Quinoa Salad With Avocado, Dried Fruit and Nuts

Quinoa Salad With Avocado, Dried Fruit and Nuts
Ingredients

Generous handful of dried cranberries
Small can mandarin oranges
2 cups red or white pre-cooked cooked quinoa. (frig over night, 1 dry cup = 2 cooked cups)
Kosher salt
1 large lemon
6 cloves of fresh garlic (optional)
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
1 large firm-ripe avocado. pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 to 3 Tbs. slivered almonds
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
* #1: Prep: I try to prep as much as I can so I make the quinoa the night before and refrigerate, works out well since it's a cold salad.

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups water and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Add 1 cup of quinoa, cover, reduce the heat to simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, soak the cranberries in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Finely grate the zest from the lemon and then squeeze & use juice. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the olive oil, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp. salt. In a large bowl, toss the vinaigrette with the quinoa, cranberries, mandarin, avocado, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 2

JoMama's Pasta Salad

JoMama's Pasta Salad

-Vegetable Bow Tie Pasta
-Zucchini
-Red Onion
-Green Pepper
-Carrots
-Celery
-Greek Olives
-Chick Peas
-Broccoli
-Cauliflower
-Favorite basic salad dressing

QUINOA SALAD with side of broccoli

QUINOA SALAD with side of broccoli

Ingredients:

-1 cup Quinoa prep as directed
-1/2 teasppon salt
-1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 large diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Prep quinoa in advance and place in frig over night.
2. Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice, oil, garlic, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooled quinoa, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, toss well to combine.


Side dish: Lightly steamed Broccoli

White Bean Salad

White Bean Salad:

2 cans of white beans
1 T chopped oregano
1 chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.
2 T chopped basil
Optional: Chopped garlic : )

Mix the first 4 ingredients, and then whisk the oil, vinegar and salt and pepper together as the dressing. Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and serve garnished with fresh basil.

This is an easy and delicious salad to have after a hard days work, and tastes like it took much more effort!