The holidays are here and while I’m always full of thanks for the time to spend with family and friends (and the tasty food), by the time I’ve had my third leftover turkey or ham sandwich, I’m bored and ready for a change of pace. So when I found this recipe for Wasabi Sandwich Spread from Tasty Kitchen member, Sheila Johnson, I was intrigued. A sandwich spread to add some oomph to the leftover turkey or ham sandwich? I gave it a go and was happy that I did. It’s a simple way to change things up enough to turn an ordinary turkey sandwich into an extraordinary turkey sandwich.

And don’t be scared of the wasabi. Wasabi is your friend. Your mouth will not be on fire. Not at all. The wasabi adds a little spice but is balanced with mayo, honey and soy. A tasty combination that will leave you wishing you’d roasted another turkey. And it’s simple, too. So simple I almost didn’t post it, but then decided it was too good not to mention.

All you’ll need is mayo, wasabi paste (it comes in a cute little tube for only a few dollars), soy sauce and honey. This recipe makes a bunch and can be stored in the fridge to last through the whole holiday season. You can find the full recipe here.

In a small bowl combine all ingredients.

Mix together until smooth.

It certainly makes a plain sandwich come alive. We tried it on one of our favorite sandwich combos. It was a total success! Here’s how I used it.

Start with some roasted turkey. We also like using avocado and purple onion, sliced thinly on our favorite sandwich bread, toasted.

Begin building your sandwich with the wasabi spread going on first. Make sure you don’t skimp on the spread. You won’t need mustard or any other condiment with this spread.

Next add the turkey, the avocado, purple onion, and salt and pepper of course.

Then top it off with another layer of wasabi spread.

You’re looking at a not-so-run-of-the-mill leftover turkey sandwich, folks.

Try it. I think you’ll like it.

And thanks to Sheila Johnson, I’m looking forward to those leftovers. Wishing you the best this holiday season! Hope your kitchen is full of much love and tasty grub! (Speaking of tasty grub, check out Sheila’s blog, Eat2Gather. It’s filled with all kinds of yumminess.)

Printable Recipe

Wasabi Sandwich Spread

by Eat 2gather on October 21, 2010 in Condiments October 21, 2010 Condiments

See post on Eat 2gather’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 4 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: -

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 10

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This spread is perfect to spice up any sandwich. I personally love it on turkey. Add it to some shredded cabbage and it’s great on fish tacos.

Ingredients

• ¾ cups Hellman's Mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon Wasabi Paste
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (heaping)

Preparation Instructions

Whisk your ingredients together. Use as a sandwich spread or toss with some shredded cabbage and it’s super on fish tacos!

 
 
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Amy Johnson is a blogger who writes about food, travel, the home (both inside and out), and various observations and random musings about anything and everything. Visit her blog She Wears Many Hats for a dose of deliciousness, practicality, hilarity, or just plain fun. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children.

I think we can all agree that we’ve all hit the holiday cookie platter a little too hard. This is a safe space—we’re all friends here. But there are places where we can nip and tuck our holiday over-imbibing and make up for all our sugary grievances. This Quinoa Pilaf is totally sinless, but oh so flavorful.

Holly whipped up this little number and I can tell you, it is amazing hot or served chilled.

The lineup is pretty simple, with quinoa, dried cranberries, celery, pecans, green apples, garlic, vegetable stock, salt, pepper and red onion. In lieu of the herbes de Provence, I used Italian blend herbs for a simply substitution in a pinch. I also used fresh parsley, though for some reason, it was camera-shy.

To get started, cook the quinoa according to package directions, bringing it to a simmer using the veggie stock. The quinoa should be tender, like rice. Remove it from the stove and set aside.

While the quinoa is cooking, slice and dice the apples, onion and celery.

Into a sauté pan, cook the celery, garlic and onion. Add in the seasonings and cook until softened and tender. Then add in the wine and apples, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the stove and add into the quinoa. Fold together to incorporate all the ingredients.

Add in the dried cranberries.

Toss in pecans and parsley, then serve and devour.

Holly has a load of other vegetarian friendly recipes in her TK recipe box, and on her site American Vegetarian. Be sure to check them out for healthy inspiration.

Printable Recipe

Quinoa Pilaf with Green Apples, Dried Cranberries and Pecans

by Holly Kirby on November 20, 2013 in Holidays, Thanksgiving November 20, 2013 HolidaysThanksgiving

See post on Holly Kirby’s site!

0.00 Mitt(s) 0 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

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In this recipe I’ve used classic Thanksgiving flavors like apples and cranberries with quinoa, which may not be that familiar as a Thanksgiving ingredient but I think this mix of these ingredients will become an instant classic.

