Chicken & Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes

1 C. dry quinoa (rinsed) with 2 C. water
1 C. red cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/2 C. chopped parsley (or to taste)
1/3 C. chopped chives (or to taste)
10 oz. rotisserie chicken breast, diced small
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. lime juice
2 T. cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper (or to taste)
Lettuce

Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Combine the quinoa, tomatoes, parsley, chives and chicken. Combine the oil, lime juice, vinegar, garlic and pepper. Drizzle over the salad. Mix well and chill. To serve, place a cup of chopped lettuce on a place and top with 1/3 cups of the chicken/quinoa salad. Serves 5.


Have you ever had (or heard of?!) "quinoa" before? I'll tell you right now that it's pronounce "keen-wah". I'm tell you this so you're not like me and walk into a store asking for it by the pronunciation you'd expect it to be! Luckily, the person at the store said, "Common mistake!" and we both laughed about it. I'm glad I know how to pronounce it now because I'll be buying this more often!! Quinoa is a grain--like rice or couscous--but different. If you haven't tried it, I say go for it! Plus, you'll need it for this amazing summer-time salad!! I LOVED this salad and will probably make it all the time for myself. This recipe was attached to an email that I got from my gym, so you know it's healthy. The serving size suggested is only 185 calories, which is good because I ate WAY more than 1/3 C. for dinner! Also, we were too hungry when I made this so I didn't let it chill for very long. It was warm over the lettuce and I almost like that better. The next day, I tried to eat it chilled over lettuce for lunch but ended up heating it up a little instead. I love it!! I would have given this an A+ but I have to consider my husband's opinion, too. He's a meat and potatoes kinda guy so he gave this a B. (BTW, leftovers keep very well in the fridge!)

Family Chef's Grade: B+