It's always hit and miss trying new recipes. Since I'm usually just cooking for myself, a recipe's leftovers and its portability (for school lunches) are pretty much just as important as the original outcome. Often, a recipe, even a good one, isn't made again if the leftovers are lousy or too complicated to reheat or pack in a lunch bag. This
Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad checks off the boxes on all of my requirements, and I've already made it three times this month.
Not only is this quinoa salad a breeze to make, it only gets better sitting in the fridge waiting to be leftovers as all the yummy citrusy dressing gets sucked up by the quinoa and chicken. Plus it's good warm after being prepared but also delicious as a cold meal. My final glowing endorsement for this salad is that it is easy to change up the ingredients as you like. I don't like avocado so removed that without changing the integrity of the recipe. Broccoli or the "Cruciferous Crunch" salad (kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage) from Trader Joe's make great add-ins. I've made the chicken as prepared in the recipe, but have also just thrown it on the grill with garlic pepper. And it would still be good without the chicken. I know that cilantro is not loved by everyone as much as I love it. I put an entire bunch of cilantro in the salad, but the salad would work without it. See, it's SO versatile.
I whipped up a giant bowl of the stuff this afternoon to serve as a quick lunch or dinner during the first week of spring break. My schedule is a bit less defined during break, so this is a great last minute meal.
This sounds (and looks!) delicious!! And I agree...considering so many of the dishes I make now have to be eaten as leftovers, that's an important thing to get a thumbs-up on.
ReplyDeleteI love cilantro, so there's no such thing as too much, but I also love avocado and would have to add that back.
Yum!!
I agree with you on the cilantro. This last time I made it the cilantro was the only green in it and it was perfect. The navel oranges are soooo good right now, so I used those. They are very very large slices though so have to be cut when eating. When those are no longer good, I bet the cuties or halos would be just as good - a slightly different sweetness. They would be much easier to eat than the navels.
DeleteI'm sure the avocado is the main appeal in the recipe for most. :)
I BBQed a sirloin roast. That made me happy.
ReplyDeleteNever knew that rice was very dangerous if left more than a day.
Ewwww really? I always have leftover rice. I've recently gotten over the arsenic issue, now there's something else about rice I've got to worry about!?!?
DeleteOne of these days I'll fight out how to make a good steak on the grill. I do ok with tri tip or flank, but an actual steak that is smaller I either over or under on the grill.
Yeah, and while not meaning to put a crimp in your plans. Rice has a right nasty little bacteria living on it that isn't killed by cooking and there's a sort of curve that looks a bit like a rocket trajectory, flat for about a day or so and then goes straight up with an exponential growth. I didn't know about this either, but it explains quite a bit.
Delete'Chuckle', one of these days I'll get two steaks the same or even near two days running. But for some reason I can do a joint to darn near perfection.
I have some rice in my fridge that I planned on having for dinner tonight so this did put a wrench in my plans. I did look it up and said as long as the rice is cooled mostly in the fridge, kept in the fridge (not left out), and heated until HOT it should be ok. I'm gonna live dangerously tonight! :)
DeleteThat's my issue with the steak too. I would never serve it to a guest as I wouldn't know what I'm getting. The larger cuts that are meant to be sliced and then served are easier because I can just say, "Yah, I meant for that side to be done and that other side to be rare so you all have a choice." An appointed cook temperature on one piece of meat isn't going to happen.
I've been putting the oven temp gauge down flat and making certain it keeps below 230c. Well truth be told, I try to keep the needle off the block at the end. What I have found is heat the grill closed slap the meat down, then close the lid and lower the temp and leave for a while - it's the while I've found difficult- then flip and cook at a high heat to sear and blacken. I block my vent for the first bit and release for the 2nd.
DeleteI've never heard this about rice before! I guess I've either always done things correctly or been incredibly lucky since we often eat leftover rice and have never gotten sick from it.
ReplyDeleteI am going to try the salad, it looks delicious.
ReplyDeletelooks good!
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