Sweet breakfast - Berry Quinoa

Today's post is not my typical sweet, but it is a sweet indeed.  As part of the healthy start for 2013, I tried a new breakfast recipe found on 101 Cookbooks.

Until this, I'd only had quinoa as a savory item, replacing rice or barley as a side.  This recipe confirmed that quinoa is an excellent breakfast food, too!  The finished product is warm, filling, satisfying, healthy, and despite the lack of white sugar, surprisingly sweet!  This will definitely have a spot on our weekend breakfast routine this year.

To try this for yourself, check out the original recipe at 101 Cookbooks here.  I made a few tweaks based on what I had in the cabinets:

Need:

• 1 cup skim milk 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 cup organic quinoa
• 2 cups frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 4 teaspoons agave nectar

Do:

1. Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. 
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to low once it boils.
3. Let mixture simmer with the cover on for 15-20 minutes, then turn off heat and let it sit covered for another 5.
4. While the quinoa is simmering, heat oven to 350F. 
5. Spread walnuts on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.   
6. Defrost frozen berries in the microwave, and drain most of the liquid off of them.  
7. Stir the berries and cinnamon into quinoa, then portion out and top off each with the toasted walnuts and a teaspoon of the agave nectar.

Enjoy!  If you try this recipe, or have other great breakfast quinoa recipes to recommend, let me know in the comments below!

Sunday Summer Berry Pie

Sometimes a summer night just needs some pie.  Berry pie.  And ice cream, of course.  Ever have one of those weekends, where this...

Is the perfect cap-off to this...?

Boston skyline from Spectacle Island

If you're anything like me, you don't feel like doing much besides sitting on the couch and sipping a glass of wine after a sunny day at the beach, but this pie is simple and totally worth the ten extra minutes on your feet.

This is an awesome berry pie that uses frozen berries and is nice and quick to put together (although I'm sure in-season, fresh berries would make it even better!)  If your summer night needs a little dessert, whip this up and you'll be happy as pie, sweets ;)

As always, let me know what you think if you try this recipe out by posting a note in the comments below.

Triple Berry Pie:
Need:

• Enough pie dough for 2 crusts (for this one, I just bought the Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts in the refrigerated section at the food store.  Note- Pillsbury did not ask me to post them, I just really like their pre-made pie-crust and highly recommend it if you don't feel like rolling out your own!)
• 5 cups frozen mixed berries 
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Do:

1. Mix the frozen berries with sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Let stand for 45 minutes so the berries can thaw out a little bit.  (I did this step, then took a shower and blow-dried my hair which took about 35 minutes and then kept going...perfect timing!)
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F
3. Line a pie plate with half of the crust (or 1 crust, if you bought the 2-pack)
4. Pour all the berries into the pie crust and spread around making an even layer
5. Place the second crust on top and crimp the edges to seal
6. Cut a few slits in the top crust to let the steam out
7. I brushed the top of my pie with a little milk and put some Sugar in the Raw on top, but you can skip this step if you'd like.
8. Cover the edges of your pie with tin foil so they don't burn
9. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes, then remove the foil from the edges
10. Bake at 375 for an additional 30 minutes - the pie should be bubbly and crust nice and gold at this point.
11. Let the pie cool completely if you want nice and neat slices, or, you can dig right in and enjoy some nice gooey berry pie with a scoop of ice cream on top like I did :)

Step 1:  Berries + Sugar + Flour + Cinnamon

Step 1 cont.  Mix 'em up!

Steps 3 & 4 (after heating the oven) line a pie plate and fill with berry mixture

Steps 5, 6, 7- Put on top crust, crimp edges, brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar and cut steam slits

Fresh out of the oven, hot berry pie

I spy hot pie. <3