Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili

There's a ton of talk about quinoa being a super food

and having a ton of health benefits and whatnot.

I've honestly never had it and certainly never cooked it,

until I saw this pin.

I figured it was time I gave it a whirl.

Here are the ingredients:

 The good news is it's a crock pot recipe,

so it's super easy and impossible to screw up.

Add all the ingredients into a crock pot,

starting with vegetable broth.

Then you've got some chopping to do.

Add in cubed sweet potato-

Chop up some garlic, red onion,

 and red pepper.

 Throw it all in the crock pot -

 Next dump in your cans of black beans and fire roasted diced tomatoes, 

And then add some tomato paste and uncooked quinoa.

Finally, it's time for your spices -

Here's a look at your beautiful dinner before cooking.

Give it a good stir and cook for few hours 

and you'll end up with this!

A very tasty chili that when topped with avocado is simply divine.

 The whole family liked it and it felt good trying something new and 

serving up a healthy meal. 

Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili

3 c. diced sweet potato
1 c. diced red onion
1 c. diced bell peppers
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (28 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
4 c. vegetable broth
2 Tbs tomato paste
½ c. uncooked quinoa
1 - 1½ Tbs chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
½ tsp cayenne 
Salt & pepper to taste

Add all ingredients into a crock pot. Turn on high and cook for 4 hours, turn down to low and continue to cook until ready to serve. Serve with diced avocado and tortilla chips.

Officer Down

What can I say?
Adam left for work tonight.
His first shift back since the shooting.
You'd have to be living under a rock to not know about the events that took place in Fargo last week.

It was the worst.
For everyone. 
For the family trying to escape. 
For the officer we're all mourning, his family and friends.
For the community as a whole.
For his fellow brothers and sisters in arms who had to live it, 
process it and just keep working.
To rescue him.
To end the standoff.
To get through one very long and painful night.

I've talked with some other law enforcement wives over the past few days.
We all hug our officers a little bit tighter.
Since it happened, Adam can do no wrong around the house.
The little things that irritate me, 
like leaving dirty dishes piled on the counter, 
have no effect on me now. 
I just pick them up, rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher.
Happy that he's there to get them dirty at all.
Or Adam snoring louder than humanly possible right beside me.
That used to make me bonkers, instantly.
I've sent him this message before and very well meant it.

But not now.
I just scoot over a little closer, grateful that he's beside me.
Glad he's able to rest after a very stressful night.

I woke up around 1:30 a.m. that night because Emily was crying.
She cries out on and off throughout the night lately, 
while she's dealing with molars coming in. 
I looked at my phone.
I had exchanged text messages with Adam earlier about the standoff when he wrote to say he was back at the PD,
so I shouldn't worry in case I saw the news.
I knew an officer had been shot and was on his way to Sanford. 
So I checked in with Adam to see if he would be coming home on time and to get an update on the officer. Adam was supposed to be off in a half hour.
I asked if he'd be coming home on time.
He replied - No. I will be here all night. The Fargo officer won't make it.
And with those words my heart broke in two. 
I was fully awake.
I was crying.
I was aware the situation had not yet resolved and I was worried.
I didn't know then that Adam was running the West Fargo PD's response, 
but I knew he was busy and so I told him I loved him, 
that I was so sorry, and to be careful.
I felt the relief that it wasn't my husband, 
and the instant guilt that goes along with such a feeling.
Knowing he was someone else's husband, son, friend. I wondered if they knew. How on earth his family and friends were handling this and how awful it must have been to get the news. I didn't sleep the rest of the night.

I have never been naive about Adam's job. I wasn't one who thought "it would never happen here." I knew it could. In fact, as the anti-police rhetoric has grown over the past many months, I figured it was only a matter of time until something happened here. But I think I always imagined it the other way around. That a local law enforcement agency would end up shooting someone and it would be only the latest officer involved shooting to make the headlines, begin the protests and bring some chaos to our town. I did not imagine the officer would be the one who died. And that instead of protests and anger in the streets, there'd be vigils, outpourings of support, blue lights blazing on houses across the region and a sense of the community coming together to support law enforcement during this time of tragedy.

The truth is, my husband was safer during our deployment to Iraq than he is heading into work every night. I wasn't one to dwell on it. 
I wasn't filled with fear or anxiety every time he left for the night shift. 
But I surely see things differently now. 
I appreciate the little things that we are all supposed to let go of anyways. 
I don't know how long it will last. 
I'm sure his snoring will drive me nuts again, eventually. 
But for now I'm softened and so is he. 
Everything means a little more and we both know 
it could all be gone in an instant. 
A phrase I've seen a few times since the shooting, sums up the way this hit hard and close to home for all families in law enforcement -
"When it could have been any of us, it feels like all of us."
It could have been us. I know that. 
It changes you. 
I can only hope that we continue to give each other grace and show more love for years to come. That is the best kind of impact that can come from such a senseless tragedy.