Happy Monday! Here's one of my favorite meals and because Rick is out of town this week and not crazy about this meal, it's on my menu rotation - I'll have it several times. I eat this warm or cold, I like it both ways. I always buy and make extra of all of the ingredients to keep in the fridge so I can toss together a quick, delicious, healthy meal several times this week. This is a copycat Panera recipe: Mediterranean Warm Grain Bowl. It's what I order every time I go to Panera, I love it; it has a combination of some of my favorite ingredients - olives, hummus, tahini, and feta.
Ingredients for two large servings:
2 boneless chicken breasts or thighs, grilled and thin sliced
2 cups cooked quinoa (or cilantro rice)
2 cups arugula or mixed greens or a combination of both
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced (I buy the English cucumbers, less seeds)
1/2 cup hummus
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 lemon
Feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup tahini dressing, I make my own and the recipe follows this one
Instructions:
1. Grill/bake (350 degree oven, 20 minutes) the chicken. Slice thin, set aside.
2. Prepare the quinoa or rice according to package directions. Or warm the left-over you have in your fridge in the microwave for about a minute.
3. Prep the veggies.
Assemble:
Place the greens around the edge of two large serving bowls. Add the quinoa and/or rice. Top with the tomatoes, cucumber, and olives. Add the chicken. Add a heaping spoonful of yogurt and hummus to each bowl. Top with feta. Give a squeeze of lemon over both bowls. Drizzle with the tahini dressing.
Tahini Dressing:
Add the following ingredients to a small mixing bowl, and whisk to combine. It will seize up and be thick at first, but it will thin out and become smooth and creamy as you slowly add water. Add as much water as needed to reach your desired consistency - I use about 1/2 cup of water.
1/3 cup tahini paste
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 clove of garlic OR a pinch of garlic powder
Doesn't this look SO GOOD?!