How is it July already?!
It seems like just yesterday I was watching Christmas movies. Oh wait, that’s because I was. The Hallmark channel is celebrating Christmas in July with round-the-clock Christmas movies. I’m in heaven! I even told my husband that I wanted to bring up our 2 foot tall pre-lit Christmas tree for the month. I got vetoed.
All this Christmas talk has me craving cookies now (although in fairness, when am I not craving cookies?). Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it), I don’t have a cookie recipe for you today if that wasn’t obvious already. Instead, I’ve got a healthy dish for you. I know, what was I thinking?
I had some leftover Greek roasted chicken thighs so I decided to use it up in my lunches for the week. Cooking the chicken does require having the oven on, which I know some people don’t like doing in the summer. But you can do what I did and make a big batch of chicken one day and then keep the rest of it in the fridge for an easy weeknight meal or make-ahead lunch.
I simply cut up the chilled leftover chicken and added tomatoes, basil, mozzarella cheese, and quinoa. I love creating a meal around the traditional caprese salad. And if you don’t like quinoa then of course feel free to use pasta, rice, couscous, or even lettuce if that’s what you’re into.
I think this looks summery and refreshing (and it is). Although I see that I’ve got red and green colors going on. Maybe it’s the perfect Christmas in July dish after all. 😉
Caprese Chicken and Quinoa Recipe
(About 4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 4 Greek roasted chicken thighs
- 1 cup of dry quinoa
- 1/8 cup oil
- 1/8 cup lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 container (10.5 ounces) of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (equivalent to about 1 and 1/2 cups)
- about 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, chopped
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
Directions:
- Make the chicken. I used my Greek roasted chicken recipe, chilled it, and then took it out of the fridge once the quinoa was done cooking. Some grocery stores sell precooked chilled chicken if you want this to be even faster.
- Chop the cooked chicken and set it aside.
- Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package and then set it aside.
- To make the dressing, in a measuring cup, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and set it aside. A glass measuring cup makes it easy to pour later.
- In a big bowl, add the chopped cooked chicken, cooked quinoa, sliced tomatoes, chopped mozzarella cheese, and chopped basil.
- Pour the dressing on top and gently stir everything together.
Source: Tina’s Chic Corner
Yum.
🙂