on the menu / quinoa salad

This is definitely a favorite in our house. It makes a great snack in small portions, but is a nice light meal as well. It has a good amount of protein in it- pecans, chicken, and quinoa. (Did you know that quinoa is a complete protein?) It's also easy to make if you have some of these ingredients ready to go. I usually keep cooked quinoa and chicken in our fridge for easy to assemble snacks or meals. (The biggest motivation for this is to avoid the dreaded hanger.) Since I've been doing a great job at actually keeping plants alive, I planted some basil. This means that I always have fresh basil when needed. I also have green onions. They're not exactly planted, just re-sprouting. Did you see this on Pinterest? It totally works! It's great for us because I usually have some in my little mason jar. The dressing I like best is Trader Joe's Ramano Caesar. If we're out of that, I normally use a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

That's it! Hope you guys enjoy this recipe. Like I said, it's one of our favorites!

just let it go.

source.

I've really been enjoying this "week off from worrying" (as I've been calling it). Normally when I'm not swamped with the pressure of making things, I'm stressed out about the house, laundry, blogging, our calendar, etc. I have not let myself worry about any of those things this week and it's been fantastic. The best part is that I find it really rewarding when I do one load of dishes, even if it's not the whole kitchen. My mind isn't exhausted from constantly thinking of my giant to do list that never seems to be empty. I'm just content with the day to day. Wait, did I just say content? Yeah, I did! So what was the magic formula that got me here? Simple: I just let things go. It's funny how hard that sounded last week and how doing it was actually easy. I wasn't meant to carry around all of these burdens and worries all the time, so I won't. I can't control them or change them, so I won't even try. God's given me an abundant amount of blessings in my life that I truly don't deserve. When I focus on all of that rather than what I think I don't have, it all gets put into perspective. Talk about humility.

So there's my rambling thoughts for you. I think it all makes sense. On a side note: I have been in love with this quinoa salad ever since I tried it while on a date with my friend Emily. I made it for dinner last night and tonight. We both loved it, so nothing wrong with that, right? :) Here it is, would you like to know what's in it?

quinoa, basil, chives, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, pecans, and feta, topped with a caesar romano dressing (from Trader Joe's of course)

It's amazing! We have definitely eaten it as a meal, but it's also a great thing to keep in the fridge as a ready-to-eat and healthy snack (lots of protein!) That's usually the key for me to make sure that I eat enough food during the day: have it ready to eat. Sometimes I will put off eating for a while and then all of a sudden, I'm starving. That's never a good situation for me or my husband ( I get beyond grumpy). I try to keep this in mind when I'm shopping for snacks during my grocery trips. What are your favorite snacks that get you through the day? I have a staple snack list that I'll share soon (i think mine's kind of funny).

made with love ♥

I'm not the most amazing chef ever- heck I'm not really that brilliant in the kitchen. However, the things that I do know how to make, I try and make them as fancy as I can (explains the love I have for sandwich making). This recipe is a favorite in the Hansen home (and too easy to make).

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Ingredients:

You could get all of this on a trip to your local Trader Joe's.

- 1 regular sized package of boneless, skinless chicken fillets

-1 bottle of Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing (If you don't live near Trader Joe's, I've seen Annie's Goddess dressing in regular grocery stores)

-Feta cheese

-Fresh sage

-Brown rice (I just buy Trader Joe's 3 minute rice)*

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Preheat your oven to 375. Put the chicken fillets in an oven safe dish. Lightly coat the fillets in the dressing. Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on both sides of the fillets (the dressing will make the cheese stick). Pour more dressing into the dish (I usually pour enough to almost cover the chicken). Once your oven is preheated, bake your chicken for 20 minutes. When your timer goes off, flip the chicken and put it back in the oven for 12-18 minutes (This depends on how much you're making. Just make sure that your chicken is white all the way through.)

While your waiting for the chicken to bake, cook your rice and finely chop a little fresh sage. Once done, let the chicken sit just for a minute or two before serving up dishes. (The dressing will thicken to create the perfect sauce to pour over the chicken and rice.) Sprinkle some fresh sage on top and voila! I'm telling you, this dish tastes amazing (and smells so good as you're making it). Serve it with your favorite salad and some garlic bread and you've got yourself (what seems like) a fancy dinner.

*you could substitute the brown rice for quinoa. yumm!