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easy quinoa 3

One of my friends always brings the best quinoa dish to gatherings. I finally asked her to share the recipe and she happily obliged. It’s so quick and easy! I tweaked the recipe a little and have been making batches of it to eat for lunch throughout the week. I thought you might enjoy it, too.

EASY QUINOA & SUN-DRIED TOMATOES SALAD

1 bag frozen, microwaveable quinoa*
1 bag frozen, microwaveable brown rice*
1 bag frozen, microwaveable kale OR spinach
1 jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil with herbs*
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (Sauté if desired.)
¼ cup toasted pine nuts*
4 oz. log of goat cheese
lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste

*I use Trader Joe’s brand.

easy quinoa 1

Microwave the quinoa, brown rice and greens as directed. Mix together in a medium dish. Add the garlic, lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste.

easy quinoa 2

Stir in sun-dried tomatoes (undrained) and pine nuts. Top with crumbled goat cheese. Done!

easy quinoa 4

The best part about this salad is that it tastes good at any temperature: cold straight out of the fridge for a quick lunch, at room temp for gatherings or picnics when fridge /cooler space is limited, warmed in the microwave for dinner. Variations of the recipe are limitless. My friend uses a frozen, microwaveable quinoa + barley mix, spinach and feta cheese. You can even add grilled chicken for a protein boost.

Do you have a go-to quick & easy lunch? What is your favorite dish to bring to summer gatherings?

P.S. – Another favorite summer dish.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

21 Comments

24.June.2015

That looks delicious. My favorite lunch is spaghetti squash with broccoli and Italian sausage. It is so good. I wish I could get my kids to eat it.

24.June.2015

Yum! How many servings?

24.June.2015

This looks amazing. I can’t wait to try making this.
Thanks for sharing!

24.June.2015

looks delicious. great photos, too!

My go-to lunch is an open-face sandwich with wheat toast (Brownberry natural wheat), avocado spread (Wholly Guacamole), and an over-easy egg. I used to get the munchies about 2pm, but with this lunch, I feel satisfied until dinnertime.

24.June.2015

This looked so yummy that I actually hit up our Trader Joe’s today to grab some of the ingredients that I didn’t have on hand. I made this tonight, and even my husband (who kind of hates quinoa) really liked it. I used sliced almonds and feta instead of pine nuts and goat cheese, because that’s what I had on hand. And it was so good! Thanks for the recipe, Dana.

25.June.2015

I’m so glad you (and your husband) liked it! Almonds and feta sound yummy.

25.June.2015

That does sound satisfying. It would make a great breakfast option, too!

25.June.2015

It provides lunch for me throughout the week and then some, so at least 7?

25.June.2015

Must try that!

25.June.2015

Where did you get your water glasses? Thanks!

25.June.2015

Would you believe Walmart from several years back?!

[…] Salat med quinoa og soltørrede tomater fra House Tweaking: Sund lækker og virkelig pæn. […]

28.June.2015

For the Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice did you have the box that comes with three bags? Or is it a different size? Can’t tell how big your bowl is, but the bag of rice seems small for something that’s going to make 5+ lunch portions.

29.June.2015

I made this last night for lunches as work this week – sooooo good! Thank you!

30.June.2015

Awesome!

30.June.2015

Yes, I buy the box with 3 bags. One bag is all you need for this recipe. With the quinoa, it makes plenty!

30.June.2015

I made this on Sunday for my lunches this week……. sooooo yummy!! I used feta cheese, added some baked chicken, and put it over the spinach to eat as more of a salad. My husband and I make big batches of quinoa for our lunches all the time (we have a Mexican version and a greek version), so this was a great addition to the rotation. THANK YOU!!

[…] never made quinoa before but I think this will be the first recipe I try. Although everything will have to be fresh because we don’t have a microwave! Any tips […]

18.August.2015

This looks so good. I don’t live near a Trader Joe’s, so would you mind posting how big the bags of rice/quinoa/spinach are, as well as the size of the sun dried tomato jar? Thanks!

25.August.2015

I made this last night when I hosted a bunch of women for our book club and it was a hit! I doubled the recipe so even have some leftovers. I may have just eaten it for breakfast. :) Thanks for sharing Dana!

31.August.2015

Awesome! I’m so glad you liked it.