Serve it up Sunday!--Greek Quinoa Salad

I am constantly searching for new recipes and ideas to try in the kitchen!  I am also looking for fun, easy and healthy things to prepare for the workweek to make lunches a breeze!  You see, I am "that" girl at work.  I rarely buy my lunch from the school cafeteria (unless it is homemade chicken pie day!) When I sit down for a lunchtime meeting and look around the table, I see sandwiches, leftovers and school lunches in front of my coworkers.  I typically pull out a container filled with a grain-based salad, varieties of chicken salad, or a wrap of some sort.  "How do you have time to prepare that lunch each day?" my friends ask.  The secret?  I do 90% of my prep work on Sunday afternoon and I eat the same thing for lunch several days in a row.  I prepare the ingredients, store them in glass containers and just mix it up or roll it up (if it's a wrap) the evening before!  It makes the mornings less stressful and ensures that each family member gets the things they like in their lunch (i.e. I don't mix tomatoes into the bowl since hubby doesn't eat them!).  I get so many questions and comments about my lunch each week, that I thought I would start sharing recipes and ideas with you!  So, here you have it--Serve it up Sunday!


Week 1: Greek Quinoa Salad


If you have never tried quinoa before, you should!  It is a yummy grain that is easy to cook and mixes well in many dishes.  It is full of protein, too! The key to using Quinoa is to rinse it first. Use a fine mesh strainer to rinse!

This is multicolored quinoa--you can buy it in bulk at our local food co-op  (bonus if it is bulk food discount day!).  You can also find quinoa in the grocery store near the grains (rice, noodles, couscous) usually in a box and only one color.

Then cook your quinoa as follows: Measure out 1 cup of Quinoa and rinse.  In a medium sized pot, stir together rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. You know it is ready when the quinoa plumps up and the little "tails" pop out!

While the quinoa is cooking, I get to work chopping!  I use the same basic ingredients that you would find in a Greek salad, minus the lettuce:

Chop:

 1 large cucumber (I peel it first for The Reporter!) 

About 4 medium Roma tomatoes (or a handful of cherry tomatoes, OR a large slicing tomato, OR whatever happens to be in our CSA box!)

Half of a red onion (more or less for your preference)

Add in:

a handful of crumbled feta cheese (Yes, this is one time I indulge in a bit of dairy.)

either a small can of sliced black olives or sliced kalamata olives (Just depends on what is in the pantry)

Once the Quinoa has cooked and cooled a bit, I stir it into the chopped veggies and cheese.  Then I dress the whole bowl to taste with a little olive oil (1-2 Tbsp--man, I hate to measure!), Red wine vinegar (again, I don't measure, but I would estimate about 1 Tbsp), a splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano.  I taste as I go and start off conservatively--then I can add if I need to!

Since the quinoa is full of protein (8 grams per cup) and you can add veggies to your liking, I consider this a main course.  I usually pair it with a side of fruit and a bit of chocolate (of course) for a delicious lunch!  Quick, easy and keeps wonderfully in the fridge for a few days, so you can just dish it up as you need it, or pre-package it in your lunch containers on Sunday and just grab and go in the morning! Yum!

Next week, I have a kiddo lunch idea planed! One of the Reporter's favorites--she is helping with the photo shoot!

And. . . if breakfast has you stumped and you need a quick grab-and-go something, check out my friend's blog for a yummy granola bar recipe! De-lish!

Lots of happenings around here since I last posted. . . earthquake, hurricane, Reporter went back to school, craft projects completed, quilting progress made. . . lots of updates to blog about this week!  Stay tuned!