Our Little Circus: Cranberry Chicken Quinoa Salad

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Cranberry Chicken Quinoa Salad

Just back from a simply wonderful weekend getaway in the Virginia country/mountains with some high school girlfriends. Delightful. Beautiful log cabin nestled at the foot of Old Rag Mountain, near the Shenandoah National Park, Washington Virginia (where the Inn at Little Washington is located), tons of vineyards, quaint tiny village towns, beautiful fall foliage, wonderful food, hot tub surrounded by hills and 20 degree weather at night, laughter until you think your belly is going to split open, and no internet access. Ahhhhh.

All of the girls brought various ingredients to make various dishes to share while we were there. There was chili, lasagna, baked French toast (to DIE for!), fancy cheeses, chocolates, artichoke dip, curry couscous, cider, fresh salads...you name it, we had it. One salad I tasted this weekend came pre-purchased from Moms Organic Market, and after I tasted it I knew I had to try and make it myself. I was inspired by some of the talk and cooking this weekend to try and implement some healthier meals here at home. I've always wanted to try to make quinoa but I've had NO idea what to do with it. I was afraid it would just taste dry and boring. Until I tasted this salad, and realized how wrong I was. Yum!!

I drove home early this afternoon, unpacked my car, and started chopping/boiling. My version came out a little different than what I tasted (I added chicken too), but its really delicious, healthy and full of flavor. It could be eaten by itself, served over a green salad, on crackers, or in pita bread.

Cranberry Chicken Quinoa Salad

6-8 chicken breast tenderloins (raw) **
1 cup quinoa seeds
1 small package of slivered almonds
2 1/2 cups water
1 bunch of fresh parsley
1 bunch of fresh green onions
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 TBSP honey
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
fresh cracked pepper
salt to taste

Boil a large pot of water. Add chicken tenderloins, boil for 15 minutes. Chop into bite size pieces and set aside. ** The chicken is totally optional and can easily be omitted. I thought adding chicken would make this more of a main course meal type salad but you certainly don't have to add chicken.

Boil 2 1/2 cups of water in smaller pot. Once it comes to a boil, add a sprinkle of salt and 1 cup of quinoa seeds. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with fork and set aside.

Okay, now for the rest of the ingredients (which you can be chopping while the chicken and quinoa are boiling).

Chop the parsley and green onions finely. I didn't measure out how much I used but I would guess once chopped each equated to about 1/4 cup, give or take a little. Add them to large bowl where everything will ultimately end up.

Add raisins, Craisins, and slivered almonds to bowl with parsley and green onions. Add chopped chicken and cooked quinoa to the bowl. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, a little sea salt and as much fresh cracked pepper as you like. Mix well. You can eat at room temp, or refrigerate. Its delicious cold!!

And now, check out some of the photos of our weekend girls getaway. Ronda has an amazing camera and I know her pictures are much more amazing than these I took with my phone. But still, it gives an idea as to the beauty and fun of the weekend.

View from the deck at one of the vineyards in Washington, VA

This is the cabin we rented, at the base of Old Rag Mountain. The hot tub area out back of the house was built right into the side of the mountain.

Wines at one of the five vineyards we visited. We rented a van and a driver to take us around the countryside, picnicking and wine tasting all day long.