Hi Guys!!! I hope you are all getting ready for a super fun weekend full of cocktails, candy, witches and goblins! We have all kinds of stuff planned and I can’t wait for all of the festivities. But truth be told I haven’t done anything to prepare a costume for myself- but boy are my kids going to have awesome costumes. I have to hustle something together tomorrow before I go to volunteer at school because I wouldn’t want to be a drag! What should I throw together?
I also wanted to post this recipe very intentionally today. I feel like with Halloween falling on a Saturday and a Hawks game on Sunday, there is going to be non stop gorging and I have to have something healthy in the fridge or I am just going to be in double trouble. Did I tell you that I had a weird allergic reaction to the temporary filling from that dental work last week? The good news is that my tooth seems to finally be ok, but I have to take a couple of days of prednisone for all of the swelling to go away. So basically I am on roids and am ravenously hungry, overly energetic and very thirsty. 
Since I am tempted every 5 minutes to reach for the pantry and whatever is in it I am going for the salad instead. And happily, this salad is totally amazing. It’s Quinoa and fresh crisp veggies with a spicy lemongrassy peanut sauce. Perfect for a light dinner or a lunch that you can bring to work or snack on during the day- you will love this.
Have an awesome Halloween and check out instagram to see us celebrate the spooky day in full glory!
- Quinoa:
- 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup white quinoa
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Lemongrass Peanut Dressing
- ⅓ cup chopped lemongrass stalk
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 fresno chili (with seeds)
- 3 tablespoons agave
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- kosher salt
- Salad:
- 1 yellow bell pepper, small diced
- 1 red bell pepper, small diced
- ½ red onion, small diced
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- ½ cup shredded fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup shredded fresh thai basil
- ½ cup roasted salted peanuts plus 2 tablespoons chopped for garnish
- 4 cups shredded nappa cabbage
- 1 thinly sliced fresno chili
- In a small pot, add the chicken broth and the quinoa and kosher salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and add the lid. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. When the quinoa is cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.
- While the Quinoa is cooking make the dressing: In the jar of a blender, combine the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, chili, agave, peanut butter, vinegar and vegetable oil and puree until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt.
- Toss the quinoa in a large bowl with the bell peppers, red onion, chicken, mint and and thai basil and peanuts. Add a few tablespoons of the dressing and toss, then season to taste with kosher salt.
- On a platter lay a bed of nappa cabbage and then pile the quinoa salad on top. Drizzle with more dressing and then sprinkle with the chopped peanuts.
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Good idea about having something healthy ready to go-between Halloween and football- I’m going to need something like this so I don’t always reach for the candy and nachos 🙂
These flavors sound divine!
This salad is beyond, love the Thai flavors!
Heather….this salad will balance out all this Halloween craziness!!!
I seriously want to eat this for every meal this week (minus all the pantry snacks, of course)
Where do I find the recipe for the lemongrass peanut dressing?
Lemongrass Peanut Dressing is the title and the ingredients are below it 🙂