rice and pasta help

hey ladies and gentlemen need some ideas due to the fact i get home so late from 2nd job cooking big and healthy is out of question for me except weekends,. i love rice but recently it gets stuck and thin spg so need suggestions i always get my steak chix or turkey in first poeple talk about quinoa what is that and can u make it taste like rice pilaf all and pasta somehting spaghetti squash> just looking for ideas, i love my crockpot but sometimes dont have time in morning to whip everytjing in,, any suggestions would be great


catheine

I'll be interested in hearing about quinoa, since I've never tried it either.  I did try cous cows the other day, though - just a few bites, but that was fine.  I really like it, even the plain flavor, but you can buy packages with seasonings included (much like rice pilaf) - flavors are a bit different, but really good.  My favorite is parmesan flavor.  I love that it's QUICK, too - cooks in around 5 minutes.

i use both.
I do Qiunoa in the microwave takes about 10 mins or so. just add the liquid 2 to 1 cover and nuke, i have used it in cold salads, hot with sauce or with Gravy.

i also nuke the spag squash by *****ing the skin in a bunch of place put it on a plate and nuke it still soft i let it cool before cutting and remove the seeds and scrap out the spaggeti,
agian i put sauce on it or one of my favs hot with garlic and little butter with crumbled goat cheese. yummy

Catherine,

Both quinoa and spaghetti squash are good options but are quite different from each other. Quinoa does have a good source of protein and is part of the grain family. You can normally find it in a box near the rice in the grocery store and even comes in different colors....yellow, red, black. There are so many different recipes out there, one of my favs is to cook it with some dried cranberries and slivered almonds. Pierce loves it with cilantro and sauteed onions, the options are limitless. Spaghetti squash is just that, a squash and though it has a slight sweetness to it many people substitute it for pasta and put sauce on it. Honestly I prefer it with just a tad of margarine. One spaghetti squash will give you quite a few servings too, so you'll have left overs. Try a tofu noodle if you can find them, the texture might be a bit different and might not get stuck. Perhaps though your just so tired when you get home from work that your eating too fast and that's why your getting stuck?? Hope this helps some. Take care of yourself, that's the main thing!

thank you flower im going to pick some up this weekend and try it and ive thought about it and maybe cause im so tired i want to eat and relax however i dont want to lay right down after just these hours are messing with me. thank god no more part time in march just tomuch. i love cranberries deffinetly going to try thank you.


p.s hope your feeling well ( woth of you :) )

catherine.

Hi Catherine,

Honestly, I think I'd be so tired after working two jobs that I'd just have a protein shake and be done with it. Let me know what you think of the quinoa and spaghetti squash if you try them.

Meg

I had a thought, how about cooking a crock pot chili or soups on the weekends and heating up some for dinner during the week? You could do that with any crock pot meals that you like. It would take some time on weekends to do the prep work but will save alot of time during the week.