Greek Style Quinoa Salad Bowl
This was a winner, though it began in failure. You see, I had made dinner Monday night that I just thought we were going to love. This dinner consisted of cooked quinoa, chicken/apple sausages sauteeed with onions, and topped with cheesy scrambled eggs. I tried salsa. I tried hot sauce. I tried ketchup. Nothing worked to make me like it. Worse, my husband actually said the words "I don't like it". The man almost never says that when a plate of food is set in front of him. So, what to do? Well, I had about a million cups of cooked quinoa that I did not want to throw away, and I knew I wanted to do something "bowl style". I found a recipe in my Pinterest files that included a spicy tzatziki sauce for a Greek salad on quinoa and I knew this was the one. I am always in when it comes to Greek salad. My taste buds were happy, happy, happy. This was fabulous, and really fun to put together. This would make a great lunch for hosting friends--simply set out the quinoa and various toppings and let everyone go to town. There are a million variations on this, so exercise your imagination and enjoy your food.
Loaded Greek Style Quinoa Bowls
-adapted from cookingwithcakes.com
For the spicy tzatziki:
Mix together--
- 1 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Minced Cucumber (peel and seed first)
- 2 T Minced Fresh Dill (fresh is important. It really makes this sauce)
- 2 T Minced Garlic
- 2 T Lemon Juice
- 1 T Sriracha
For the salad:
Cook 2 cups dry quinoa according to package directions (this will make a lot of bowls--probably about 8, so adjust accordingly if you don't want leftovers. To make each bowl, scoop in some quinoa and then top with the following:
-Greens of your choice (I used mixed greens--but kale, spinach, arugula...all good choices)--drizzle these with a little olive oil or vinaigrette and toss first, just to give some extra flavor
-artichoke hearts (I used plain canned ones that I drained well and chopped)
-feta
-kalamata olives
-halved cherry or grape tomatoes (I think sun dried tomatoes would also be nice)
-chopped cucumber
-protein of your choice--we used roasted chicken that i marinated in Greek seasoning first, but leftover grilled chicken, shrimp, fish, steak would all work, as would Garbanzo beans for a vegetarian option)
Toss your bowl together and drizzle with the sauce.