It’s Monday again, so another Meatless Monday at my house. Today’s recipe is a really nice Mexican-inspired salad based on a Cooking Light recipe. It’s super easy to throw together, but the vegetables need to marinate for about an hour before the salad is assembled.

It’s really flavorful, but not spicy, making it a great salad for the whole family. You could get creative and add some corn, avocados, olives, etc if desired.

Marinated Veggie Salad with Queso Fresco!

Marinated Vegetable Salad with Queso Fresco

The original recipe called for 1 cup diced jicama, but I couldn’t find it at my grocery store. I am sure it’s a great addition if you have some.

• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 TB chopped, pickled jalapenos
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup bottled salsa
• juice of two limes (about 3 TB)
• 1 1/2 TB canola oil
• about 2 cups torn romaine lettuce or baby romaine
• 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, zucchini, onions, jalapenos, and beans. In a small bowl, whisk together the salsa, lime juice and oil; pour over the vegetables and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Add lettuce to bowl and top with marinated vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Pepper if desired.

I thought it would be great to share gluten-free, meatless meals every Monday. So if you have a meatless dish that you like to link-up to my weekly posts, please do.

Meatless Monday, Salads, Sauces & Dressings

I am always on the lookout for new quick and healthy dinner ideas, so when I spotted a quinoa salad in an issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray I just had to try it. It’s a 5-ingredient meal recipe sent in by a reader. (They consider salt, pepper and oil “freebies,” so they don’t count towards the five ingredients.)

I kept the ingredients the same, but I did change their ratios quite a bit. I halved the dressing, as we aren’t too fond of soggy quinoa at my house and I cut back on the basil.

The salad is winner! It really is a bright and flavorful dish, and with quinoa and beans it’s actually quite filling. Not only does it taste great, but it is super quick to throw together on a busy weeknight, especially if you have leftover cooked quinoa in the fridge.

We think this makes the perfect meatless dinner or lunch; and leftovers taste great because the salad really absorbs the citrus dressing.

So next time you need dinner in a hurry, Quinoa Bean Salad might be just the meal to make.

A bowl of Quinoa Bean Salad.

Quinoa Bean Salad

I think black beans or pinto beans would also work well in this salad.

• 1-20 ounce can kidney beans, drained
• about 2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• the juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl mix together beans, quinoa, onion and basil. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and oil. Pour dressing over salad and stir to mix thoroughly; taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

lunch box, Main Dishes, Make ahead, Meatless Monday, quick and easy, Salads quinoa salad

We eat a lot of corn tortillas at our house, which can get a bit boring. So the other night I decided to get creative and make something slightly different with my store bought tortillas.

I sprayed some non-stick spray into various bowls and ramekins and inserted one softened tortilla into each dish. I sprayed again and baked until crisp. Instant, edible tortilla bowls.

I have seen a similar thing done in recipes, but you drape the corn tortilla over an inverted dish. I am guessing this method would work as well, but seemed to me like the tortilla might fall off the dish.

I realize you can buy fancy molds made especially for this purpose, but who has the kitchen space for all these gadgets?

We used Baked Tortilla Cups as the bowl for chicken tostados, but I think they could also be used for a thick taco soup or chili (although I haven’t actually tried this yet). I am also thinking if you brushed the tortillas with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar they would be a great edible cup for a fruit salsa or yogurt. I think most kids would enjoy this for a snack or breakfast.

Baked Tortilla Cups, a healthy and fun way to eat corn tortillas…and they are super cute!

Small glass dishes, greased.

Corn tortillas placed into dishes.

Chicken Tostados served in Baked Tortilla Cups.

Baked Tortilla Cups

• corn tortillas
• oil or non-stick spray
• ramekins or small oven-safe bowls

1. Preheat oven to 375. Oil or spray bowls and place on a baking sheet.
2. Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and place on a plate, microwave for about 1 minute, or until soft and pliable. Place one tortilla into each prepared bowl and bake in preheated oven about 10 minutes or until crisp. Carefully remove tortilla cups from the bowls and use as desired.

Cooking With Kids, Main Dishes, Make ahead, quick and easy, Salads

I have two kids, one who loves to be in the kitchen and one who would much rather just eat. Unfortunately for me, it is the three year old that wants to cook and the teenager that wants to eat. Life would be so much easier if the situation were reversed.

