Skip to main content

Colorful Quinoa Brown Rice Salad

#CookoutWeek 2018 is here! During the next week, I am joining over 50 of my blogger friends to celebrate summer by posting delicious cookout-themed recipes. If you love grilling, frozen treats, picnics, berries, s'mores, campfire meals, and other summer goodies... you are in the right place!

*This is a sponsored post.  I recieved products to use in the creation of my #CookoutWeek recipes. All opinions are my own.*

To kick things off, I've sharing Colorful Quinoa Brown Rice Salad, a recipe that I've adapted slightly from Taste of Home.  Back in October, I changed my eating habits, and part of that change was trying new things.  Quinoa was on the list to try, and I've found a brown rice/quinoa blend that I love.

When I saw the recipe for this salad, I used that as the jumping off point, and then followed the rest of the recipe as it was written.  While the quinoa and brown rice cooked, I chopped all the veggies.  So many beautiful colors and textures.  I keep my gingerroot in the freezer, and used a microplane to grate it.  That really helped it get distributed evenly throughout the dish.

This comes together so quickly, and it gets better as it sits.  I just gave the lidded bowl a shake when I passed by the fridge.  It was the perfect side to some burgers, and it was awesome with some leftover diced grilled chicken rolled into a multi grain tortilla. Next time I might even add some diced jalapeno.  Thank you to Catherine T. for sharing her recipe!



Colorful Quinoa Brown Rice Salad

Colorful Quinoa Brown Rice Salad

ingredients:

  • 1 3/4c water
  • 1 pkg quinoa (I used Near East Quinoa and Brown Rice, omitting the spice packet)
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
  • 1 medium sweet orange pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • DRESSING:
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

instructions:

  1. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and brown rice. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Transfer to a large bowl; cool completely.
  2. Stir spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and green onions into quinoa. In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients until blended. Drizzle over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving.
Slightly adapted from : https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/colorful-quinoa-salad
quinoa, salad,
Vegetables, side dishes, healthy
American
Created using The Recipes Generator






Here's a full list of the bloggers participating in #CookoutWeek 2018! You can find yummy recipes by checking out any of the links below: The PinterTest Kitchen ♥ 2 Cookin MamasA Day in the Life on the FarmA Kitchen Hoor's AdventuresApril GoLightlyBlogghettiBottom Left of the MittenCheese Curd In ParadiseCoconut & LimeCookaholic WifeCookwithRenuDaily Dish RecipesEveryday EileenFairyburgerFaith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered AccompliceFamily Around the TableFix Me a Little LunchFor the Love of FoodFrankly EntertainingFrugal & FitGet the Good Stuff!Hardly A GoddessHerbivore CucinaJoin Us, Pull up a ChairJolene's Recipe JournalJonesin' For TasteKaren's Kitchen StoriesKelly Lynn’s Sweets & TreatsMildly MeanderingMoore or Less CookingOur Good LifeOven Tales By SyamaPalatable PastimeSarah Cooks the BooksSavory MomentsSeduction In The KitchenSweet CoraliceTampa Cake GirlTechnotiniThat RecipeThe Baking FairyThe Beard and The BakerThe Simple SupperThe Spiffy CookieThe Weekday GourmetThis is How I CookWho Needs A Cape?Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen






Comments

What a great way to "eat a rainbow" . This is a gorgeous salad Jolene.
Another reminder that I don't use quinoa nearly as often as I should. This looks like a lovely summer side!
Farrah said…
It just so happens that I recently made a whole bunch of quinoa, so I'm definitely looking forward to making this hopefully soon! :]! Love all the colors!!
Karen said…
This is just about the most nutritious salad ever! And beautiful! I need to break out the quinoa.
Jolene said…
Thank you! It's a lot easier for me to eat healthy if it looks pretty too :)
Jolene said…
I'm just sorry I waited so long to try it!
Jolene said…
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Jolene said…
Thank you! I'm pretty sure some version of it will be in my fridge all summer long :)
This salad is so incredibly gorgeous. I love all of the ingredients found in this and pinned to make later!! <3
Such a healthy option for a cookout.
Jolene said…
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Jolene said…
Helps to balance out all the other not so healthy stuff I'll eat ;)

Popular posts from this blog

Copycat Dunkin Donuts Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites

I'm a huge fan of the Dunkin Donuts Power Breakfast sandwich, so when I started seeing ads for the new Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites I stopped in and gave them a try.  They were delicious, but of course, I knew I could make them at home.  I started with the whites of six eggs. You can use pasturized whites if you don't want to do the whole separating, finding a use for the yolks thing.  I beat them up with some salt and pepper.   Next up, the tomato and spinach.  I used grape tomatoes, seeded them and then chopped them into 1/4" pieces. I like baby spinach, and I took about 10 leaves and chopped those up into 1/4" pieces as well. I added that to the egg mixture.  When you pour it into the pans, be sure that it all gets evenly distributed. They bake up pretty quickly, around 9 minutes or so.  Dunkin gives you two egg bites, the mini donut serving size is three. I pop them in ziplocs in the fridge and just pull a bag and reheat them in the microwave for a quick

Copycat Dunkin Donuts Bacon and Cheddar Omelet Bites

Since I already came up with a version of Dunkin Donuts new Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites for myself, I decided to make the other variety that they are offering, Bacon & Cheddar, for my husband. Super simple.  Beat up some eggs with salt and pepper.  Add in some shredded cheddar and a slice of bacon cut into 1/4" pieces (I used kitchen shears).  Bake them for about 9 minutes in sprayed mini donut pans. They baked up light and fluffy.  The bacon stayed crisp and there's just the perfect amount of cheese.   I split them up into portions in zip top bags and that way we can just grab a bag and warm them up. My husband laughed when I told him 3 is the serving size.  I'll definitely be doubling the recipe next time! Copycat Dunkin Donuts Bacon & Cheddar Omelette Bites Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 4 large eggs 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 3T shredded cheddar cheese 1 slice cooked bacon, cut in 1/4" piec

Stuffed Waffles

I wasn't sure I was going to blog these stuffed waffles since it was the first time I tried using the new iron but since I'd already taken the pics as I went I figured, why not? They aren't perfect but they are delicious! I'd seen videos floating around TikTok and Instagram of people making stuffed waffles so I hopped over to Amazon and ordered the Elite Gourmet version.  The instructions were fairly straightforward but there was no recipe so I made up a batch of Classic Waffle batter. Then I scoured the fridge for things to stuff them with.    First up, some leftover taco meat from the previous night and Fiesta blend cheese,  pepperoni and mozzarella cheese and lastly some strawberries and cream cheese.   For the taco stuffed I added the taco meat and cheese in the middle and then set out some salsa and sour cream to top them with.  Learning curve lesson 1- make sure your ingredients are all room temp before you start, they will bake much quicker.  For the pepperoni pi