Thanksgiving Quinoa Salad

   Hey friends! Happy Wednesday. I threw this little quinoa salad together for dinner tonight and it was SO good! You get a good dose of lean protein with the ground turkey and a variety of veggies, all with a gluten free grain. Pretty good in my book! We eat mostly paleo in our house plus the occasional rice, quinoa, or loaf of homemade bread. It helps that I can't really eat any dairy unless I want a screaming baby with a hurting tummy for hours and hours. Poor baby girlfriend.
   Anyway, this recipe was super yummy with all the comforting flavors of Thanksgiving and a bright maple Dijon vinaigrette. It would be an easy thing to meal prep at the beginning of the week and pack in containers for lunches too. Here ya go!

Thanksgiving Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

Salad-

1 1/2 cups quinoa (dry measurement)

3 cups water

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 leek

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 apple, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

6 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 small butternut squash, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. thyme

salt

pepper

Vinegairette-

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic

pinch of salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions:

1. To a saucepan or small pot, add dry quinoa and water. Cover and boil over medium heat until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

2. Set a pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, ground turkey, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme. When turkey is browned, remove from heat and set aside. I just put it in the large bowl I was going to serve it in. 

3. In the same pan, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter and add the rest of your salad ingredients EXCEPT the butternut squash. This takes longer to cook so I did it separately. 

4. Let veggies cook over medium heat until softened and mushrooms are cooked through. When you're satisfied with those, add them to the bowl with the browned turkey. 

5. I cooked the butternut squash in the same pan. To speed up the cooking process, I added a little bit of water and let the squash steam. Add to the bowl as well.

6. Mix your salad ingredients together in the serving bowl. 

7. Combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette. I like to use a blender bottle or a squeeze bottle. 

8. To serve, layer some of your cooked quinoa, the meat and veggie mix, and top with the vinaigrette.

9. Enjoy!