. The roasted vegetable sauce was robust and bold, pairing so wonderfully with the fresh mozzarella. Each bite of this pie gave her something incredible, like a roasted whole clove of garlic or a slice of eggplant. She chomped and chewed her way through more than one pie in complete and utter bliss.
So what came of the girl who created the perfect pie? Well, she still sits in her castle, working to perfect it even more. One day you’ll see her, in the town square, selling her pizzas for all. Until then, though, she’ll continue her work to create a pie even more perfect.
Which may be hard. How can you top that?
Roasted Vegetable Personal Pizzas
Yields about five 4 – 6 inch pies.
Ingredients:
- 1 regular homemade pizza crust (use THIS recipe)
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 3/4 the way drained
- 1 small eggplant,sliced
- 1 yellow squash, sliced
- 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 7 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons oregano
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2/3 tablespoon white sugar
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
- Freshly grated parmesan (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place all vegetables in a 3 quart glass baking dish and cover with sesame oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Then, using a spatula or spoon, stir vegetables around so each side bakes evenly. Bake for an additional 15 – 20 minutes longer, or until vegetables are very soft and fragrant.
- Once vegetables are done roasting, pour 2/3 of them into a food processor. Add the diced tomatoes. (*Note. You want some liquid so only drain the tomatoes 3/4 the way so you still have some juices). Add in the oregano, sugar, chili powder and more salt and pepper. Pulse on low until mixture is combined. (It will be a little chunky). Add more salt, pepper, or chili powder to taste.
- Roll out your pizza dough. Using a cereal bowl (or if you have a 6 inch cutter) cut out personal size pizzas. Place on a greased pizza pan or baking dish (2 to a sheet). Slater liberal amounts of sauce onto each piece of crust. Cover each pie with about 2 ounces of fresh mozzarella and an assortment of the remaining vegetables.
- Bake pizzas for 10 – 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh basil, parmesan and enjoy!
Nutritional information per 1/2 pizza:
Calories: 200
Fat: 4.5 grams
Fiber: 1/25 grams
Protein: 10.4 grams
Carbohydrates: 30 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 5
Baked Pork Chops with Cherry Pinot Compote
Or as the normal people call it “flipping delicious,” or “mind-blowingly awesome”, or “effing amazing.” Not trying to toot my own horn here, but the husband, who hates pork (I KNOW) gobbled up two servings of these baked pork chops with cherry pinot compote. These babies are baked, not fried, and are only lightly breaded. Healthy and stupid delicious? Don’t mind if I do!
I could only eat about half of my serving because I got full spoon feeding myself compote. We are going to play a rousing game of “LOOK AT IT, DO YOU BLAME ME?” It’s the perfect way to use up the rest of your summer cherries since their season is just about over. *I say with tears welling up in my eyes. I had an entire drawer in my fridge filled with these plump and juicy cherries that had to go.
And I will NOT let these die a slow, agonizing death in my fridge. For one, they taste too damn delicious. Two? They cost like 10,000 a pound making them the most expensive produce in all the land. So, I pitted them (NEVER an easy feat), tossed them into a simmering bath of sugar, wine, some cinnamon and cornstarch and let them melt, caramelize and emit the most insanely delicious aroma. Then I scooped about 10 spoonfuls directly into my mouth. The rest went to decorate E’s chops and the plate since I’m a trendy trendsetting chef to be.
Can you believe I even saved enough compote for the picture? I’ll be honest, that wasn’t easy. Can you imagine how good this would also be on vanilla OR chocolate ice cream? I can’t. Or maybe comfortably nestled on top of a chocolate cake? OR INSIDE A CUPCAKE? My mind is racing, I need to bake.
While I continue to foam at the mouth over here like a mad scientist, go CHECK OUT THE RECIPE HERE!
Nutritional information per chop with 1/4 cup compote:
Calories: 284
Fat: 10 grams
Carbohydrates: 23 grams
Fiber: 0.5 grams
Protein: 24 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 7
My Heart is in Portland & IFBC [Travel]
So, remember that one time, not too long ago, that I went to Portland for the International Food Bloggers Conference? No? Need some photos to jar your memory?
My trip to Portland can be summed in two words: TO SHORT. I fell head over heels in love with the hipster city as soon as my foot hit the pavement and I was able to walk around. You hear all these things about this eccentric Northwest town (re: Portlandia) so you form these stereotypes on what kind of people live there (hippies and pot smokers), what the landscape is like (hilly) and what the food is like (crunchy and vegan). So, when you finally go and experience it, you’re slapped in the face with reality.
Surprisingly, not everyone who lives there is a hippie or hipster. In fact, I probably see more of those here in DC than I did there. The terrain is pretty accurate. But what the stereotypes fail to mention is HOW STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL the temperature is. It was 70 with a breeze. I was in HEAVEN.
And you know what? They do have crunchy, vegan food there but they also have TONS of bacon, doughnuts and deep fried fat there too. Plus, beer? Duh. Oh and the best coffee you’ll ever have (outside of Seattle, I’m sure). Which, trust me, you don’t want to miss.
