Adventure Begins in the Kitchen
A starter of butter, garlic, and onion almost always leads to delicious things. And because it takes such minimal time and effort, it’s my foundation for every sautéed veggie, rice, and quinoa dish.
Asparagus, zucchini, squash, green beans. These veggies, mixed with butter, garlic, and onion, are the constant go-to. But tonight my camera and I were craving a pop of color and that’s how the idea of adding broiled tomatoes {another old favorite} came about.
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When Mission Foods asked if I’d like to test out their gluten-free tortillas and create a recipe, I was pumped. I love quesadillas. Prior to blogging and social media, when there was no proof of meals enjoyed, more of my dinners were bean and cheese quesadillas than not. But as I got older, a combination of things happened {in addition to blogging} that changed how I ate. One of the more recent things is the ongoing back and forth between specialists to determine whether or not I have an autoimmune condition and their conflicting opinions regarding the affects of gluten on those who are in the increasingly popular autoimmune club. Without getting wayyy off track, I’ll leave it at.. I try to eat gluten-free as much as possible, but because I don’t have Celiac Disease, I’m not too hard on myself when life gets in the way.
Moving on back to quesadillas, I couldn’t bring myself to write a post about my beloved bean and cheese combo. And I tried mixing it up a little by adding shredded rotisserie chicken and some cumin and, although good, they just didn’t feel special enough to blog about. Then I thought about reuben quesadillas! And my roommate and officemate both made a “sick!” face. I’m still not convinced that a reuben quesadilla would be gross, but I decided it was best to move on {you should have seen their faces}.
Just as I was feeling completely out of ideas, I thought of steak and eggs with salsa verde and how I hadn’t seen that smushed between tortillas before – and that’s how this post was born. And the addition of caramelized onions, avocado, and fresh cilantro packed this quesadilla with enough nutrients and complexity to make them a meal.
I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site and Mission Foods. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of payment, product or experiences.
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Spinach, artichoke, and feta is an all-time favorite combo of mine. Pizza, pasta, omelets, whatever the vehicle, this trifecta is sure to win me over {and I bet it would win you over, too}.
It’s shocking, really, how long it’s taken me to pair meat with such an established love. But tonight, it happened. I whipped out the tenderizer and fancy skewers and stuffed, stuffed, stuffed that sirloin.
What came out of the oven resembled little, tender meat “tacos” bursting with veggie flavor and a hint of tangy feta. What’s more, this recipe is easily multiplied for more servings and stores wonderfully for lunch the next day!
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This past weekend, I spent a lot of time getting cozy with nature and this book. And even though there was a seemingly quotable line on every page, there was one quote in particular that resonated with me – “The right constraints can lead you to your very best work”.
I haven’t yet addressed why the past 50 days have been filled with gluten-free and dairy-free recipes, because I had {still have} hopes that it was irrelevant. My intention isn’t to deliver good gluten/dairy free recipes, it is to deliver delicious recipes. Period.
And to circle back around to the above referenced quote, I can’t help but believe that these constraints are creating a better FoodFash.
So today I bring you another delicious recipe: orange peppers {turned yellow in the oven} stuffed with cubed sirloin, quinoa, and some staple stuffed-pepper veggies.
Using cubed sirloin and quinoa gave this dish texture and prevented the mush that is so commonly associated with traditional stuffed peppers. The onions, tomatoes, and garlic provided the bulk of the flavor. And the bell pepper, well the bell pepper provided the most photogenic bowl ever {and some additional flavor as well}.
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