Cooking Day!!

I try very hard to have a cooking day every couple weeks where I make batches of things that freeze and re-heat really nice. Yesterday was that day and here is what I made:

1. Package of Quinoa (great side/main dish with almost anything)

2. Crockpot full of BBQ Beef ribs

I have to say, if you're not familiar with Quinoa, which I wasn't until about a year ago, you should try it. It tastes great, cooks super fast and is a source of complete protein. Bonus for the GF party, right?

One box is around $4.59, but that is 6 cups of cooked Quinoa (a serving is 1/2 cup). All nutrition considered and gf aside - much better value than something like couscous.

Once you have your giant bowl of Quinoa it can go in lots of directions. Served with any number of sauces, meats and veggies as a side dish or as a main dish when you do something like stir in some feta, red wine vinegar, olives, red onion and diced chicken (one of my faves!). I also love it for a comfort food breakfast with some butter and maple syrup or Soymilk and a dash of cinnamon. You'll see - you'll love it!

Next I throw some stuff together in the Crockpot for BBQ.

Here's my recipe that I start with but hardly ever measure anymore so it's more of a splash, glug and pinch, depending on how much sauce I need. Also, to save on dish washing, I stir up the sauce right in the Crockpot before I add the meat (no browning necessary).

*be sure and taste the sauce to make sure it's right before the meat goes in*

4-6 hours on high does the trick and then I serve it with the Quinoa or mashed potatoes on the side and a vegetable like broccoli or brussels sprouts

Grand total for today + 3 days of leftovers for lunch: ~$18.00