Wow, time sure does fly! It’s already the beginning of March and I haven’t posted a new recipe in ages. Time for a change. Yesterday I made this quick, easy and delicious Quinoa Cherry Chicken Salad for lunch so I thought now’s as good of time as any to hop back on the saddle and start blogging again! So before I sat down to eat I hauled out my camera gear and snapped a few quick photos so I could share this yummy dish with you all.
In case any of you may have wondered where I’ve been… I took a little break from blogging, cooking and all that jazz through the holidays. Then we moved… yes, once again! I’m finally settled on the West coast and will be spending most of my time in San Diego (love, love, love) and a little bit in Seattle area (just too rainy for me full-time!) So that’s it in a nut shell. Now on to this recipe…
I’ve been eating very simple lately. My husband is gone during the week so there’s not a lot of motivation to cook just for one (on the bright side I have lost a couple pounds!) Usually I’ll toss together a salad or something simple like this Quinoa Cherry Chicken Salad. It has such delicious combination of ingredients…
- Quinoa – If I’m making quinoa, I cook up a big batch to use throughout the week (or freeze in individual portions for later). I also like to use chicken stock for the liquid.
- Dried Cherries – I found these awesome dried cherries at Costco and I can’t stop eating them. They’re tart but not mouth puckering tart. They still have some sweetness to them. They’re so plump, moist and chewy. Yum! If you go to Costco, toss a bag in your cart, you’ll be happy you did!
- Chicken – I used a couple of chicken tenders that I cooked up and diced. You could even use some already cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store if you wanted.
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts – I had a bag of small ones that I just sliced up. If you use big ones, you might want to cut them in half first. Or, pick up a small bag of already shaved sprouts at the market and save a step!
- Spinach – I discovered a fantastic farmers market in the Little Italy neighborhood just a few blocks from my condo. It’s every Saturday morning (so excited about that). I picked up a bag of curly spinach last weekend and used some in this salad.
- Pistachios – I’m loving pistachios right now and got a big bag of them already shelled at Costco so that’s what I used. I’m sure whatever nut you like would make a delicious crunch in this salad.
- Goat Cheese – First I was going to use some Feta that I had but decided the creamy mellow goat cheese would be a better choice. It was perfect!
The amount of each individual ingredient can be adjusted to your liking. This makes enough for two good meal sized salads.
To finish it off, I tossed this Quinoa Cherry Chicken Salad in a simple white balsamic vinaigrette. I really hope you give this salad a try. It’s a winner!
- 1 C. diced, cooked chicken
- ¾ C. cooked and cooled quinoa (cook according to package directions)
- 2 C. spinach
- 1½ C. shredded brussels sprouts
- ½ C. dried cherries
- ¼ C. shelled pistachios
- ¼ C. crumbled goat cheese
- 3 Tbls. olive oil
- 2 Tbls. white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. honey
- 1-2 tsp. lemon juice (to taste)
- pinch of salt & pepper
- Make the Vinaigrette: Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Assemble the Salad: Combine salad ingredients in bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to combine.
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