Fresh Mex Quinoa Salad

I'm finding quinoa popping up more and more on restaurant menus and recipe posts in the blogosphere, which just gets me more excited about using it. (Want to know what quinoa is? See this post.) This summer I came up with a salad that I really have enjoyed because it's filling and fresh. And it keeps for a few days in the refrigerator which makes it nice to make ahead of time and put in portions to take to work for lunch or on a picnic.

I must say I've never measured exact quantities . . . it's a little different each time, but delicious the same.

Ahead of time cook your quinoa and black beans and cool. (I usually do this the day before and then let them cool completely and store in the refrigerator overnight). For quinoa: rinse and add 2 times amount of water to quinoa. Reduce heat and cover for 15 minutes).
Prepare the following:
roma tomatoes
green pepper
cilantro
fresh corn from the cob (or frozen corn)

Mix the chopped ingredients with the quinoa and drained and rinsed black beans.

Then squeeze generous amounts of lime juice along wtih plenty of salt, pepper, and cumin to desired taste. I do quite a bit of cumin and salt and a little black pepper. Mix thoroughly and serve with avocado and cilantro on top.

Does anyone else out there use quinoa? I'd be excited to hear how you use it. I've tried it as a side at restaurants with a bit of mint in place of rice and it was absolutely delicious. Share your ideas in the comments section!

Mexican Chicken Salad (Cafe Rio Style)

I've posted this recipe before, but my food photography has gotten slightly better over the years and I thought I'd re-post with a little more appetizing photo this time. ;) And I've made a couple more notes in the recipe since I've made it a few times since then. This recipe is a favorite in our house. I like to prepare the bulk of it a day ahead and then assemble everything right before I serve it. Armando and I could eat this every day for a week and not get bored of it. So many fresh flavors and textures.

For those of you who don't know what a Cafe Rio Salad is - #1 you're missing out and #2 you probably won't appreciate the value of this recipe until you've tried one #3 try it, you'll love it.

I've decided that the only instructions in this recipe that you really need to follow with exactness (almost) is the dressing. If you have the dressing, you have it all! So experiment, build the salad to your liking and top it off with the creamy tomatillo / cilantro ranch dressing and you'll be in heaven!

Creamy Tomatillo / Cilantro Ranch Dressing
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (or 3 Tbsp dry mix)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 to ½ cup buttermilk
3-4 tomatillos
1 cup fresh cilantro lightly chopped
½ tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno (or less if you don't like spice, but this pepper is what gives the dressing just the right kick)

Take the papery layer off the tomatillos, wash, and chop. Chop the garlic. Wash and cut the cilantro into 1-2” segments. Put all ingredients in the blender and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate. Best made the day before. Keeps covered for several days. Makes 2 cups.

Shredded Lime Chicken
4-5 boneless chicken breasts (about 2.5 to 3 lbs of chicken)
1 ½ cups of 7-up or Sprite (12 oz. can)
½ to 1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 limes

Cook in crock pot on medium heat for 8 hours or 6 hours on high heat until chicken falls apart and shreds with a fork. Stir in the juice of 2 limes before serving. Serves 10 with ½ cup servings.
**I've been known to skip the whole chicken portion and just pick up a rotisserie chicken. I prefer grilled chicken on my salad.

Cilantro Rice
2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 cup Salsa Verde (Green salsa found in Mexican food aisle of grocery store)
2 Tbsp dried minced onion

Wash and chop cilantro. Blend cilantro with 2 cups of water and pour in the pan for cooking the rice. Add two more cups of water, the salt, Salsa Verde and onion. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice in the boiling water. Cover and turn down heat to very low and steam for 30 minutes. Makes about 10 servings. *I personally just used some rice I had cooked for my salad, but looking at the recipe, I think it might need just a little chicken broth to balance out all the other flavors.

Black Beans
Warm canned black beans in a pan on the stove, including all the liquid from the can, until beans are simmering hot. Plan on 1/3 to ½ cup of beans per serving. Serve with a slotted spoon to drain out the liquid from the beans. *I usually make my own black beans in the crock pot with a few cloves a garlic, plenty of cumin and a tablespoon of salt to two cups of dried beans.

