Tricolor Quinoa Salad with Cajun Chicken Breast

This Tricolor Quinoa Salad is a late post.  I pan fry the Cajun chicken breast for purpose of making Cajun Chicken and Corn Pizza. Since I have the intention of making quinoa salad for my lunch the next day, so I prepare an extra piece of chicken breast and place it in a container in the fridge after it has cooled down.  

The recipe for the Cajun Chicken Breast can be obtain here.  

For this simple Salad dish, I make use of only 4 simple ingredients: Tricolor Quinoa, corn, chicken breast and green corals; and drizzled with my favorite Light Salad Dressing.

Steps on how to cook the Tricolor Quinoa, click here 

Ingredients for Light Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup corn oil/olive oil

3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves (peeled and grated)

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. maple syrup

Sea Salt (to taste)

Ground pepper (to taste)

Methods:

1. In a mason jar, add all the ingredients.
2. Cover with lid and shake well until dressing is well combined.
3. Drizzle salad dressing over the salad and serve!  
4. Leave the leftover salad dressing in the jar, place the lid on and leave in the fridge.

I adapted this Salad Dressing recipe from 'the devil wears salad.'

Tricolor Quinoa Salad With Buttered Pumpkins & Green Peas

Recently, I came across a salad recipe online, using Tricolor Quinoa  by: The Devil Wears Salad.com.  To be frank, this is the first time trying out a salad dish using quinoa.  What interest me most is, how to cook fluffy quinoa.  I managed to get it right by following the recipe of 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup of water.

Since I am using whatever available ingredients in my fridge, I create my own bowl of 'Simple Yet Yummylicious' Salad for my lunch.

The ingredients I used are indeed very simple: pumpkin, green peas and green olives.

Steps: (serves 1)

1. To prepare the quinoa; rinse 1/2 cup (rice cup) of quinoa through a colander.  Add the quinoa to a small pan with 1 cup of water.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer gently.  Let it simmer until the water has absorbed.  Remove the pan from heat and cover with a lid.  Let quinoa steam for about 5 minutes.  Remove the lid and use a fork to fluff up the quinoa.  Set aside in a bowl for assembly.
2. Next, peel the pumpkin and cut into small cubes, and set aside in a bowl.
3. Set aside some green peas in a small bowl.
4. Slice the green olives (seedless) in half and set aside.
5. Prepare 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped.
6. To cook, add 2 tablespoon unsalted butter into a heated pan, add in pumpkin and garlic, stir-fry until pumpkin almost soft but not mushy, then add in the green peas.  Stir to mix and add dashes of chicken stock granules or salt, and ground white pepper, give it a quick stir and taste for correct seasoning.  Remove from pan into the bowl with the cooked quinoa.  Add in the green olives, and combine all the ingredients.  
7. Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle some chopped spring onion, and serve.