Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I've been waiting to find a good recipe to try quinoa for the first time, and thought this was the perfect first meal to make with it.  Simple, and I would really get a feel for how to cook and what to eat with quinoa.  If you haven't tried it for yourself, this would be a great recipe for you because of it's simplicity.  I picked up some quinoa at Whole Foods in the bulk section, and it worked perfect.

Rinse quinoa and add three cups of water to a pan on the stove top.

Cook for around 25 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.

Dice one medium sized cucumber.

Quarter one cup of cherry or grape tomatoes.

Finely chop 1/2 cup of basil.

Once the quinoa has finished cooking fluff and add to a bowl. 

Add the cucumbers, basil, olive oil, lemon juice, tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.  I also added some hard salami, but you could just as easily use chicken or not meat at all.

Let the flavors marinate together for a few minutes and serve with feta cheese on top for garnish.

I made this for dinner and was amazed how full I was from it.  It's a great light dish that adds some extra protein to your diet.  The lemon juice and olive oil marinate everything perfectly together.  Quinoa has a little crunch to it, which I really enjoyed. 

Have a great day everyone!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Serves 4

Adapted from Daily Garnish

1 1/2 cups of dry quinoa, rinsed

1 medium cucumber, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup of salami

1/2 cup basil, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

sea salt to taste

feta cheese to taste

Rinse quinoa and add three cups of water to a saucepan.

Cook for 25 minutes on the stove top until all water has been absorbed.

Dice the cucumber, tomatoes, and basil.

Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff and add the vegetables.

Then add the lemon juice, oil and seat salt. 

Pour into the quinoa mixture.

Let flavors marinate for a few minutes, then serve with feta cheese on top. 

Shrimp & Broccoli Pasta Salad

Sometimes I get really motivated and....buy Women's Health magazine.  Bet you thought I was going to say exercise didn't ya?  That's for another day!  Women's Health has some great recipes sometimes, I've tried a couple and am usually pretty pleased with the outcome.  This shrimp and broccoli pasta was one of the good ones.  It can be served hot or cold, I chose hot, but I think it would taste pretty great either way!

I steamed fresh broccoli, but you could use frozen as well.

Also used whole grain pasta.  Cook in a large pot with salted water until cooked through.

I cooked the shrimp on the stove with a little black and cayenne pepper.  Gave the pasta little extra kick when everything was mixed together.

Cut in half around 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes.  Or you can use sun-dried tomatoes.

You'll need olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, tomatoes in a large bowl with onion powder and oregano. 

Add freshly squeezed lemon juice from a half of a lemon.  When the pasta, shrimp, and broccoli are all finished add to the bowl with the olive oil mixture and stir to combine.

Serve immediately for the dish to be hot, or you can mix together and keep in the fridge to eat cold later.  This recipe was awesome - simple and only 315 calories.  I added a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top for additional flavor, but you can leave that out if you like.  Kudos to Women's Health for this one!

Happy Monday ya'll ;)

(Yes I said ya'll, I've lived in Texas for a year so I think I've earned it!)

Shrimp & Broccoli Pasta Salad

Serves 2

Adapted from Women's Health magazine

8 oz cooked shrimp

1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta

1 cup steamed broccoli

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 teaspoons olive oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon oregano

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Serve immediately or refrigerate to eat cold.

Feta & Zucchini Pasta Salad

Although I like mayo, I don't like mayo-ish, creamy pasta salad.  I lean more toward the pasta salad with olive oil, and that's exactly what this is.  This was meant for my camping trip that I posted about yesterday, but I forgot it in the fridge.  Although it wasn't enjoyed in the great outdoors with a burger, it was still very tasty and refreshing!

A great way to make this even healthier is to use whole wheat pasta, I used whole wheat organic bow ties and they worked awesome.  Cook the pasta until done, drain and set aside until completely cool. 

Add olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Toss into the pasta to combine well.

Add the tomatoes.  I sliced grape tomatoes in half so they were more bite size.

Add zucchini, I actually used yellow squash because it's what I had in the house.  I cooked it over the stove in olive oil, let it cool then cut it up and put it into the pasta.

Then comes the best part: feta cheese.  Add more of any of the ingredients if you like, I added extra feta, pepper, lemon juice and some parsley.  Toss well to combine.

Cover in plastic wrap for at least a couple hours, as it's best when it's been chilled.  I kept it in a Tupperware for up to a week and it was still great!  This is the perfect side for a summer party or BBQ. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Feta & Zucchini Pasta Salad

Serves as a side for at least 14 people

12 oz bow tie pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil *possibly a little more

1 lemon

salt

black pepper

2 whole zucchini, cooked and cut into small wedges

10 oz grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/3 cup fresh parsley

6 oz crumbled feta cheese, cut into cubes

Cook pasta until done; drain, rinse and set aside until completely cool.

Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Toss to combine.

Add zucchini, tomatoes, feta, parsley and combine well.

Add more of any of the ingredients to your taste.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.