A Recipe and (my 1st!) Giveaway

Hi hi hi!! (as Graham says).

We are moved into our new home! Thanks to lots of help from family and friends, we moved in and have been here for a week, settling in and trying to make sense of the chaos. Everyday I have a few goals- to organize a closet or to unpack 5 boxes or to put books on a shelf. It's getting there and I'll be posting a lot of pictures soon.

Until then, I thought it might be fun to post a recipe and have a little giveaway. I've never had a giveaway and I don't think I've really written up a recipe before, so this is new for me. But it should be fun- it's a very healthy vegetarian recipe and I'll give away a new copy of the cookbook where I found it. Here goes:

(Super Healthy) Greek Quinoa and Avocado Salad

*disclaimer: I did alter the recipe just a tad from the original recipe*

You Will Need:

-1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
-1 cup of water
-2 tomatoes, chopped
-1 small finely chopped red onion
-3 tablespoons lemon juice
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-spinach leaves
-2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and sliced
-1/3 cup feta cheese
-as many Greek olives as you like :)

1. In a saucepan combine quinoa and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer covered, about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

2. Transfer quinoa to a bowl. Add tomato and onion.

This was obviously before I added the cooked quinoa. Fresh cut veggies look so pretty!

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Add to quinoa mixture and toss to coat.

4. Place spinach leaves on salad plates. Arrange avocado slices on the spinach. Spoon quinoa mixture over the spinach and avocado. Top with feta and olives.

You will love it- we did! It's healthy and refreshing and easy and you don't have to slave over a hot oven.

I got the recipe from this book- Better Homes and Gardens Anyone Can Cook. It is one of my favorite cookbooks because it has a lot of great pictures, easy steps, and is a 3-ring binder book, so the pages stay put.

There are lots of fun recipes in it- some are really simple ("Fried Eggs") and some are a little harder. The chapters are: Appetizers and Snacks, Sides, Breakfast, Slow and Savory Meat Dishes, Quick Meat Dishes, Fish and Shellfish, Pasta, Rice & Grains, Salads, Soups & Stews, Wraps, Sandwiches & Pizza, Something Sweet.

I have a brand new extra copy that I'd love to give away. Would you like it? Leave a comment saying hello (not literally- you can say more then 'hello' :)) and I'll randomly pick someone and send it your way. I'll pick the winner on Wednesday.

Good luck!