Q is for Quaker Oats: Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies (Jennifer)

Hello readers!
A few months ago, I was at Anthropologie and spotted a neat book called "Milk and Cookies." It's a book about, you guessed it, milk and cookies. Eighty-nine recipes to be exact of sweet and pure cookie goodness. I finally had a chance to crack open this book recently to really pour over the recipes in hopes of finding a nugget of inspiration for this week's letter.

And whadd'ya know? Nestled in the pages between Milk Chocolate Caramel Cookies and White Chocolate Macademic Nut Cookies was this little gem of a recipe for Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies. Now, I know what you're thinking...wasn't my secret ingredient this week for Quaker Oats? Well, yes. Yes, it was. Now allow me to explain how this all comes together. It works. I promise. : )

Q is for Quinoa: Quinoa Zucchini Lasagna (Jessica)

Hello All!

This week, I opted for something that would feed me for a while. Or at least for a few days! Cooking for one (mostly) is always kind of a pain, but it does mean that there are a lot of leftovers when I make a big recipe. This lasagna recipe definitely made enough for me to have lunch for 2 days and dinner for 2 days...yay for not having to buy lunch at work all the time! Seriously, it's way less expensive, and can be way healthier, to bring my own food and reheat it. Plus, lasagna is pretty much always appealing to me as it covers my favorite food groups: cheese and pasta.

What, not real food groups you say??


Meh, I don't believe it!

Q is for Quinoa Quiche (Jennifer)

Hello!

Have you ever had an ingredient in your kitchen that you really need to use in a hurry before it has to be thrown out (and then major guilt sets in due to the wasted food potential)? Last week, the produce in my local grocery store was just so stunning, I ended up buying enough nectarines, peaches, grapes and tomatoes to feed a small army (though I really should have bought with only two in mind). Ugh...I hate when I do that. My poor bowl of peaches sat on the counter all week while my mind played tug-of-war in my head. It went something like this: "I just can't bare to eat another peach." Followed by, "Look at that poor bowl of peaches, just sitting there waiting for someone to eat them." Double ugh. And then, when I thought of making a cobbler or something else with them, I gave one a little squeeze and the guilt set in. It was too late...mush, mush, mush.

Well, determined not to let the demise of the peaches happen to my eggs, I set out to make a quiche. It's one of the easiest and tastiest ways to use up all of your eggs, pronto. And because this week's letter is "Q", I added some quinoa to my quiche. Because what's more fun that saying "quinoa quiche"?

Q is for Quinoa Salad (Jessica)

Happy August!

I can't believe it's already August, it feels like summer can't be winding to a close, it just started! But alas, soon another school year will begin and we'll start thinking about eating more pumpkin (yum) and apple cider and imagining that it will be cold here in California (I hope it stays warm!).

In the meantime, to stave off the advancing seasons, I'm writing to you about a delicious and very summery quinoa salad. Perfect for lunch or as a side-dish to something done on the grill. And pretty darn healthy as well.