I have a lot going on right now – not just my normal “lot” – but there are some big events coming up in the next few months that I am spending time on, which is taking time away from the kitchen.  I will get back there eventually, but for now I need to make sure all my ducks are in a row.  They are getting there, but it is taking a lot of my time.  What little time I have left when I am not working – which is not a lot these days – work is 200% consuming, and then I have to think about those ducks. Those ducks don’t always want to stay in their rows.

So right now I am focused on cooking healthy foods that are easy to make.  Ok – I know, last week’s post was certainly the opposite of that, but I made an exception.  We have been in a rut recently – a rice rut.  As a family, we probably consume rice 5 out of 7 nights a week.  Fortunately we switched to brown rice a while ago – but still.  It is shocking to me that the kids haven’t protested yet.  I decided that it just couldn’t go on anymore, and that I needed to shake things up a bit – and that’s when I thought about quinoa.

Quinoa is completely underrated – rice gets all the glory – but quinoa is awesome, versatile, and also so easy to make!  It just so happened that I had some fresh feta in the refrigerator that I had to use up – so I went with a Mediterranean theme for this side dish.  It was almost like spring came to dinner.  It was fresh, flavorful and delicious.  And only one duck fell down in the process…

Ingredients

• 16 oz. cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
• 1/4 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 1/4 cup oil and vinegar salad dressing

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients together – and serve chilled.  Yes, it is that easy!

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Feta