Four Things I Ate

1.  WARM QUINOA SALAD :: Delicious! This recipe has all my favorite ingredients, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata and green olives, pepperoncinis and lemon.  I just made the quinoa in my rice cooker.  When it was done I sauteed it for a few minutes with the spinach, just long enough for the spinach to wilt.  Then, I removed from the heat, added the rest of the ingredients then tossed with a homemade lemon vinaigrette.

2.  SHRIMP PESTO PASTA :: To satisfy my craving for carbs, I made a homemade basil almond pesto to add to thin spaghetti and shrimp.

3.  BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE :: I love smoothies because you can get so creative.  I love experimenting with different ingredients.  This one has vanilla greek yogurt, soy milk, banana, blueberries, strawberries, almonds and a handful of spinach.  Sometimes I'll even add some cooked oatmeal.

4.  CHICKEN + VEGETABLE FAJITAS :: I marinated chicken breast in the same lemon vinaigrette above for about an hour.  Then I put it on my stovetop grill with some mini bell peppers and sliced onion.  I also made some salsa and guacamole.  Throw it all together with some pinto beans in a tortilla and enjoy :)

Quick Lemon Vinaigrette

This is my go-to salad dressing, it's so fresh and tangy :)  I also use it as a marinade for chicken or fish.

You will need:

1 lemon, zest and juice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup vinegar (I usually use red or white wine vinegar)
1/2 cup oil (I use canola or olive oil)
pinch of coarse salt, like kosher salt
cracked pepper to taste

I like to add the ingredients to a bowl with a lid for easy storage.  To zest the lemon and grate the garlic I use a microplane kitchen tool, if you do not have one a cheese grater works, too.

Add all ingredients to the bowl and whisk, or cover with the lid and shake.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

This usually lasts about a week in my fridge.  Enjoy!