Kale Quinoa Salad by Colleen Guenther

Lynn Younglove loves this salad! It's perfect for any meal but it's really perfect for breakfast with some eggs and toast. 

What you need:

1 bunch of kale destemmed and chopped

1/2 cup cooked quinoa (or however much you want)

4 garlic cloves minced

Good splash of lemon juice

Red pepper flakes (Lynn doesn't put these in hers)

Salt to taste

EEOV

To make:

Sautee your garlic and red pepper flakes in a splash of EEOV. Sautee of a few minutes until slightly browned. Add your quinoa and a dash of salt and sautéed just long enough to warm up. Add your lemon juice and stir. Add your kale and another sprinkle of salt and toss a few times. Do not cook the Kale for more than a minute. Take off the heat, toss one or two times and serve! That's it!

Ecuadorian Llapingachos and Beans by Colleen Guenther

I love Llapingachos (cheese filled potato cakes) and beans at a local restaurant here in MPLS. Chimborazo to be exact. I was too lazy to drive there today so I made them at home, and it was GOOOOD.

What you need (serves 2):

Llapingachos:
2 small-medium sized Russet potatoes (diced into less than 1/2 inch cubes)

Small pieces of Swiss or any white soft chz
Salt to taste 
Dash of Paprika
Oil for sautéing

Beans:

1 can of Pinto Beans (drained and rinsed)

1 small white onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 handful of cilantro finely chopped 

A good shake of Cumin

A good shake of Chili powder

1 dried Guallijo or Pasilla pepper

3 dried (and de-seeded) arbol chili peppers (use less if you can't take the heat)

Salt to taste

2-3 cups of Water

Start with your beans. Sauté the onions on medium heat in a lil EEOV until slightly translucent. Then add your garlic and sauté a lil longer. Add 2 cups of water, and the rest of the ingredients for the beans. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a while (I cooked mine for about 45 mins). Watch them closely because you want the water to boil down enough to create more of a "gravy" consistency with the beans (which will eventually go over the potato cakes). Add more water if you need it so that you can cook the beans for a while to let those flavors develop without drying up.

While your beans are cooking, boil your diced potatoes in water for about 8 minutes (keep checking until they are soft). When done, drain, mash, and then add the salt and paprika. Set aside for 5 minutes. Then, when they are ready to handle with your hands, create a little larger than golf ball balls of the potato mixture and place the balls on a baking sheet (or a plate or something) and place (covered) in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. This firms them up a bit. Once a tad chilled, cut them in half and add some Swiss cheese pieces in the middle, put the top and bottom of the ball back together, smush the edges together and slightly flatten the balls. Then, heat up some olive oil in a pan and sauté them on each side. 

Once both are done, remove the dried peppers from the beans. Then, serve up the potato cakes and pour the beans over them. That's it and it's DELISH.

Spinach Feta Quiche by Colleen Guenther

I'm really not the baking type.

Anywhos, I have decided to do some baking by baking up some quiche. Now, I am not sure if using a pre-made crust even qualifies as baking but I'm going with it. I was recommended PAPPY's pie crust which I can now also recommend. It's delicious! The only bummer about it, and this also falls into the annoying category about baking in general,  is that you have to get out the flour and make a huge mess rolling out the dough. So, if you are not in the mood for this, you can also use the pre-molded frozen pie crusts and it makes this delicious quiche that much more attainable with even less effort. Now, sometimes I do want to put a lot of effort into my meals, but Sunday mornings generally are not a good time for that:

Enough of the chatter, enjoy!

What you Need:
1 pie crust
1TBS Olive oil
5 beaten eggs
1/2 white onion diced
2-3 large handfuls of spinach
1/4 feta crumbled
1/4 cup half and half
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Follow instructions on how to bake up your pie crust on the package.
2. Sautee your onions in the olive oil for a couple of minutes on medium.
3. Then, add your spinach and lightly wilt (should take a minute or two).
4. Transfer onions and spinach to a large bowl and add the rest of your ingredients.
5. Give 'er a nice mix, pour into your pie crust and back for 30-35 minutes.
6. Once all baked up, remove your quiche from the oven and let sit for about 15 minutes before you serve. This helps set up the quiche even more.
7. Cheers and enjoy!