I Can't Follow Recipes: Turkey, Quinoa, and Green Snap Pea Salad

Before I left to come back to campus, my parents decided to roast a turkey. The turkey was delicious but there were more leftovers than two people (my parents) could eat before it goes bad, so they gave me some.  It made eating the actual day I got back a whole lot easier, but then for dinner, I wanted to be creative, but did not have the energy to follow the exact recipe.  So I heavily modified the Chicken Quinoa Salad from Jane Hornby's Fresh and Easy book.

Quinoa, vegetable broth, frozen snap peas, an onion, turkey (in aluminum foil), agave nectar, lime juice, thyme, garlic paste, salt.

I  love cooking quinoa in vegetable broth.  I, for some reason, prefer the taste of vegetable broth, mostly because it isn't as salty to me.  But first, we had to cook some onions and garlic for the most aromatic of flavors.

Onions caramelizing (by onions, I mean, half an onion)

Cooking quinoa in vegetable broth.

My dressing before mixing: olive oil, lime juice, agave nectar.   YUM.

I'm starting to learn that I am becoming a big fan of self-made, oil-based dressing for salads and the such.  It's lighter, full of omega-3's, and does not take away from the dish itself.  Most of the reason why I have an aversion to Chicken Caesar salad now is how gross the dressing tastes to me.

Threw in some snap peas.

A dish, to me, always has to include some kind of vegetable.  I don't know how I made it through my childhood eating not too many vegetables.  Snap peas live up to their name by giving a nice change in texture to the grainy quinoa and soft onions.

"I've watched enough Food Network to know what good plating is" - Matt

I mixed the dressing and then added it to my dish.  I then elegantly layered the turkey on top of it, which soon turned into a mash-up of all components that got ferried into mouth with a fork.  It was so delicious though, I can't even begin.  Not reheating the turkey added a great textural difference, though I'm sure it tastes awesome with some freshly roasted meat.

Onto the fashion.  It was around 0 degrees F at the time this meal was being made.  And the entire week following.  I'm so happy I got a bunch of sweaters for Christmas and located my fingerless gloves that turn into mittens that keep my thumbs warm.  I went with this sweater to mimic the brightness of the snap peas and the brass tones in the necklace match the quinoa.  I wore thigh-high socks under my pants and combat boots make pretty awesome snow shoes.

Sweater (thrifted), pants (BDG), boots (Doc Marten's), gloves (urban outfitters), and necklace (bought at BronyCon) 

I like working with leftovers.  It makes the most of your food and prevents over-eating, which is a win-win.

Keep it yummy,
Jo