Quest for Healthier Living…

18 07 2013

My friend, Flo from Michigan is an inspiration to many people to make healthier choices in eating, exercising and time management in life… so I have been trying to make some changes in my own life…

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Here is a recipe that was almost too pretty to eat! Beautiful, colorful Red Peppers stuffed with this strange little grain called Quinoa.  I had prepared quinoa a couple of times in the past for specific recipes, but hadn’t given much thought to it’s nutritional content.  Turns out, 2013 has brought some fame to this little known food.

quinoa in hand

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has officially declared that the year 2013 be recognized as “The International Year of the Quinoa.” Proposed by the government of Bolivia and receiving strong support from many Central and South American countries, quinoa has now been singled out by the FAO as a food with “high nutritive value,” impressive biodiversity, and an important role to play in the achievement of food security worldwide.

Quinoa in box

We realize that quinoa remains unfamiliar to many people, especially in the practical sense of cooking and recipes. But we hope that situation will change, given the remarkable nature of this easily-prepared, nutrient-rich food. Preparing Quinoa is just like cooking rice, and can even be made in your rice cooker, although it is very easily prepared in about 15-20 minutes on your stovetop. Just follow the easy directions on the package.

Red Peppers

First, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut peppers in half vertically and remove inner membrane and seeds.  Steam until soft but do not over cook. Remove and drain. Place in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Set aside.

Quinoa cooked

Cook Quinoa as directed on the package.  Set aside.

Chopped Onion & Celery

Saute diced onions, celery, garlic in a large non stick skillet (or use a little olive oil if you like) for about 5 minutes.

Chopped Mushrooms

Add chopped mushrooms to the skillet and saute about 3-4 additional minutes or until onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms are all soft.

Tomatoes Petite Diced

Add drained tomatoes, salsa, prepared quinoa, then add chili powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Using an ice cream scoop, fill each red pepper half with mixture.  Put remaining onion mixture around the red pepper halves.  Pour reserved tomato juice all over the peppers and the filling. Top with a little pinch of dried parsley for some good color.

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Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until hot.  Serve with a nice garden salad.  This is a very pretty, colorful summer dish!

This recipe is Gluten, Dairy & Meat Free. Very healthy for you, and is approved by my friend Flo! :-) Enjoy eating healthy this summer!

What are some of your ideas for eating healthier?  We would love for you to share your recipes with us!  Please leave a comment on this page, then email your healthy recipes to:  vicki@adriansboutique.com

LINK to this recipe: Quinoa Stuffed Red Peppers

3 large red peppers
1 cup Quinoa, (rinsed) or buy the pre-rinsed kind :-)
2 cups water
2 Tbls. olive oil (optional)
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. white mushrooms, chopped
2 – 15 oz cans petite diced tomatoes, drained (reserve juice)
8 oz. prepared salsa
chili powder to taste
salt & pepper to taste
dried parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut peppers in half vertically and remove inner membrane and seeds.  Steam until soft but do not over cook. Remove and drain. Place in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Set aside.  Cook Quinoa as directed on the package.  Set aside.  Saute diced onions, celery, garlic & mushrooms in a large non stick skillet (or use a little olive oil if you like) until soft.  Add drained tomatoes, salsa, prepared quinoa, then add chili powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Using an ice cream scoop, fill each red pepper half with mixture.  Put remaining onion mixture around the red pepper halves.  Pour reserved tomato juice all over the peppers and the filling.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until hot.  Serve with a nice garden salad.  This is a very pretty, colorful summer dish!

This recipe is Gluten, Dairy & Meat Free. Very healthy for you, and is approved by my friend Flo! :-)

We love to hear from you!
~Vicki Adrian

Adrian’s Boutique
118 N. Main
Buhler, KS 67522

620-543-6488
http://www.facebook.com/adriansboutique
http://www.adriansonline.com

Monday-Saturday 10 am – 5 pm

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Orange Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

30 11 2011

This recipe comes from Valerie Rempel, who is the sister to one of our Adrian’s Staff members, Denise Heizelman.  Valerie lives in California, and it is always a treat for all of us when she comes home to visit her family.  We love to go for coffee with her!  Our daughter, Jenny made this last night and it was delicious!  I thought you might like a nice, simple meal that is a little out of the ordinary…after all, one cannot live on Christmas Cookies alone!  (We could try!)

