Mixed Bean Quinoa Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes

There’s one thing I’m learning in my Daniel Fast, is that I am spending A LOT of time preparing food. It’s really nice to have something that comes together quickly and is still delicious.

Bean Quinoa Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes

1 15 oz. can mixed beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 – 2 c. cooked quinoa
1 cup spinach, sliced into strips
2 roma tomatoes, cubed
1 – 2 slices red onion, minced
Handful of fresh parsley, sliced
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Fresh Ground Pepper
Kosher or Sea Salt

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the beans, quinoa, spinach, tomatoes, red onion and parsley.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt to taste and  liberally with fresh pepper.
3. Toss salad until evenly covered.
4. Enjoy!

What is your favourite quick meal?

This recipe has been linked up on Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays and Seasonal Sunday.

Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free: Kronk Inspired Spinach Puffs

September’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free challenge is “Disney Inspired Food” hosted by Gluten Free Gidget. Initially, I didn’t know what I should do, but when I started thinking about my favourite Disney Movie “The Emperor’s New Groove” immediately came to mind. And what does that mean? Spinach Puffs!

I thus then perused the interwebs for recipes, but didn’t quite find any to my liking, so I made my own based on a few of the of recipes I found.

Spinach Puffs ala Kronk from the Emperor’s Groove

GF Pastry Mix for one crust, rolled between two pieces of wax paper, 1/4″ thick in as rectangular as you can

1 pkg cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1/4 onion, chopped
2-3+ cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy in a mixer.
2. Add eggs one at a time until beaten in.
3. Add all cheeses, spinach and salt and pepper and mix on low speed until just barely incorporated.
4. Spoon filling onto pastry on one side, then roll over and pinch ends together.
5. Cut roll into ~1″ thick strips and carefully lift onto a greased cookie sheet. Note: I did end up having a lot of filling left over. It is quite tasty when spooned into muffin tins and baked until slightly browned.
6. Cook at 350F for about 20 minutes or until edges are nicely golden brown.
7. Enjoy!

They’re not quite as triangle-y as Kronk’s, but unlike Yzma I do like his spinach puffs.

What is your favourite Disney movie?