Red and green quinoa lentil salad
Along with having the fam here, one of the best things about being back in Tucson is being able to see our amazing friends, many of whom we’ve known forever.
(the scenery is a bonus, too)
My friend Marisa and I have been dancing together since way back in the day.
I asked her if she wanted to chill tonight, since the Pilot was supposed to fly all night again, but his flight ended up being canceled. Instead, the three of us stayed here and the Pilot grilled up some turkey burgers.
The Pilot is a master of burgers- he adds chopped jalapeno with spices, and cooks them perfectly.
We enjoyed the burgers with a quinoa lentil salad I made earlier in the day (recipe at the end of this post), along with sweet potato fries
(cut with the crinkle cutter, then seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika- we left some plain for Bella. Baked at 375* for 50 minutes)
My plate:
Pretty much amazing.
We chilled and chatted, drank tea/cocoa and watched Ocean’s Eleven. Oh hey, George Clooney (the Pilot understands)
A wonderful night <3
Off to bed!
xoxo
Gina
Something to do: Make this salad for meals throughout the week –the flavors intensify as it sits- or to take to a holiday party. It’s packed with protein and the red and green colors are fabulously festive.
Red and Green Quinoa Lentil Salad
Vegetarian, gluten-free
Makes 6ish servings
-6 servings of quinoa, rinsed and cooked
-1 package of pre-steamed lentils
(if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, just add 2 cups of boiled lentils instead. The packaged ones are nice for the convenience factor, but you could cook lentils at the same time the quinoa is cooking)
-4 oz sundried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
-3 oz crumbled goat cheese
-2 C chopped or chiffonade-cut fresh spinach
-to flavor: squeeze of lemon juice, hefty amount of balsamic vinegar, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano
1.) In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, lentils, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese.
2.) Season to taste with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano
3.) Gently stir in the spinach. Store in the fridge, or feast 🙂
I enjoyed two bowls for lunch, and it was a fun switch-up from my usual salad rotation:
Let me know if you give it a try!
Enjoy <3
31 Comments
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I hope you sleep well tonight 😉
I love quinoa salad! My stepmom makes an amazing one that I look forward to waking up in the morning to get to eat more of it. Is that pathetic? Or is it just that good? ;p Hope you have a good nights rest tonight girly!
i love quinoa salad in the morning too 🙂
actually, any leftovers in the morning- they always seem to taste better cold out of the fridge 😉
I can’t wait to make this salad! I love grain salads (thanks to your blog). they’re the perfect all-inclusive meal.
How long willd this salad last? It looks great!
Fun night. 🙂 The food looks fantastic.
So this is a weird comment, but—your friend looks like Kristen Stewart!!
Mmmm love me some lentil salad…and some George Clooney.
I love any salad made with a combo of quinoa and beans – this looks great!
I’ve never tried those precooked TJs lentils b/c I usually cook my lentils so fast as is, i.e. they cook so fast on me that I have lentil puree or lentil soup quicker than I want sometimes! Black/green are heartier but the red lentils, forget about it. They cook TOO fast on me. lol
Glad you had a nice meal and some Tv time! Enjoy all your fave programs…now 🙂
How fun, its always great to have friend time!
You look adorable, love rocking headbands too ; ) makes bad hair days better for me!
Glad you had a great night with your gal pal!
Can’t believe it’s just 4 days until Christmas. How did it get here so fast? Why is my to-do list still so long? Why aren’t there any radio stations playing Christmas music??
And how come WI doesn’t have any snow? A bizarre year for sure! 🙂
This salad looks so good! I just had a red and green themed dinner with a few of my girlfriends and was having the hardest time coming up with something red and green…this would have been perfect! 🙂
yum turkey burgers are one of my favorite meals. I like to put spinach and mushrooms in mine.
Gina, I randomly dreamt last night that one of my friends in Tucson lived near you and Pilot. So I assumed this meant you were going into labor this morning. Guess I was wrong 😛 Have a great day!! (In case today Is the day)
That looks like such a delicious and balanced meal. I love playing around in the kitchen with the lentils from TJs…so handy! And quinoa is always magical because it goes with anything! Yum!
So funny. I think our due dates must be within days of each other, and I totally thought I was going to go into labor last night! Must have been something atmospheric! I was having lots of contractions, and was more uncomfortable than I have been this whole pregnancy, and yet I woke up this morning just like every other morning, no full blown labor for me!
Every one of your tweets I think to myself “she’s in labor”. I will think this from now until your ladybits bring forth life.
you comments never fail to crack me up
thank you for making the event sound triumphant instead of disgusting, haha
That quinoa salad looks amazing. will definitely be trying it.
That salad looks super yummy! Yay for spending time with your friends. Tis the season. Ocean 11 is My Loves fav movie of all time!
I will definitely have to try this ! I love theTrader Joe’s prepared lentils — makes everything so much faster!
I am SO excited for the sweet potatoes fries!!! It will be on the meal for one of my first meals of the new year! I already have this year planned and bought. Thank you for the great post!
Mmmm! I LOVE dark chocolate in the mornings! I like to wrap dark chocolate in a tortilla and bake it until slightly crunchayy! SO good. And tastes AMAZING with some Silk!! (: Loving your crinkle fry cutter!
Love the chill and grill salad idea! I can’t wait to try it, I may substitute the lentils for some beans or chickpeas though or even some shredded chicken for a non-vegetarian dish. Thanks!
I made this dish for Christmas dinner and added quartered Brussel sprouts. It was delicious and a big hit!
yay i’m so glad you liked it!
xoxo
Just made the quinoa dish tonight as well! It was delish! My fiance loved it as well, said it was one of the best things I’ve made! 🙂 Can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow!
amazing- i’m glad he was a fan, too 🙂 the leftovers are even better!
I made this quinoa lentil dish on Sunday and I’ve been eating it for lunch all week, I LOVE it. It’s now a staple in my lunch rotation 🙂 also, I’ve been living off of your b-fast cookie dough cereal. Not sure what I would do without your recipes! You rock.
I made this for lunch today and added a piece of leftover salmon I made last night on top and let me tell you it was PERFECTION! Thanks so much for the recipe! I have pinned it so my fellow pinners can enjoy as well 🙂