I was preparing Greek Pasta Salad, chopping away at the cutting board, with my youngest daughter teetering on a step stool, whisking the dressing ingredients. She saw me with my bowl of chopped ingredients (cheese, pepperoni, onions, and olives) heading her way and yelled “Pasta Pizza?! Are you sure about this?”

Although she was quite skeptical, we all really enjoyed this salad. It’s really flavorful, but kid-friendly as well. If you wanted to make this a little more grownup, I think adding roasted red peppers, mushrooms, or canned artichokes would do the trick.

I opted to make the dressing with half balsamic vinegar and half red wine vinegar, because I love the flavor of balsamic, but it gives the pasta a much darker hue. If you have picky eaters or serving  this to company you might want to stick with lighter vinegars because it will result in a prettier salad.

I use Hormel Turkey Pepperoni because it is easy to find at the grocery store, but I know there are other gluten free pepperonis available. Like most pasta salads, this one tastes even better the next day. However, we have noticed not all gluten free pastas taste great the next day, so you may have to try a few and see what you like.

Greek Pasta Salad, a great main dish salad!

Greek Pasta Salad

Although I used dried herbs, fresh herbs would taste amazing in this!

• 1 16-oz package gf pasta cooked, rinsed, and drained (I use Goldbaum macaroni or spirals)
• 1 1 /2 cups diced cherry tomatoes
• 1 can olives, whole or sliced if desired
• 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup quartered or sliced pepperoni
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled thoroughly, about 2 hours. Top with Parmesan before serving if desired.

Main Dishes, Make ahead, Salads Gluten Free Greek Salad

Quinoa is one of those grains I had never even heard of, let alone ate, before going gluten free. For the first couple weeks I even pronounced it completely wrong. I was saying it phonetically, when in fact it is keen-wa. Oh, well.

Quinoa is an ancient grain that is super healthy and easy to prepare, in fact you make it just like you would white rice; you can even cook it in the rice cooker. It has all eight essential amino acids and is one of the best protein sources in the vegetable kingdom. It can be a bit expensive at grocery stores, but I can find it at Costco and in the bulk section of most grocery stores very reasonably priced. You can also fine quinoa flakes and flour in most health food stores. I find the flakes to be almost bitter, but once toasted they do have a nice flavor and works well in granola.

My family likes the taste of quinoa, but I know others do not. I great way to make everyone happy is to mix it with flavorful ingredients, like ginger and soy.

This Quinoa Salad is easy to prepare. We make it meatless, however cooked shrimp or chicken would also be great in it. The idea is basically combining cooked quinoa with veggies, pour on some Asian dressing and you are done. Although I like to make my own dressing, if you have a favorite Asian-style dressing, you could just lightly dress some quinoa with it for a super quick meal.

This tastes great warm, at room temperature, or even cold, making it great for a weeknight meal, with leftovers the perfect brown bag lunch the next day.

I love cilantro and think it really adds flavor to this salad, my husband disagrees and think it should be left out, we compromise and just garnish the individual salads as desired. I think sesame seeds or chopped peanuts would also be a great addition.

Quinoa Salad with teriyaki chicken & beans.

Quinoa Salad

• about a 1 inch piece of peeled ginger
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups quinoa (rinsed if necessary)
• 1/4 cup canola or olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil, optional
• 2 TB rice wine vinegar
• 4 tsp peanut butter
• 2 tsp soy sauce (San-J makes a gf one)
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
• 2/3-1 cup diced bell peppers
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions (white & green parts)
• about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, optional

1. I actually cook the quinoa in my rice cooker, but here are the saucepan directions: Place the whole ginger, broth, and quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil; stir, reduce heat and cover with lid. Cook for 15 minutes, let rest 5 minutes and fluff with a fork. Discard the ginger and transfer the quinoa to a large bowl to cool.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the grated ginger, oil (and sesame oil if using), vinegar, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, and garlic.
3. Add the peppers and onions to the quinoa, pour the dressing over and stir to combine. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving if desired.

lunch box, Main Dishes, Make ahead, Salads Asian quinoa salad