I was rummaging through the fridge one day 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 another 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 those who do not eat grains and need an alternative. It’s not a grain but can act as 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). However, I do not recommend quinoa for those healing a leaky gut. When I do make quinoa I cook it in homemade chicken stock to enhance its nutritive qualities and flavor. I use this basic recipe for quinoa from Real Food Kosher.
- 2 heaping cups cooked quinoa
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced (for optimal flavor, use grilled chicken)
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- ½ cup cucumber, diced
- 2½ 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.
- 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.
- Option: Make a big batch of quinoa and portion into containers in portions (usually 2 cups is a good amount of cooked quinoa) and then freeze it.
This post has been contributed to the ‘Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop‘ over at A Moderate Life.
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{ 6 comments }
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!
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