Curried Chicken Quinoa Salad

Mother Nature is being a serious B to those of us here int he Midwest.  Seriously.  It is the middle of June and it was 58 on Tuesday.  Fifty.  Eight.  Meanwhile it is over 80 in Alaska.  Ughhhhh. I never thought I would be jealous of Alaska weather.  This just isn't right.

On the plus side, it is cool enough to enjoy long mornings at the park with the kids, picnics in the afternoon, and evening bike rides.  As long as you have a jacket.  

Soooo, the next couple recipes I have to share is food I consider perfect picnic or potluck food.  In that you can make it ahead of time, and it is good served warm, room temp, or cold.  

This first one is my favorite.  I got the idea for this dish thanks to a couple of quickly ripening mangos in the fruit bowl, a tub of shredded chicken I the fridge I needed to use up, and L's constant request for tikka masala.  The result was deeeeeelicious.  This might be my favorite quinoa concoction ever.  Which is big.  I ate this right after I made it, warm, and loved it.  But then had it again the next day cold and thought it was even better.  The perfect picnic food!

Curried Chicken Quinoa Salad

Makes 8 servings

195 cals / 5g fat / 27g carbs / 9g protein

1 cup dry quinoa (I used a mix of red and white)

2 cups water

1/3 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 TB honey

1 TB olive oil

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 small red onion

1 bunch mint leaves (~1/4 cup chopped)

1 mango

2 cups cooked chicken breast

1.  Combine quinoa and water in saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer until quinoa is done and water is absorbed.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Mince onion and mint.  Dice mango and chicken.  Set aside.  

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, honey, oil, curry powder, cumin, and salt.  Add quinoa, chicken, mango, onion, and mint, tossing to coat.  

Enjoy!

Mother Nature is being a serious B to those of us here int he Midwest.  Seriously.  It is the middle of June and it was 58 on Tuesday.  Fifty.  Eight.  Meanwhile it is over 80 in Alaska.  Ughhhhh. I never thought I would be jealous of Alaska weather.  This just isn't right.

On the plus side, it is cool enough to enjoy long mornings at the park with the kids, picnics in the afternoon, and evening bike rides.  As long as you have a jacket.  

Soooo, the next couple recipes I have to share is food I consider perfect picnic or potluck food.  In that you can make it ahead of time, and it is good served warm, room temp, or cold.  

This first one is my favorite.  I got the idea for this dish thanks to a couple of quickly ripening mangos in the fruit bowl, a tub of shredded chicken I the fridge I needed to use up, and L's constant request for tikka masala.  The result was deeeeeelicious.  This might be my favorite quinoa concoction ever.  Which is big.  I ate this right after I made it, warm, and loved it.  But then had it again the next day cold and thought it was even better.  The perfect picnic food!

Curried Chicken Quinoa Salad

Makes 8 servings

195 cals / 5g fat / 27g carbs / 9g protein

1 cup dry quinoa (I used a mix of red and white)

2 cups water

1/3 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 TB honey

1 TB olive oil

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 small red onion

1 bunch mint leaves (~1/4 cup chopped)

1 mango

2 cups cooked chicken breast

1.  Combine quinoa and water in saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer until quinoa is done and water is absorbed.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Mince onion and mint.  Dice mango and chicken.  Set aside.  

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, honey, oil, curry powder, cumin, and salt.  Add quinoa, chicken, mango, onion, and mint, tossing to coat.  

Enjoy!