Toying with the idea...

of becoming a veggie.

To be completely honest I can't exactly pinpoint why. A number of people in my life, at the moment, are vegetarians and it just seems like a healthier way of eating and life. When I cook for myself and I rarely ever use meat and have discovered lots of other great sources of protein like my new fav, the black bean!

I'm going to personally investigate further but in the mean time I would love to share with you one my favorite side/salad! I cannot take credit for the recipe as my friend Car shared it with me.

***DISCLAIMER***

I am not a very good cook. Sure I can make a mean grilled cheese here and there but I wouldn't say I'm great at cooking. I am however increasingly enjoying cooking for myself and catch myself making some things I would have ever expected!

Needless to say, this recipe is easy and if I can do it, so can you!

INGREDIENTS:

1. Quinoa

2. Can of black beans

3. Mushrooms

4. Onion

5. Zucchini

6. Goat Cheese

Steps to making a nice quinoa salad:

1. Sautee the onion, mushrooms and zucchini in a pan with a small amount of oil and garlic. Depending on how large of a salad you are making you may use all of the veggies but for a smaller portion just use half!

2. Follow the directions for the quinoa on the package. Most of them say to wash the grain before placing it in the boiling water to cook but since I don't have a strainer at the moment so I have just skipped this step, hope its not important for my health haha!

For a personal sized salad, I generally use 1/2 a cup of quinoa and this usually lasts 2 meals!

You can also choose to make the quinoa in vegetable broth instead of water for a little more taste too!

3. After the quinoa has been cooked in it's pot and has stood for a while after fluffing place in a large mixing bowl.

3. Place the sauteed veggies into quinoa and mix. Add in the goat cheese in small amounts as it tends to stick together!

and you are DONE! You can enjoy this salad warm OR cold and its great for bringing to work!

see wasn't that hard right?

Chef Kelly

XO