Oh My Salad!

Let me tell you friends, you all are in for a treat today, a salad treat. I know most of you all are thinking that salad is not a treat (Normally I would agree with you on this one!), but in this case it is. This was such a great combo of flavors and will be something I make again and again.

via Skinnytaste

Spinach and Quinoa Salad with Tangelos and Avocado
Adapted from Skinnytaste.com 
Servings: 4 


Ingredients:

• 4 oz baby spinach
• 1 tangelo, reserving 3 slices 
• 1 haas avocados, diced
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (1/3 cup dry) (I used a small plastic container of already prepared red quinoa from Central Market, GREAT shortcut!)

For the Citrus Vinaigrette:

• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• 2 tbsp chopped shallots (I would mince more finely next time)
• salt and pepper to taste
• tangelo juice from 3 reserved slices 

Directions:

Rinse quinoa well under cold water and cook according to package directions. Drain and let it cool. 

Peel the skin and white membrane off the tangleo and separate the pieces.Reserve three tangelo slices for the vinaigrette and squeeze the juice; set aside.Cut up the remaining tangelo slices into small pieces for the salad.

In a medium bowl whisk the olive oil, tangelo juice (from 3 slices of tangelo), vinegar, chopped shallots, salt and pepper.

In a large bowl toss spinach, quinoa, avocado, tangelo and vinaigrette.

I originally made this as a dish to take to dear family friends who are recovering from surgery and to amp up the protein I added my lemon pepper chicken to it. There is no real recipe for the chicken, I just take boneless, skinless chicken tenders and rub them down with some olive oil and loads of lemon pepper and then grill them on my indoor grill pan. Let them rest for a wee bit and then slice them up!