To Assemble the Salad
Final Ingredients:
Fresh Flour Tortillas
Chopped romaine lettuce
Fresh Cilantro sprigs
Queso Cotija (Mexican cheese), finely shredded
Corn tortilla strips
Pico de gallo
Guacamole
Lime wedges

For each serving warm a flour tortilla in a microwave or on a griddle. (I prefer the griddle!) Melt shredded chees on the tortilla while warming on the grill. Layer on rice, beans, chicken, and about 1 ½ cups chopped romaine lettuce, fresh cilantro sprigs, parmesean cheese (I prefer queso cotija from the Mexican food dairy section of the grocery store), a few fried corn tortilla strips, and creamy tomatillo dressing. Add pico de gallo, guacamole and juice from a lime wedge to taste.I found that I made a much smaller salad than the one from Cafe Rio which made it so that I could actually finish it!

Orange Avocado Salsa

I stumbled across this recipes a few years ago, made it in the same day and it has remained among our favorite to garnish fish tacos. The mix of flavors and the exploding citrus makes it perfect for fish.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tsp honey
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 large navel oranges
1 firm, ripe avocado, pitted and diced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

In a medium bowl, whisk lime juice and honey until combined. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Slice off both ends of each orange. Following the curve of the fruit, slice away peel and white pith. Cut oranges into quarters lengthwise; slice sections crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Transfer to bowl along with onion and avocado; toss gently to coat with dressing. (Make sure not to stir this up too much or the avocados will fall apart. The mix of the honey and lime with the pepper on the oranges is absolutely divine!) Set aside to serve.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad

What is Quinoa? It's a tiny grain cultivated from a tumbleweed type plant in South America. If you want to know more, read the Wiki details here.


It's very quick to cook and looks fluffy like this when it's all done - (just a quick 15 minutes).

So here's the recipe . . . with Emily's notes . . .

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa (rinse, boil in 1 cup water, reduce heat, cover, 15 minutes)
1/2 cup frozen petite peas
1 small carrot, shredded
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup (or less) chopped green onions

1 cup fresh spinach or lettuce (optional, to serve salad on)

Dressing:

1 Tbl. white balsamic vinegar (I used dark, I don't think it matters but maybe white looks nicer).
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. Dijon mustard
1/4 T. sugar
1 Tbl. minced fresh parsley (dried works but fresh tastes best)
1 Tbl. minced fresh thyme (I used dried)

Mix dressing and pour over salad.

Now, you'll notice that the veggies I put in this salad in the picture don't match the recipe. You can throw pretty much anything in there. I put in what I had on hand, but I must say the frozen peas are my favorite with the tomatoes and grain. It's the perfect mix of textures and flavors.

Also, on another side note, Quinoa is great as a healthy breakfast. Let me know if you try this or if you have any other Quinoa recipes that you like! I'd like to try more.

Summer Shrimp Salad

It's been awhile since I've posted. I decided that the "What's cooking at Daisy's" blog title had to go. My new and improved, "Daisy Cooks, [sometimes]" seems to fit better. I do cook. And a lot more often than you'll see proof of here. So when I actually take a sec to photograph the food and then have another minute to post, I will. For now, here's a little inspiration for a summer salad that I LOVE. If you don't like seafood, stop here.

Summer Shrimp Salad

1 pkg pasta (I usually use shell, but didn't have any this time)
1 lb salad shrimp, cooked and deveined, with tail off
1 cucumber
3-4 roma tomatoes
3/4 c mayonnaise (honestly I've never measured the mayo & ketchup)
1/3 c ketchup
salt & pepper to taste

Boil pasta 'til well done. Let cool. (When I'm in a hurry, I run cold water over it). Rinse shrimp. Cut cucumbers and tomatoes into slices and fourths. Mix with pasta and shrimp. In a separate bowl, mix mayo and ketchup with salt and pepper. Add to pasta, shrimp, and veggies. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Curtido - "Pickled Vegetables"

Again, another touch of my father-in-law's honduran hands in the kitchen - this time it's "Curtido" which according to Wikipedia is basically a relish and depending on the country, it can be very different. Honduran curtido (from what I found at Wikipedia) is very similar to Mexican Curtido and can be served with virtually every dish. (That's what I've found this week.) I didn't think it looked too appetizing, but now that I've tried it, I too am putting it on everything but dessert these days. (Shhhhhh....don't tell Armando - he is cherishing every last bite of it!)

