Today, I glanced in my fridge and knew I had to go to the store, ugh! I checked out the pantry, I had the basic staples everyone has in their arsenal of snacks, cans of tuna, puddings, lots of pasta, quinoa, and couscous. I thought I could make this all work and put off the store for another couple of days. I remember back to my time when I was a kid and I would come home from school and my mom had an array of foods made; tuna salad, mac and cheese, egg salad, tapioca pudding, and usually a butter cake. I always knew when I saw that we didn't have any money but Mom always made it work. This recipe will tantalize your tastebuds.
I looked at what I had and said, I will make egg salad, tuna salad, and a fresh veggie cold quinoa salad. The veggies were almost on their last legs but could be tossed into quinoa. If you have never had quinoa you should try it and keep it in the pantry. It has amazing health benefits and can be put into various dishes because it soaks up the flavors. According to Cleveland Clinic, it boosts your digestive health, cuts out the chances of colon cancer, controls hunger,{we all need that}, and lowers your risk for type 2 diabetes. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/quinoa-benefits
This versatile seed is packed with protein and fiber to ward off hunger
Here is my Refreshing Quinoa Salad Recipe:
Get a saucepan out and add water and salt, once it comes to a boil throw in 5 handfuls {tablespoons} of quinoa, and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes. It will become a tiny bit larger and softer. Then strain. Your vegetables for the salad can be just about everything but I used, red onion, cucumber, tomato, jalapeno, garlic, carrots, and lime. I told my husband once put together it tastes like a salsa.
Ingredients:
5 tablesspoons of Quinoa
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
Once the quinoa is done strain it and let it cool off for a bit, I added kosher salt and freshly ground pepper while in a strainer cooling off to get the quinoa to absorb some flavor
1/2 a cucumber quartered and sliced
1/4 of a red onion cut small
1 glove of garlic chopped or garlic pressed
1/2 of a jalapeno no seeds
6 mini carrots chopped small
1 corn on the cob sliced off fresh
1 lime squeezed
salt and ground pepper to taste
Place in bowl and mix, the longer it sits the more flavors develop and it becomes yummy, you can use this as a dip, a lunch salad meal, or a side dish. I sometimes eat it as a snack.
You can use any amount of these or other favorite vegetables - this fed 4 family members. It's great for meal prepping too. It's Yummy and my favorite food is donuts, give it a try and let me know.
Next up is Tuna Salad recipe and more nostalgic renderings of my childhood.