Quinoa

Per bag instructions (HEB organics super grain blend):

-1 cup grains + 2 cups water + 1 tsp salt

-Sort and rinse grains before use.
-Bring water and grains to a boil
-Add salt (optional)
-Cover saucepan with tight fitting lid and cook on low heat for 15-20 min. 
-Remove from heat leaving lid on, and let stand covered for 3-5 min or until water is absorbed

Lentils

Per HEB bag instructions (brown lentils)
3-4 cups hot water + 1 cup lentils 
Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes 

Meal prepping:
1/2 cup lentils + 2 cups water
240 g lentils —> 48 g per serving (x5)
—> do a "FULL" 1/2 cup next

Pearl Barley

Quaker Oat Pearl Barley

3 cups cooked barley = 4 cups water + 3/4 cups barley + dash salt

9 cups cooked barley (full box) = 12 cups water + 2-1/3 cups barley + 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Stir barley and salt into briskly boiling water

2. Cover, reduced heat and simmer for 45 to 50 min or until tender. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min

3. Store in fridge up to a week

1st time trying:

1/2 cup barley + 2.667 cups of water = 70 g per serving (x5)

Dash of salt

Next time try:

<1/2 cup barley + 2.5 cups of water

Okra

Cook all of the okra because it shrinks like crazy
Don't overcook!

Air fryer 425 for 20 min (30 min too much and I left it in after turning oven off)

Pork chops

Eric was craving a pork chop since we had breakfast with Kristen and her family at Toasted Yolk.  He had wanted to order the pork chop, but got french toast instead and regretted his decision.

I think cooking pork chops is very similar to cooking steak except I turned the heat off the stove, added the butter and herbs and basted - cooking the steaks for another couple of minutes on either side with the heat off.

I was so surprised at how good it tasted. toot toot.

Ingredients:

1. THICK cut bone in pork chops

2. avocado oil

3. butter

4. herbs

Instructions:

1. Take pork chops out of the fridge, pat dry, and season on both sides with salt. Sit for 30 min.

2. Heat up pan and add avocado oil

3. Cook pork chop for 4 min, flip and cook for another 4 min and add garlic powder/onion powder or whatever spices you wanted to add.

4. Sear sides

5. Turn stove off and add butter and herbs and baste for about 1 min each side

Black Beans in Instant Pot

114 g of beans
2 cups of water 

45 minutes + 30 min release (forgot about it) - see how it is with less time on the release

Roasted Garlic and Lemon Cashew Pasta

Recipe taken from ourbalancedbowl.com and plantedinthekitchen.com

I started out with the former, but definitely needed to add other ingredients. I didn't measure either. I feel I made a basic recipe, and Eric said it needed more "oomph." He added basil and roasted pine nuts that he said made it much better.

I think cashew sauce would make a good substitute for anything that says heavy cream.

The sauce blended made a little over 2 cups of sauce, so probably could use less cashew.

Served with onions, mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper. I cooked the onion and mushrooms separately.  Added the broccoli and bell pepper last to pan and then added the cashew sauce to the pan.

Ingredients:

-1.5 cups of cashews (maybe a little less)

-1.5 cups of water (I used 1 cup and would consider using bone broth for more flavor or reserved pasta water)

-1 head of garlic (used 1, but needed 2) - roasted in oven / maybe try raw garlic?

-1 TBSP olive oil

-1 tsp salt (probably used more)

-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I used 1 small habanero cooked on stove and was perfect amount of heat)

-1 TBSP nutritional yeast (I used less because I was afraid Eric wouldn't like it, but it was pretty neutral flavor)

-2 TBSP lemon juice (I used half a lemon for the sauce and half lemon to marinate chicken with lemon zest and it was perfect amount of lemon)

-1/2 cup of oat milk (didn't use)

Directions:

1. Soak cashews in water for 2-4 hrs (or 30 min with boiling water)

2. Roast garlic in oven - with olive oil in foil for 50 minutes at 400 F

3. Heat up habanero in pan until char

3. Blend cashews, garlic, half lemon, salt, nutritional yeast, habanero - set aside