I was rummaging through the fridge today wondering what to have for lunch, and stumbled upon a medley of random ingredients I knew would make an awesome salad. I had some chicken from one night, and some chopped veggies from last night’s taco dinner, and fresh herbs in the garden and a random bit of goat cheese leftover. Don’t ya just love how leftovers can meld together so nicely sometimes?! Thankfully, I have been keeping already cooked quinoa on hand for such an occasion as this.
Quinoa is great for me since I do not eat grains anymore. It’s not a grain, but can act like a grain replacement in many dishes. It’s also chock full of nutrients and especially good for you when soaked prior to cooking (as soaking removes the saponins and anti-nutrients). I cook my quinoa in homemade chicken stock to enhance it’s nutritive qualities and flavor.
All that said, here’s the recipe I came up with today;
2 heaping cups cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked chicken, diced (mine was leftover from grilling and had a nice smokey flavor)
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
2 1/2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (or feta would also be nice)
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
handful of mint, minced
handful of oregano, minced (or whatever fresh herbs float your boat, or are on hand)
Place all the ingredients in a bowl, toss together and serve over a bed of lettuce, or by itself topped with some salsa, or chopped olives and toasted pine nuts. Yum!!
To make the quinoa;
Place 2 cups quinoa in a bowl and cover with warm water for 12 hours or overnight. Strain the quinoa through a fine mesh strainer. Place in a pot with 4 cups water or chicken stock and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook for 1 hour. I like to make a big batch of quinoa and portion into containers in portions I know I will use in a given recipe (usually 2 cups is a good amount of cooked quinoa) and then freeze it, keeping one container in the fridge too. Then I have it when I need it already made up – just pull it out of the freezer and I am good to go!!
This post has been contributed to the ‘Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop‘ over at A Moderate Life.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I truly enjoyed this. It is very educational and useful. I will return to check on upcoming posts.
Glad you enjoyed it Chelsea!!
Oh yeah…leftovers that were some how meant to end up in perfect harmony
Love it! This is an awesome sounding chicken salad. Thanks for sharing it with Two for Tuesdays!
I just learned how to cook quinoa so that it tastes good a few weeks ago, so it’s ending up in a lot of my leftover re-creations too.
Lydie! I love this kind of “throw together” meal that comes out GREAT! It really does stretch not only our culinary skill and taste palette, it also stretches your budget!
Thanks for posting on the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! 
Alex@amoderatelife
What a yummy throw together meal, you would never know it wasn’t planned! thanks for linking this to Two for Tuesdays!