Orange Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Poultry seasoning
Salt
Pepper
4 slices bacon (we used double :-), and used the thick, peppery kind!)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. orange marmalade

Preheat oven to 375°. (350 if using a glass baking dish) Sprinkle each chicken breast with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. (Be generous with the poultry seasoning!)  Wrap each piece of chicken with a slice of bacon and place in baking dish with bacon ends tucked under the breasts.  Melt the butter, Worcestershire sauce and marmalade in the microwave, stirring until combined. Pour evenly over the bacon-wrapped chicken breasts. Bake until chicken is done and the bacon is crisp, about 25-30 minutes.   Valerie says “I found a version of this recipe on the internet where it was credited to Peggy Trowbridge Filipone at the About.com website.  Il like recipes that are easy to adapt to the size of the crowd, large or small.  This is especially nice served with wild rice and a green salad. “

Jenny made this on a cool winter evening…it was delicious!  This recipe is featured in our “Between Friends” Cookbook…Available at Adrians.

THANK YOU for sharing the recipe Valerie!

If you’ve got a family favorite, I would love to have you email your recipe to me… vicki@adriansboutique.com  THANK YOU!

Adrians Boutique
118 N Main
Buhler, KS 67522
620-543-6488
http://www.facebook.com/adriansboutique





BBQ Parfaits

3 11 2011

BBQ Parfaits featuring Roy’s BBQ Pulled Pork! Yum!

Adrians Boutique recently served this delicious dish at our “He Hunts…I SHOP Adrians” Event.  This should be easy to recreate at your own family gathering or holiday event.  Start with great BBQ!  We ordered ours from one of the most recognized BBQ Pit Masters in the US…and are so lucky to have Roy’s Hickory Pit BBQ right here in our area!

We used 9 oz clear plastic cups, which I think is just about the right size for ladies…you might want to have some larger cups available if you’re feeding hungry guys!

Here’s what we did… ordered delicious baked beans and pulled pork from Roy’s. You could certainly do your own version.  The potatoes were delicious! (Recipe follows for Marvelous Mashed Potatoes).  Scoop baked beans into the bottom of the cup.  Top with a scoop of Marvelous Mashed Potatoes, then some pulled pork (beef would work well too), then drizzled BBQ sauce over the meat.  Next we topped it off with a nice rounded scoop (using our largest ice cream or cookie scoop) of potatoes.  Then drizzled with a little more BBQ sauce and garnished it with a little sprinkle of parsley flakes.  Serve cup on a plate, or wrapped in a napkin, as it will be really hot!

Hope your family enjoys this fun version of a BBQ meal as much as our clients did!

Marvelous Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

12 servings of instant mashed potatoes, prepare as directed (we use Idahoan Brand)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup cour cream
1/2 cup butter, plus a little more for topping
1/2 tsp garlic powder or salt
3 T. Country home Creations “BLT Dip Mix” plus more for garnishing (about 1/3 packet)
(We have also used Wind & Willow’s BLT mix with excellent results)
Disposable slow cooker liners*

Directions:

Prepare instant mashed potatoes as directed. Add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, garlic, and 3 T. BLT Dip Mix. Stir thoroughly. Place in a slow cooker lined with a disposable crock pot liner. Depending on the time available, heat on low or high until piping hot. This is a great recipe for the holidays, as it eliminates making those mashed potatoes at the last minute and trying to keep them hot.

This is a very easy to prepare and fun to serve dish for a family gathering, work party, or event, expecially if it is a come & go style party. They can just help themselves!

Please let us know if you have any questions, or comments!  We love to hear from our clients!

Adrians Boutique
118 N Main,Buhler, KS 67522
620-543-6488
vicki@adriansboutique.com
http://www.facebook.com/adriansboutique

 

 

 





Mama G’s Salsa in a Snap!

24 07 2011
Mama G’s “Salsa in a Snap” Recipe Ideas
This incredibly versatile salsa mix can be used in many tasty dishes, at a very small cost per serving! One container makes 2 GALLONS of Fresh Salsa or sixteen 15 oz. cans of petite diced tomatoes into fresh salsa!  Delicious!  We served this at our “Celebrate Sisters” Event at Adrians this past week and used it in our Pepper Bellies, Guacamole & of course, fresh Salsa!  We served TONS of people…and didn’t even use one whole can!  It goes a long way!  Here are some other ideas…

Mama G’s Pepper Bellies

2 lbs. ground beef, seasoned with dried onions, garlic, salt & pepper and  browned
*Note: You can make this ahead of time and freeze until needed.
2 – 15 oz. cans chili beans
2 – 15 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes
2 – 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 level scoop of Mama G’s Salsa in a Snap seasoning mix (more if you like it spicier!)

Fritos (regular kind…not the scoops)
Toppings:  Choose what you like, or what you have in the fridge!

shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
sour cream
guacamole
sliced black olives
sliced jalapeno peppers
picante sauce

Place slow cooker liner in your crock pot.  Put in browned hamburger, undrained chili beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and Mama G’s seasoning. Stir together, put the lid on and let it cook until nice and hot (2-3 hours on high, or all day on low).  When time to serve, set up a “help yourself” bar with Fritos and all of the toppings, and let your family or guests choose how to top their Pepper Belly!

