Quinoa Salad Option #2

Today I decided to make Quinoa Salad once again, but to my dismay a few of the key ingredients from the last recipe were missing from my pantry - specifically black beans and red peppers, and I was about a 1/3 cup short on the Quinoa, but I decided to go for it anyway and found the alternative to be quite delightful. I kept the sauce recipe the same, except I was generous on the fresh ginger - it really does taste better with more! I added closer to 1 tsp. rather than 1/2 tsp this time. Since there was less quinoa, the salad has more flavor and I added half a yellow pepper and a handful of chopped strawberries for an infusion of color and flavor to take the place of the black beans and the red pepper. Delish!!

The recipe for this salad is as follows: 

2/3 cup dry quinoa - cooked and cooled (I cooked mine for 25 minutes in 1 1/2 cups boiling water and 1 T. butter - but keep in mind that I am cooking at high altitude so yours might be different :) 

Chop up the following fruits/veggies: 

1 ripe mango

4-5 strawberries

1/2 a large yellow pepper

1 ripe avocado 

Mix together in another bowl:

2 T. olive oil

Juice and zest of 1 lime

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. sugar 

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

I dump the avocado into the sauce so the lime juice will keep it from browning and then gently add this mixture in with the quinoa and the fruits/veggies until everything is well combined. Yum!!

Peanut Butter Pie

If the way to a man's stomach is through his heart, then this is the recipe that sealed the deal! My hubby loves this recipe so much that I have to make two pies  - one to share and one just for him! To make the crust, see my pie crust recipe from an earlier post. The crumbs are a simple mix of peanut butter and powdered sugar. I mix the two ingredients together with my hands in a large bowl until I get the color and consistency I like. I'm honestly not sure what the ratio is so I just add until it looks right. I apologize for the lack of specificity, but here are some pictures to help :).

The vanilla pie filling recipe is from an old cookbook my mom gave me when I was little. I don't even know if it's still in print, but here it is.  This recipe makes enough for 1 pie.

Mix in a medium saucepan:

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup (heaping) cornstarch

¼ tsp. salt

Add:

3 cups milk (cold)

Cook over medium heat until boils and thickens, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and blend part of this hot mixture with

3 egg yolks

Add back into saucepan and heat until bubbling. Remove from heat and add

2 T. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

Chill and then beat with an electric mixer to make creamy. 

Cover the bottom of a cooled pie crust with a generous layer of peanut butter crumbs, pour the vanilla pie filling on top, add another layer of peanut butter crumbs, top with whipped cream (cool whip or the real thing both work great), and then with a few more crumbs and voila! Enjoy the yummy goodness!!