Favorite Recipes 01

Here is a new series I will be starting... My Favorite Recipes!  I'm not going to take credit for any one of these recipes that I post.  I am constantly searching on blogs, My Recipe.com, and google for new food ideas and from there I pick and choose what sounds good and what I like.  I have several favorite recipes that I try over and over again until it is refined to my taste.  I don't throw out "favorite" very often, so take my word on it and TRY it!

So I'm starting with my favorite salad recipe.  This can easily be a side dish or a nice lunch when adding a protein (salmon is my go to for this salad).  Landon & I have this salad at least 2 times a week... since like September... and I'm not sick of it yet surprisingly.  And it's perfect for a healthy lunch to-go.  You can pack everything in a container, salmon and all, and put the dressing on the side.  Then when you're ready to eat, toss on the dressing and everything is still crisp and just as delicious as if you had just made it.

The ingredients illustrated above are the "must haves" to make it awesome and then you can add in anything extra.  I always have everything on hand for an emergency meal or when I'm craving something light and healthy.  Before I got married and started cooking full time I always stuck to the recipes EXACTLY! I never experimented and would run out to the store just for that one random item, but since then I've experimented a lot (thanks to my Landy) and this is a recipe you can do that with.  With this recipe I kinda throw in everything that's fresh in the fridge and it keeps it interesting.  Feel free to add in strawberries, sunflower seeds, grapes, walnuts, celery, beans, sprouts, really anything!!

Confetti Quinoa Salad
adapted from My New Roots 

1 c. quinoa
Spring mix lettuce
1 green apple [thinly sliced]
1/2 red pepper [thinly sliced]
2 carrots [peeled and thinly sliced]
1/4 of red onion [VERY thinly sliced]
handful of sunflower seeds
crumbled feta cheese

1. Cook quinoa beforehand, you can either serve it hot or cold with the salad.  I cook mine in my rice cooker 1 c. of quinoa to 2 c. water. It's done in about 30 minutes.
2. Thinly slice everything and toss in lettuce.

Lemon Dressing

3-4 tbsp. olive oil
half squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp. honey
pinch of course salt
1 garlic clove [finely minced]

1. Mix everything together and toss on salad to your liking.
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Do you have any favorite salad recipes or favorite dressings? 

I'd love to hear!