Gazpacho Quinoa Salad

I have been experimenting with Quinoa this week. My first time I made it with stock and really didn't like it. It tasted kind of dirty or muddy. It was weird. i tried again with just water and liked it much more. After I got plain Quinoa down, I wanted to make some sort of salad. 


Here is an easy one that I have already made twice in two weeks. As Jeff says, "I want to have this constantly in the fridge all summer." He was happy when we ran out because he said, "Well, now you just get to make more." Silly. :) He also came up with the name for it. He said it reminded him of the soup with all of the cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil. You could add any veggies that you want to this dish. I want to 
 add some protein next time with some Chick Peas or Kidney beans. Enjoy!

 

Gazpacho Quinoa Salad  

Ingredients:

• 1 C uncooked Quinoa 
• 1 Cucumber (diced) 
• 1 C quartered cherry tomatoes 
• 2 T fresh basil, chopped
• 2 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 T Light Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 3 T Reduced Fat Feta Cheese

 Directions:
 1. Cook the Quinoa according to package directions. Most have you rinse the quinoa first. I did this by pouring the cup of Quinoa in the sauce pan and running cold water over it 3-4 times until the water runs clear.
2. Put the cooked Quinoa in the fridge so it can cool before you mix it with the veggies. You dont want to cook the veggies at all.
3. Chop the cucumber. I had half of a store bought cucumber and a small home grown one :). I like to peel some of the skin off of the store bought one as it is too thick and waxy. Quarter it and chop into bite size pieces.

 4. Put the chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, and parsley in a bowl.
5. Add the cooled quinoa to the veggies.
6. Pour the balsamic dressing on the top. I use a combination of a creamy balsamic and a regular light balsamic and love it. Really, just use any salad dressing that you like! Mix to combine well.
7. Add the feta to the salad and toss once more. Chill and enjoy!!!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Apple and Sausage

FYI-This post was from 8/28. The website was down so I couldnt post.
I saw Rachel Ray make a pumpkin and sausage dish today and I decided to make my version. I used butternut squash as it is available and almost interchangeable with fresh pumpkin. It has a short ingredient list and is just a chop, drop, and throw in the oven meal.

Ingredients

 
1 med to large butternut squash
2 firm red apples (Gala, Braeburn, etc.)
1 med sweet onion'
1/2 lemon or 1 tbls lemon juice
1 lb Sausage or Wurst (I used Sweet Turkey Sausage)
1 tbls Agave Nectar (I would have preferred honey or real maple syrup)
1 tbls Olive Oil
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Get out a large baking dish/casserole dish to place the chopped veggies in.
3. Peel the butternut squash and cut in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds. Chop the squash into 1 inch pieces. Place in baking dish.
4. Slice apples into wedges. An easy way to slice apples are to sut them in quarters. Then, slice the core out on an angle. Cut in half to make 8 wedges. Add apples to pan.
5. Squeeze lemon juice over the apples and toss with squash to keep from browning.
6. Slice the onions into wedges and add them to the pan.
7. Add agave nectar, nutmeg, oil, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste, to the pan.
8. Toss everything to combine.
9. Add sausages and toss again.
10. Bake uncovered for 40 mins. Toss all ingredients once during cooking.

*I broiled it at the end because I like extra crispy sausages! I also squeezed a little lemon juice at the end. It needed something to brighten the flavors and it really helped!
I liked it but I would change a few things next time: I over coked it. Ooops! I cooked it for about 53 mins and I think 45 would be perfect. (I wrote the recipe to reflect that.) I would also use a larger pan as the ingredients were crowded.

Jeff loved it and said he wouldn’t change a thing. I felt like I wanted it to be sweeter but I LOVE the combo of sweet and savory. I’ll make it again but please let me know if you make it and what changes you made to make it even BETTER! :)