Thursday, September 11, 2014

Quinoa Veggie Salad - Recipe

On Sunday we celebrated my Grandma's 79th birthday with a big family pot luck.  I wanted to make something new and something healthy, so I headed to my Pinterest boards to find some inspiration.  I found this recipe for Quinoa Veggie Salad from Pinch of Yum.  The salad looked delicious and I had most of the ingredients at home already, so I decided to make it.  I changed the recipe a little bit to accommodate things I did/didn't have on hand.  You can find the original version HERE, but here is the way I made it:

Ingredients

For the Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons warm water
3 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of parsley

For the Salad:
1 cup cooked quinoa
12 leaves romaine lettuce
1 large carrot, peeled
1 cup cherry tomaotoes, halved
1 cucumber, chopped in to bit size pieces
Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1.  Cook the quinoa according to package directions.  When finished cooking, chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.  The texture of the salad is better when the quinoa is cool and crumbles a little more easily (instead of hot and sticky).

2.  Puree the dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Store in fridge until ready to use.

3.  Shred/chop the lettuce in to bit size pieces (whatever size you like it). Cut the carrots in to a few big chunks and mince them in the food processor.  Toss the tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers together.  Toss the cooled quinoa with the dressing; then add the carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

4.  When you are ready to serve, toss with the lettuce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


I LOVED the way the salad turned out and would make it again in a heartbeat.  I had enough left to take for lunch the next day, and it was still fresh the next day.  It was super easy and it made a good sized bowl that was perfect to take as my dish to pass.  And it was healthy which made it even better!




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3 comments:

  1. That looks yummy! Quinoa is one of my new favorite grains along with Farro! It's like barley but healthier! YUM
    Cant wait to try this recipe!
    Ann
    annstersdomain.blogspot.com

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  2. ahh I love quinoa! adding it to salad keeps us full so much longer too- bonus!

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  3. I've been wanting to try out Quinoa for a while, so this recipe might be the perfect excuse to finally try it out. Thanks for sharing at DDT Ericka!

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