Back with a salady vengeance

Yes, after a bit of a hiatus over the summer months, I am back. Two out of three kids are back in school (counting down the days until number 3 starts back on Monday...counting them by the second, with gritted teeth in fact!). Whilst my family has been eating, and hasn't starved over the summer (an injudicious step on the scale this morning is telling me quite the reverse, in fact), having all three kids at home seriously hampers one's blogging capabilities. We also had a month away from home, which while fabulous, meant that I didn't cook at all for nearly 4 weeks - yikes!

Now, however, normal service is resumed, by which I mean, normal post-holiday service, which must by definition include at least one Sheesh-how-could-I-have-eaten-so-much-must -purge-NOW salad. And here it is. Since our stomachs are used to way more than being fobbed off with a couple of lettuce leaves though, I wanted something that would fill up bellies, to keep the whining level down. And this recipe more than fit that bill.

The original recipe comes from Family Circle magazine. I can't quite believe that I am old enough to subscribe to this, since they have ads for meds to combat osteoporosis and for incontinence aids, but hey, they offered it to me for $5 for two years, so I could hardly say no! And the recipes are good!

Greek Chicken-Quinoa Salad
Serves 4

3 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 English cucumber (seedless), chopped into bitesize pieces
1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 large red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
4 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1. In a small bowl, soak the red onion in some cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in cucumber, tomatoes, onion and dill. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Stir quinoa and chicken into the tomato mixture, divide among serving plates and top with feta.