*Note: This is delicious with Dulce le Leche Cheesecake!
Salsa in a Snap, along with many more delicious gourmet mixes are available at Adrians.

Snappy Sour Cream Dip

16 oz. sour cream
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap

Mix & Chill.

Peach Salsa (or substitute your favorite flavor)

1 scoop Salsa in a Snap
1 pint peach preserves

Pour over cream cheese…Serve with crackers

Mama G’s 1-2-3 Guacamole

3-4 Avacados
1/2 to 1 scoop Salsa in a Snap
2 T. lime juice
1/2 c. sour cream

Pit & peel avacados. Mash together with remaining ingredients.  Chill and serve.

Snappy Cranberry Surprise

1 can “wholeberry” cranberry sauce
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap
cream cheese

Mix cranberry sauce and Salsa in a Snap and let rest for 30 minutes.  Pour over cream cheese on a serving plate.  Sprinkle with walnuts and shaved dark chocolate. Serve with crackers.

Zesty Salsa Crackers

1 bag of Oyster Crackers or Saltine Minis
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap
1/3 c. oil

Mix all ingredients together in a gallon zip lock bag.  Let blend together for a few hours or overnight, turning bag to coat evenly.

10 Minute Taco Meat

1 lb. ground chuck
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap

Mix together and cook meat in skillet until browned.

“Salsy” Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 scoop Salsa in a Snap
2 cans Italian tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste

Blend together and simmer in saucepan or in a Crockpot until hot and bubbly.

Mama G’s Surprise Dip

1 – 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap
2 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

Mix tomatoes and Salsa in a Snap. Add to softened cream cheese.  Serve warm or chilled.

Easy Mexican Cornbread

1 pkg. Jiffy brand cornbread mix, mixed as directed on package
1/2 scoop Salsa in a Snap
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Mix Salsa in a Snap into prepared cornbread mix.  Add cheese and bake as directed on box.

Sweet & Spicy Marinade

(Great on Pork, Chicken, Shrimp and Steaks)
8 oz. pineapple juice or orange juice
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap

Mix together, pour over meat; marinade one hour and then grill.

Eggs Ole
6 eggs
1 scoop Salsa in a Snap
2 T. milk

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes to hydrate spices. Scramble eggs to desired consistency.


We always LOVE to hear from you!  Pop us an email, leave a comment in the box below, or of course, STOP by to see us at Adrians!  It’s easy to get our email updates…just text ADRIANS to 22828 to join!

ADRIANS BOUTIQUE
118 N. Main, Buhler, KS 67522
620-543-6488
adrians@buhlerks.net
www.adriansonline.com
www.facebook.com/adriansboutique
Visit our Blog for hundreds of delicious recipes!
adriansboutique.com





Tahaitian Beach Party Give-Away

15 06 2011
Win this fun Summer Tote Bag, Wallet & Spiral Bracelet

At Adrians Boutique in downtown Buhler, Kansas, we LOVE to spoil our clients!  This week we’ve chosen a fun canvas tote style purse from designer Anne Ormsby whose style focus on the fun & whimsical! We’ve also added a coordinating snap clutch wallet and a fun beaded spiral bracelet.  Value is $52.

Our annual Tahitian Beach Party starts Thursday and continues Friday & Saturday, June 16 – 18, 2011.  Jenny & I have been busy baking over 300 bikini, palm tree, tropical fish, flip flop & flower shaped Sugar Cookies.  It has been so much fun!

Bikini Cookies

We’ve been baking up a Tahitian Hurricane worth of delicious party foods…

We will be serving our Tahitian Chicken Stack Dinner, which is SOOOO GOOD! along with a wide variety of appetizers & desserts such as:

Bikini Sugar Cookies,  Captain Rodney’s Creamy Temptation of Jezebel Dip, Captain Rodney’s Pirate Wraps , Wind & Willow Key Lime Cheeseball, Tropical Dump Cake & “Vinolicious”Freeze Mixes in Lemoncillo, Margarita & Wine Ice…plus much more!

 There are great specials in the store as well, so be sure to check out the details on Facebook!

Click Here for our Entry Form

for this contest.  We will accept entries until Monday, June 20, 2011 at midnight and the winner will be notified via email and in our weekly E-Newsletter.

Good Luck! We look forward to seeing you this weekend!  Vicki & Staff

PS…Congratulations to Joan Smith from Hutchinson, Kansas who won last week’s drawing for our Strawberry Gourmet Market Basket!