They also don’t tell you how incredibly gorgeous the city is, nestled between a lush river and gorgeous forest. Or how everyone is SO NICE. Like smile on the street, offer to take your picture without a smirk, give you REAL directions kind of nice. As a girl from a city that’s moving SO fast, having someone, you know, show any sort of human decency is refreshing. As for the conference? It was such an incredible experience. I’ve never been to a food conference to base my comparison on, but I thought it was amazing. So many informative sessions, a GREAT chance to network with brands and meet other bloggers and not to mention, pretty great food.
Besides finally meeting some blog friends I’ve had for over a year, my favorite part was the tour we took of Bob’s Red Mill. Cassie planned the whole thing and it was awesome. We got to see where all the BRM magic happens behind the scenes. Oh, and you know, MEET BOB. I’ll be posting about that on Friday though, but here’s a sneak peek 🙂
Another favorite part was dinner with the Washington Cherry Growers at Paley’s Place.
I guess (according to local Portland peeps) that restaurant is one of the best in the city. Well, yeah, the food? Amazing. Plus we got to eat with the wine maker (the owner of Biggio Hamina) in Washington. His wine (mainly the pinot noir) was INCREDIBLE. Another really memorable experience was the Wildwood dinner. The dinner was fun b/c we had the coolest table there, I’m sure of it 🙂 Plus, it was great to just relax, drink wine and laugh after the hustle and bustle of the conference sessions. I’m so lucky to have met such amazing ladies, like Cassie, Heidi and Marisa as well as reconnect with my darling Sheri (we partied together in Vegas) and the dinner was a great chance for us all to connect!
Portland, you stole my heart. But don’t worry. I’ll be back and we’ll have much more time to fall back in love. I promise. Don’t forget about me, though, and fall in love with some other bright eyed and bushy tailed tourist okay?
Healthy Crock Pot Apple Crisp Recipe
Last night, I got an email. I can’t share ANYTHING about said email but I can say one thing; it’s a life changer. No pressure, right? Well, after I read this email, I (a) nearly threw up and (b) knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. So, like most normal human beings, I decided “hey, I’ll make a dessert in my slow cooker!” I racked my brain and the interwebs for an idea, but none really popped out. Then, I peered over the mass of pots and pans in my sink and spotted the bag o’ apples I bought at Wegmans.
Then, my dusty wheels starting turning and it hit me like a sack of bricks (or apples, in this case). I’ll make a healthy crock pot apple crisp, but of course!
After 30 minutes of chopping, peeling, stirring, cutting and mixing, my healthy crock pot apple crisp was all snuggled and tucked into my fancy, schmancy absolutely amazing KitchenAid slow cooker. And I, who was still wired up, decided to do what any other normal person does when they can’t sleep, read Fifty Shades of Grey, part three. And within 20 minutes my eyelids were closing and I was finally able to drift to sleep with the HEAVENLY aroma of slow cooking apples wafting through my nostrils.
When I awoke, I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I hopped out of bed, sprinted for the kitchen and opened the lid of the slow cooker with ferver and excitement. The smell attacked my face and I nearly fell over. This stuff smells like the best fall morning you could EVER imagine. Applely, cinnamony and buttery. I stuck my fork into the melt-in-your-mouth crisp and nearly died of a massive food-gasm. When I say this is the best apple crisp you’ve ever eaten, well, I’m not lying. IT’S THE BEST DAMN APPLE CRISP YOU WILL EVER EAT.
Oh, and it’s healthy! (I say somewhat bashfully). Most apple crisps use, oh you know, just a STICK of butter. I decided as much as I love butter, I love fitting into my regular pants more. So, I cut the butter in half and added 1 tablespoon of apple butter. It sounds crazy but it works. It just, works. Now, because of said email, I have things to do today that have my nerves acting all haywire. So, I’m going to chug a pot of coffee (which will only make them worse, I know) and do the damn thing. WISH ME LUCK!
Healthy Crock Pot Apple Crisp Recipe
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 8. Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups chopped apples
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons apple pie spice
- 1 tablespoon apple butter
- 4 1/2 tablespoons regular butter
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- Dash of salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Ice cream for garnish
Directions:
- Place chopped apples in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add apple butter and lemon juice and stir to coat the apples. Mix together the corn starch, 1 tablespoon of apple pie spice and the 1/4 cup regular white sugar. Mix well. Pour mixture over the apples and stir to coat.
- Sprinkle walnuts over the apples and mix well.
- In another bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, second tablespoon of apple pie spice and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly like sand. Sprinkle the topping over the apple mixture until they are all covered.
- Set slow cooker to low and cook for about 4 hours, or until apples are tender and soft. If you make this over night, be sure your slow cooker turns off after it’s done cooking so the crisp doesn’t burn.
Nutritional information per serving (about 1/2 cup)
Fat: 8 grams
Carbohydrates: 42 grams
Fiber: 4 grams
Protein: 2.6 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 7
Claire
Tags:crock pot recipes, fall recipes, healthy fall desserts, low fat apple crisp, low fat apple recipes