No specific recipe - but here is the list of ingredients.

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Sliced Carrots (Slanted)
• Large pieces of Onion
• Cauliflower
  
• Peppercorns
• Jalepeños Sliced (Don't include seeds)
  
• Garlic Cloves

Fill sealable container (preferably with a large opening with desired vegetables. Pour Apple Cider Vinegar over vegetables - covering them completely and close container. Let vegetables soak in vinegar for a couple or three days before using. This mixture lasts for several weeks. You can serve it basically with any meat or main dish. We had it with fish this week and also with some delicious tacos and fajitas. It was the perfect touch to every dish. Salvadorians make their own kind of curtido with lots of cabbage thinly sliced and garnish pupusas with it. Now, that dish is also delicious. We'll see if I ever get up the courage to make it.

Mexican Chicken Salad (Cafe Rio Style)

Serves 10

For those of you who don't know what a Cafe Rio Salad is - #1 you're missing out and #2 you probably won't appreciate the value of this recipe until you've tried one #3 try it, you'll love it.

I've decided that the only instructions in this recipe that you really need to follow with exactness (almost) is the dressing. If you have the dressing, you have it all! So experiment, build the salad to your liking and top it off with the creamy tomatillo / cilantro ranch dressing and you'll be in heaven!

Creamy Tomatillo / Cilantro Ranch Dressing
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (or 3 Tbsp dry mix)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 to ½ cup buttermilk
3-4 tomatillos
1 cup fresh cilantro lightly chopped
½ tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic

Take the papery layer off the tomatillos, wash, and chop. Chop the garlic. Wash and cut the cilantro into 1-2” segments. Put all ingredients in the blender and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate. Best made the day before. Keeps covered for several days. Makes 2 cups.

Shredded Lime Chicken
4-5 boneless chicken breasts (about 2.5 to 3 lbs of chicken)
1 ½ cups of 7-up or Sprite (12 oz. can)
½ to 1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 limes

Cook in crock pot on medium heat for 8 hours or 6 hours on high heat until chicken falls apart and shreds with a fork. Stir in the juice of 2 limes before serving. Serves 10 with ½ cup servings.

Cilantro Rice
2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 cup Salsa Verde (Green salsa found in Mexican food aisle of grocery store)
2 Tbsp dried minced onion

Wash and chop cilantro. Blend cilantro with 2 cups of water and pour in the pan for cooking the rice. Add two more cups of water, the salt, Salsa Verde and onion. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice in the boiling water. Cover and turn down heat to very low and steam for 30 minutes. Makes about 10 servings. *I personally just used some rice I had cooked for my salad, but looking at the recipe, I think it might need just a little chicken boullion to balance out all the other flavors.

Black Beans
Warm canned black beans in a pan on the stove, including all the liquid from the can, until beans are simmering hot. Plan on 1/3 to ½ cup of beans per serving. Serve with a slotted spoon to drain out the liquid from the beans.

Assemble the Salad
For each serving warm a flour tortilla in a microwave or on a griddle. (I prefer the griddle!) Melt shredded chees on the tortilla while warming on the grill. Layer on rice, beans, chicken, and about 1 ½ cups chopped romaine lettuce, fresh cilantro sprigs, parmesean cheese, a few fried corn tortilla strips, and creamy tomatillo dressing. Add salsa, guacamole and juice from a lime wedge to taste.I found that I made a much smaller salad than the one from Cafe Rio which made it so that I could actually finish it!