This week I’m up to some painting and laying flooring. I took the week off to help out with the old house. Tony has been needing some extra help for a while and this is the first week I could take off. I finally felt confident enough to take the week off because I have someone who can at least cover some of my job duties. It’s a relief. We are getting rid of all the color in the house to sell. That’s the only thing that sucks. I didn’t think the colors were too out there, but that doesn’t mean a buy won’t think so and I don’t want someone to turn away because of it. I learned a lot from my mom when she sold real estate. People can get turned off by the slightest thing. People turned down great houses over something as insignificant as paint color. Alas, so everything will be white.

This weeks recipe is something simple. I am starting with Pizza Margherita Quinoa Casserole from Better Homes and Gardens. This one will take some work. The sodium is kind of high because of all of the cheese as well as there being tomato. I have a feeling this will no longer be the style of pizza listed in the recipe, but a different one. We’ll see how this goes.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I deleted the added salt to reduce the sodium.
• I replaced the marinara sauce with a seasoned pumpkin puree to remove the tomato and increase the vitamin A.
• I deleted the grape tomatoes and tomato paste to remove the tomato.
• I added red bell pepper to increase the vitamin C.
• I increased the servings from 5 to 8 to reduce the calories.
• I reduced the amount of shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese to reduce the sodium but keep the flavor

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Pizza Margherita Quinoa Casserole

Serves 8

• 2 cup water
• 1 ¼ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• ⅓ cup dairy free heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz.)
• ¾ cup shredded fresh basil
• 6 ounce fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 4- to 6-qt. Dutch oven combine the water and quinoa. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, if the water is not absorbed, turn off the heat and keep the lid on for another 5 minutes.
2. Stir pumpkin puree, sage, garlic powder, chili powder and ginger into quinoa. Stir in the next four ingredients (through black pepper). Fold in the red bell pepper, the shredded mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup of the basil.
3. Top with fresh mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven. Let stand 10 minutes. Top with remaining 1/2 cup basil.