Feta & Turkey Stuffed Tomatoes with Quinoa

The best part of the recipe is the tomato sauce for the quinoa! Although all of it is great. And you can pat yourself on the back for eating something healthy, too, since tomatoes are really good for you, as are turkey and quinoa (did you know that quinoa may help prevent migraines?). If you've never tried quinoa, I highly recommend it. It has a lovely nutty flavor but it's very mild. You can, of course, substitute rice or pasta if you're not sure about trying it--but I encourage you to take the leap!

You will need:

6 medium to large tomatoes
1 lb ground turkey breast
6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces
kosher salt
pepper
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
3 tsp whole leaf thyme (dried or fresh)
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup quinoa

baking dish
nonstick cooking spray
mixing bowl
chef's knife
cutting board
3 quart saucepan
wooden mixing spoon
rice cooker
2 large serving spoons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out he insides just like you would a Halloween pumpkin. If the insides are still in large chunks, cut them into smaller ones and put them in the saucepan.

Mix the turkey, feta, sundried tomatoes, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, half the garlic, and 2 tsps of thyme in the mixing bowl. I use two forks to do this. Spoon the turkey mixture into the empty tomatoes, packing it in with just a bit over the top. Put the tops of the tomatoes back on like lids. Bake for 40 minutes or until the tops of the tomatoes and visible edges of the meat are dark brown--ovens can vary so it's important that you check that the tomatoes look done.

In the mean time, cook the insides of the tomatoes with the rest of the garlic and thyme, and a pinch of salt. I tend to start the heat a bit higher, get it cooking, and then turn it down to a low simmer. Near the end of the 40 minutes add the half and half to the tomato sauce and stir well, breaking down any clumps remaining with your wooden spoon.

At about 10 minutes in to the bake time, start the quinoa in the rice cooker. I always use a bit more than twice the water as quinoa--better that quinoa be a little over cooked than under, unless you like it crunchy.

At the end of the 40 or when tomatoes are well browned, use two serving spoons to carefully scoop a tomato out and plate it. The tomatoes will be easy to damage as the baking softens them. Serve quinoa with a generous helping of tomato sauce on top. Enjoy!

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Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was pregnant, I made these cookies at least once a week, and I couldn't keep my hands off of them. I have more restraint now, for some reason, but they are still yummy. The whole grain oat flour is what makes them stay soft even after they cool--and it's healthy for you, too. The only thing is, I advise you to avoid the gluten-free version unless you need to use it for allergy reasons. I tried it once and it made things unpleasant for me, digestion-wise. If you do use it, don't indulge in more than one cookie at a time.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of whole grain oat flour
1 tsp aluminum-free baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt (if it's not kosher, use 1/2 tsp)
2 sticks of softened margarine*, cut into pieces.
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

two mixing bowls
whisk
hand mixer
parchment paper
nonstick cooking spray
one or two cookie sheets
spatula
two small spoons

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt in one bowl. If the two bowls are of different sizes, use the smaller one for the dry ingredients. Also, as an aside, I would never purchase plastic mixing bowls, because the day will come when you need to beat egg whites in them, and plastic makes it nearly impossible to get egg whites to stiffen. So if you're thinking of purchasing some mixing bowls, go with metal (copper if you can afford it--best, once again, for egg whites) or pyrex.

Whisk to remove lumps--I always do this rather than sifting, which takes too long for me and also tires out my hand. Once you're satisfied that the lumps are gone, add the chocolate chips and mix.

With the hand mixer, beat the margarine, sugars, and vanilla extract until fully blended. Add the eggs, beating them in. The margarine gives this mixture a strange, grainy quality, as in the photo.Gradually add in the flour mixture, perhaps in 3 parts, or 4.

Spray the cookie sheet(s) with nonstick cooking spray and then line with parchment paper--this makes removing the cookies easy later, and clean up is that much quicker. Using the two spoons, scoop cookie dough and put it in large dollops (just under the size of a golf ball) onto the parchment paper, taking care to keep them apart. These will spread, and run into each other, if they are too close together.

Bake for 10 minutes (although you should probably set your timer for 8 minutes with the first batch since my oven may be different from yours). Cookies are done when they are a medium brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the sheet for about 7-9 minutes. If you are working with a second cookie sheet you can put it in, and use the spatula to move the baked cookies from their sheet to a plate about a minute or two before the next batch is ready.

Makes about 20-25 cookies.
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* I use Blue Bonnet. I don't know whether Blue Bonnet is the best margarine to use, but I will say that between choosing butter and stick margarine, I would choose stick margarine every time. It just tastes better.