Ingredients

• 1 cup White Quinoa
• 1-½ cup Red Quinoa
• 4 cups Vegetable Stock
• ¼ cups Olive Oil
• ½ whole Red Onion, Diced
• 2 stalks Celery, Diced
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1-½ teaspoon Herbes De Provence
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• Black Pepper To Taste
• 2 whole Green Apples, Diced (Skin On)
• ½ cups Dry White Wine
• 1 cup Dried Cranberries
• 1 cup Toasted Or Maple Pecans
• ¼ cups Fresh Parsley, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh colander and drain. Pour into a heavy-bottomed stockpot. Top with vegetable stock and stir. Turn on medium high heat when stock comes to a boil, cover with lid, turn down to medium low and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until quinoa is al dente.

While quinoa is cooking place a saute pan over medium high and add olive oil, onions, celery and garlic; stir. Add herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. Saute until the onions and celery are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add apples and pour in wine, simmer 5 minutes to cook out alcohol.

Pour onion mixture over cooked quinoa and stir until combined. Add cranberries, pecans, and parsley, fold in. Check for seasoning.

Serve immediately by spooning into serving dish or can be reheated later.

To reheat, cover with lid or foil and bake in a 350ºF oven for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

 
 
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Megan Keno is the writer and photographer of Country Cleaver, a food blog fueled by Nutella and images of June Cleaver—if June wore cowboy boots and flannel, that is. A self-proclaimed country bum, Megan creates from-scratch recipes that range from simple to sublime and how-to’s to build your cooking repertoire. But she couldn’t do it without the help of her trusty—and furry—sous chef, Huckleberry. He’s a world class floor cleaner.

Quinoa has always been one of my favorite grains. I love the subtle crunch that it has when cooked and that it is so high in protein. It’s been slowly rising to stardom recently. It’s a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It’s considered a “pseudocereal,” whatever that means—not a true cereal, not a grain, since it’s not a grass. It’s related to species like beets, spinach and tumbleweeds. It is 6,000 years old and is native to the Andean region of South America. The main reason its star is on the rise here is because of its incredible nutritional value, but I like it because it takes on so many other flavors as a salad. So when I saw this Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Kalamata Olives & Mint recipe by the fabulous Dara of Cookin Canuck, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

Here is what you will need: quinoa, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, tomato, Kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, honey, lemon and fresh mint.

I just love fresh mint in the summer.

Get the quinoa cooking in water while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Once it is fluffy, let it cool. You can even be very smart about it like Dara was and lay it out on a sheet to help it cool quickly and evenly.

Next chop the Kalamata olives roughly.

Then make a small dice with the fresh tomato. You could also use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes here, whatever is easiest!

Combine the tomatoes, olives and garbanzos in a bowl and set aside.

To make the dressing, squeeze some lemon juice into a small bowl.

Next add the white wine vinegar. You could also add another vinegar that you have on hand: cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar or whatever else suits your fancy.

Next comes the honey. We just harvested the honey from our bees so this was hot off the presses, or rather hot off the hives. It’s very light and floral tasting, perfect for a salad.

Add a little sprinkle of salt!

Some peppa …

And a drizzle of olive oil. Whisk it all together.

Then comes the fresh mint, which you chop into a chiffonade or even tear up by hand.

Add the quinoa and the fresh mint and stir it all together until it’s nicely mixed.

Then drizzle in your dressing. The quinoa will soak up some of the dressing and be even more delicious.

This makes a wonderful cold salad for a summer party, or also slightly warm.

Thanks to Dara for this tasty recipe. Check out her website Cookin Canuck for more!

Printable Recipe

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Kalamata Olives & Mint

by cookincanuck on July 20, 2011 in Sides July 20, 2011 Sides

See post on cookincanuck’s site!

4.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

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If you loaded the amount of quinoa our family eats in one year into a small boat, that vessel would sink to the bottom of the sea faster than you could say “healthy mini grain” five times fast. This salad is another example of our healthy obsession.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 2 cups Water
• 1 can (14 Oz.) Chickpeas, Drained And Rinsed
• 1-½ cup Quartered Cherry Tomatoes
• ½ cups Pitted And Sliced Kalamata Olives
• 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
• ¾ teaspoons Honey
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 leaves Fresh Mint, Thinly Sliced

Preparation Instructions

In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain.

In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa and transfer to a cookie sheet, spreading the quinoa in a thin layer, to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together cooled quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes and kalamata olives. Stir well.

For the dressing, whisk together white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. While whisking constantly, slow pour in the olive oil until combined.

Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad, toss to coat and stir in fresh mint. Serve.

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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful book Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

  Quinoa is kind of my life. You see, I’m on the “pre-wedding healthy eating try to fit into a bikini for my bachelorette party” diet. Whew! That was a mouthful. And since I’m down to the last 4 months of the pre-wedding cleanse, I’ve been eating a whole lotta quinoa. It’s healthy. Easy to […]

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