Spicy Kale and Quinoa Salad with Cajun Chicken

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. 

Real talk here for a minute, my friends. Life here has been pretty crazy over the last month. Distractions, hectic schedules and a somewhat lack of inspiration has had me pondering this whole blogging thing for a while. I do love it, but sometimes keeping it up can be pretty hard. I know everyone struggles with keeping up creative outlets. Even my two favourite food bloggers once podcasted that they too struggled with their love of writing on a daily and weekly basis – and it’s their actual full time job. 

This blog started as a selfish endeavour to spend more time with my Mother and to learn traditional family recipes, and essentially archive them. I felt that if it reached a few people and they liked the food, that was good enough for me. 5+ years later, I’m still here and wondering what the impact of this blog has – if any. Then I stopped and looked around. I read some comments that came through my inbox over the last couple weeks, and was truly humbled. The blog connected with them personally and emotionally. Whether it was through the memories of their own families and the food they shared, or simply that they forgotten how much they loved comfort food – the connection was there. It has since inspired me and forced me to stop, slow down, and look around. Life is pretty great and you can truly find inspiration in anything. 

I’ve even found inspiration in being healthy. As you can see over the last little bit, more healthy recipes have been featured. I struggle with keeping a healthy eating routine because you need to be a little more creative in the flavours you are cooking with. I’m not a very creative person when it comes to looking into my fridge or pantry and whipping up something with the items I have on hand. So I prep a bit, think a bit more, and ended up with this delicious meal. It is full of a combination of flavours – spicy, sweet and fresh. 

 In a mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well with water and drain.

Add your quinoa to the water when it’s at a rolling boil – not before.

Do not cover the pot completely – leave a noticeable gap to let the steam out.

Boil your quinoa on medium low heat for approximately 10-15 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. You should have a slow audible simmer happening.

When the audible simmer begins to die down, uncover the pot and turn the heat up to medium and stir your almost fluffy quinoa constantly as the last remnants of water evaporate.

Fluff with a fork.

Add in the black beans and corn to the pot.

Mix well.

Cover and set aside.

Combine all cajun chicken spices in a small bowl.

In a Ziploc bag, place lemon juice and canola oil. Add half of the spice mixture to the bag.

Add your chicken breasts, turning to coat them.

Lay them flat in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, or overnight.

Remove chicken from plastic bag and place on a plate.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the remaining spice mixture.

Place chicken on a slightly oiled hot grill and cook through completely, flipping once.

Remove from grill pan and cut up into bite-sized pieces.

Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, add kale and onion.

Add in avocado.

Add Quinoa mixture.

Pour as much dressing over top as you desire.

Throw in cajun chicken and you’re done!

Crazy delicious and crazy healthy.

Enjoy!

Spicy Kale and Quinoa Salad with Cajun Chicken

2016-08-27 13:04:16

Serves 4

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

40 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

40 min

For the Salad

1. 1 cup uncooked quinoa
2. 1-2/3 cups water
3. 6 cups chopped kale, de-stemmed
4. 1/2 red onion, chopped
5. 1 avocado, chopped
6. 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
7. 1 cup corn

For the Cajun Chicken

1. 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2. 1 tsp salt
3. 1 tsp cayenne pepper
4. 1 tsp smoked paprika
5. 1 tsp black pepper
6. 1/2 tsp oregano
7. 1/4 tsp garlic powder
8. 1/4 tsp onion powder
9. 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
10. 1/4 cup canola oil

For the Dressing

1. 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2. 1 clove garlic, minced
3. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
4. 1/4 cup hot sauce of your choice
5. 1/4 cup water
6. 1 teaspoon maple syrup
7. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
8. Salt and pepper, to taste

For the quinoa

1. In a mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well with water and drain.
2. Add your quinoa to the water when it’s at a rolling boil – not before.
3. Do not cover the pot completely – leave a noticeable gap to let the steam out.
4. Boil your quinoa on medium low heat for approximately 10-15 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. You should have a slow audible simmer happening.
5. When the audible simmer begins to die down, uncover the pot and turn the heat up to medium and stir your almost fluffy quinoa constantly as the last remnants of water evaporate.
6. Fluff with a fork.
7. Add in the black beans and corn to the pot. Mix well. Cover and set aside.

For the cajun chicken

1. Combine all spices in a small bowl.
2. In a Ziploc bag, place lemon juice and canola oil. Add half of the spice mixture to the bag.
3. Add your chicken breasts, turning to coat them. Lay them flat in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, or overnight.
4. Remove chicken from plastic bag and place on a plate.
5. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the remaining spice mixture.
6. Place chicken on a slightly oiled hot grill and cook through completely, flipping once.
7. Remove from grill pan and cut up into bite-sized pieces.

For the salad

1. Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, add kale, onion and avocado.
3. Add in quinoa mixture.
4. Pour as much dressing over top as you desire. Toss until fully incorporated.
5. Add cajun chicken.
6. Enjoy!

By Claudia's Cookbook

Adapted from The Glowing Fridge

Adapted from The Glowing Fridge

Claudia's Cookbook http://www.claudiascookbook.com/