Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This post is not so much a specific recipe as it is a flavor profile you can play around with to your liking!

While my husband and I were in Hawaii celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary, he regularly ate a Mediterranean-style quinoa salad from the local ABC store. When we returned home to South Dakota, I did my best to recreate this dish that he enjoyed eating so much!

The finished product is a little bit different every time I make it because I just guesstimate the amount of each ingredient. Once the salad "looks" right, I do a taste test to make sure I like the balance of flavors and textures. Very scientific, I know! ;)

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
quinoa
sun dried tomatoes
artichoke hearts
chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
feta cheese (crumbled)
pine nuts
sun dried tomato salad dressing (or other similar vinaigrette)

Directions
1. In medium-sized pot, combine 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer until quinoa has absorbed all water. Remove from heat, cover pot, and let quinoa rest for 5-10 minutes. Uncover pot and fluff quinoa with fork. Put in refrigerator to cool completely.
2. While quinoa is cooling, drain sun dried tomatoes on paper towel to remove excess oil and then chop into smaller pieces. Drain water from artichoke hearts, slice into quarters, and then chop into smaller pieces. Drain liquid from chickpeas.
3. Toss all ingredients together in large serving bowl, starting with small amount of dressing and adding more to taste. (For reference, I used half jar of sun dried tomatoes, full can of artichoke hearts, half can of chickpeas, entire 4 oz container of crumbled feta cheese, and half bag of pine nuts.)
4. Salad is delicious served at room temperature and also stores well in refrigerator!

What's for Dinner?

That's the very question I asked myself this morning when planning out my family's meals for the day. Yesterday I was full of inspiration (pork chops on the grill, spinach salad, and mashed potatoes!), but today... not so much. So I took a look in my pantry, threw some ingredients in the crock pot, and the result was delicious! (And you know what? With the red and green colors, it's rather festive for the season, too!)

Creamy Chicken with Spinach & Sun Dried Tomatoes
Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients
1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (fresh or frozen)
10.5 oz can gluten free cream of chicken soup (see this post for details)
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
10 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 oz package sun dried tomatoes*
salt, to taste

Directions
1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Top with cream of chicken soup.
2. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
3. Shred chicken with two forks. Stir in cream cheese.
4. Squeeze excess moisture from chopped spinach. Add to slow cooker along with sun dried tomatoes. Stir.
5. Replace cover and cook additional 1-2 hours for flavors to develop.
6. If desired, top individual servings with shredded cheese, bacon crumbles, etc.

* I used these julienne cut sun dried tomatoes from Trader Joe's.

Notes
• If using whole sun dried tomatoes, make sure to chop or slice into smaller pieces.
• If using oil packed tomatoes (from a jar), drain well on a paper towel before adding to slow cooker.