Spinach and Tomato Quinoa Salad

The decor in our great room is FINALLY changing here on the Hill.  We moved into one of my childhood homes (my parents are divorced) three years ago and the great room is the room that I've barely touched...mostly because of the size.  Since it is the kitchen/dining/living room, anything I did would have to be done to the whole thing.  That requires a much bigger budget.  While, not everything I want to change is changing right now, we are making significant progress toward the farmhouse charm I so desperately want.

That also means that I have several projects going on all at the same time, so my house is in a bit of a state of disaster.  Not to mention that my little L is a Halloween baby, so I also have birthday decorations and Halloween costumes to make in the next few weeks.  And the house needs to be in working order for said birthday party.  L picked an "Elsa" party, and I have an adorable surprise family costume planned.  Anyway, all of these half-done projects leave little time for a lengthy blog post today, so I thought I would give you all this delicious, quick recipe.

I've made this a few times this summer as it has become a favorite of my husband's.  He loves the fresh taste that it has.  And I took it to a family cookout over Labor Day weekend where my sisters-in-law asked me to share the recipe on the blog.  So here it is.  Really this is the perfect time too.  My tomatoes are still (barely) hanging on and I have spinach coming up as well.

I adapted a recipe from Half Baked Harvest.  Her recipe calls for olives and olive juice (which I hate) and for grape tomatoes which I could not get from my garden for free because we didn't grow grape or cherry tomatoes this year.  I hope you enjoy my changes as much as we did!

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water (you can use chicken broth too)
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 large handful of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• 4oz package of feta cheese
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• a few turns of freshly ground black pepper

1. Add the dry quinoa and water to a pot and allow it to come to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium and allow the quinoa to simmer until all of the water has cooked off.  The method is similar to cooking rice.

2. Mix the dressing while the quinoa is cooking.  Add the balsamic, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to a small bowl and whisk together until combined.  Let the dressing sit so that the flavors can meld together.

3. While the quinoa is still cooking or cooling, dice your tomatoes and chop your spinach.  Set these aside.

4. When the quinoa has cooked, fluff it with a fork and then dump it into a large bowl.  Add the spinach, tomato, feta and dressing and stir util combined.

5.  We have served it immediately or let it chill for a couple of hours.  Either way it is delicious!