quinoa beef vegetable soup

I stumbled upon this recipe by adding ingredients that we had on hand. I even had it as an after-hours snack in lieu of my usual bowl of ice cream (it turned out that good- or just happened to really satisfy an intense craving for vege'bles).

Here's what went into it--

1 lb ground beef
5 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes (to be dissolved in 4 cups water)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 medium potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil, chopped (I used freeze dried)

I don't think there was any rhyme or reason to the how or order of things going in. Just how I thought best. And I think this would actually be a good crock pot meal with the ground beef replaced with cubed beef (and the cooked quinoa reserved until the end- or added, uncooked, in the beginning). I have to add, too, that I got "Thank yous" from at least two of the four kids for making this meal tonight.

oatmeal blueberry applesauce muffins

Look at me! Posting a recipe for the first time in our new house, and we've been here since mid-October! I think this is going to be a new norm- posting every half a year or so, just so we're clear. But the muffins we made this morning were killer and healthy, so I wanted to share. Or rather, post it on here so I'll remember it when I'm wondering about how I made them later, as I'm sure that Kaethe and I are the only readers by now, but only because we get these in our inboxes. At least I do, though I'm not sure how I managed that.

Yes, we're still hanging on to Christmas around here.

Oatmeal blueberry applesauce muffins. I may have made something similar before, but I can't remember. The kids and I polished off eight of the twelve soon after they came out of the oven. Five of those may have been me, but I did share quite a bit with Opal.

Ingredients--

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line muffin pan with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg. Add applesauce mixture and stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Devour.