Chicken and Spinach and Onion, Oh My!

Greetings,

I am somewhat ashamed of myself. For the duration of finals, various sicknesses and moving out for the summer - I have been terribly remiss in my blogging duties. Please accept my humble apologies, and know that I will endeavor to be better in the future.

As an apology offering, I have a new favorite recipe to present for your perusal and consideration. It is a 'Primavera' recipe...which made me highly hesitant to try it at all, but it tastes wonderful!

This is super easy to cook in a dorm; I can testify, pinky swear. I tried this one a month ago while school was still in session and it was a wonderful 'healthy' option for trying to get into shape. I stole this recipe from Whole Foods, I confess. But that's okay...I'll give Whole Foods this victory....the taste is completely worth it.

Quinoa Primavera

Ingredients:

• 1 c.of cooked quinoa (I cooked in my rice cooker)
• Cooking Oil (I used Grapeseed oil - the actual recipe recommends Olive Oil)
• 1/2 c. chopped onion (Don't forget that the type of onion changes the taste of the recipe; yellow onions are my favorite)
• 1/2 lb. uncooked asparagus
• 1 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 c. cooked shredded chicken (or ~ 2.5 cooked chicken breasts)***
• 1 c. baby spinach leaves
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat with the asparagus and onion. Cook for ~ 5-7 minutes; until the asparagus is bright green and tender.
2. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
3. Add chicken, spinach and quinoa (in that order). Cook for 3-5 minutes; until the spinach is wilted.
4. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste.

***I have used both crock-pot cooked chicken as well as baking the chicken breasts. For the baked chicken breasts, I greased the chicken (and the pan too, of course) and covered it in seasoning. I then baked it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for ~40 minutes (until the center wasn't pink anymore).

It's super yummy - I highly recommend at least trying it, and also trying a variation of vegetables! It is reminiscent of high school for me (when I could still eat food) and using random vegetables in a stir-fry to eat over rice. It's a great meal for an evening after a workout or for a hot summer night, because it isn't too heavy but is still filling enough that you aren't immediately hungry an hour later.

I hope you're having a wonderful summer! Enjoy the sunshine and academic hiatus :)