Quinoa Tabouli Recipe

I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

I believe now I have a trademark recipe, let me explain.  Yesterday I participated in pot luck at work for a colleague that is leaving Monday, so our crew decided to join forces and put together a little going-away party for her.  I'm not sure about you, but I panic a little when I hear the word "pot luck".  I never quite know what to bring and question whether my dish will be a hit or a complete fail.  Some people have signature dishes that everyone loves, but I haven't quite gotten there yet, so in the meantime I continue to experiment with different dishes.  Case in point, this Quinoa Tabouli  w/Feta Cheese and Garbanzo Beans compliments of Dani Spies.

Here is the main ingredient - Quinoa

If you have never cooked with quinoa I highly recommend it.  It is especially great for people who are vegetarians as it is a complete protein and it cooks in less than 20 minutes.

Here is what you will need:

2 cups of quinoa

 1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup fresh chopped mint

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

1 cup Persian cucumbers, chopped

1 cup garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

2 cloves of minced garlic

1/4 fresh squeezed lemon juice

 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 large tomato, diced

2 oz. crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

I really enjoy using fresh ingredients in my everyday meals - especially fresh herbs.  You can really taste the freshness!

Incorporate the fresh herbs and cucumber to the quinoa and mix well. 

I decided not to add the feta cheese and tomato until the next day, so I stored the diced tomato in a glass container ready to go.

Here is what it will look like right before incorporating the last couple ingredients and the dressing.
Looks quite tasty don't you think?

In a separate container whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

This is what my dish looked like right before setting it out in our conference room.  I was so happy with the end result as the flavor was right on.  However, I wasn't sure how this dish was going to compare (flavor wise) with the other food options available.  But to my surprise, my colleagues really liked it!  A few even asked for the recipe. 

So there you have it, another easy and healthy recipe.  If you would like to check out other recipe's similar to this one - check out Dani Spies' website here.  I am so excited to try another one in the next week.  I have yet to make a recipe from her site that I haven't liked.