Two super quick lunches

We so often struggle to stick with our lunch plans, mostly because it's so hard to throw something together in our alotted hour.  Sandwiches, soups, and salads are the typical format for lunch at home--and this format serves us well for the most part.  Sandwiches, like the above turkey bacon BLT, are usually quick to assemble.  Michael layered Swiss cheese onto a few slices of Ancient Grains bread from Columbia's Uprise bakery, and stuck them under the broiler for a couple minutes.  He sauteed some turkey bacon in our cast iron pan, drained it, and assembled the sandwich with some sliced tomatoes and bib lettuce.  It was fab--and maybe just a teensy bit lower in fat and carbs than the original BLT.

The pinto bean soup above came together in record time.  I sauteed half a diced yellow onion in broth (we'd just run out of olive oil), added a 15 oz can of pintos, 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth, a few tablespoons of salsa verde, some garlic powder (yes, I cheat sometimes), a couple tablespoons of cumin, salt, pepper and a few squeezes of fresh lime juice into the simmering pot.  If you like a little kick to your quasi-Mexican food, add a pinch of cayenne.  I would say, from start to finish, this soup took about 20 minutes. Not bad at all.  Michael and I loved it.  I garnished mine with a little cilantro.  He packed some more for his afternoon snack, 'cuz the boy loves him some beans.

Quinoa: the other other ancient grain

Finally! I've sold Michael on quinoa.  I never thought he would come around, but he's actually been looking forward to leftovers of this dish.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this is a tasty ancient grain with a full complement of amino acids which makes it a complete protein (perfect for vegetarians), but there, I just did.

Pictured here, our simple evening meal of black bean and tomato quinoa from Serious Eats.  This particular recipe is built upon familiar Latin American flavors like lime, cilantro, black beans, and tomatoes--ideal when you consider that quinoa originated in South America.  If anyone finds themselves trying this recipe, there will be a point where you agonize over how to strain the water off the tiny grains after the initial boiling in salted water.  Don't panic.  Just drain MOST of the water off over the finest sieve you own, but don't dump it all out of the pan into the sieve.  Leave a little bit of water in, loosely fit the lid onto the pan and turn the heat as low as possible, allowing the quinoa to absorb the water (similar to rice) for another 10 minutes.  Follow the rest of the instructions as written after that point.  Quinoa is an extremely unfussy grain and it's such a hearty food that it makes an ideal one dish simple supper.

Amy's White Chicken Chili

Yet another keeper from Kalyn's collection of delicious South Beach friendly recipes.  The truly great thing is this:  you chop an onion, open a few cans,  and let everything simmer a while.  That's it.  Top it with whatever.  Here we've got a big handful of cilantro leaves and crumbled fat-free feta.