Chargrilled Quinoa Salad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BlockPartyHero #CollectiveBias

We live with the in-laws. Have I mentioned that yet? Le sigh. They are great really, they are saints for allowing us to live with them so we could sell our house, and build our new one, but most importantly so we can put our daughter in a good school district. I appreciate their generosity more than I can properly adequately express to them. But its not without its challenges. We are 11 months into this venture now, and we have gotten better at it. My brother and sister-in-law also live here, so we are three families trying to merge and keep separate all at the same time. 

Some of those challenges, other than the obvious different personalities clashing are cooking. Now obviously with the nature of what we do its completely understandable that we cook some days from the time we get up until way past bedtime. But did I mention there are two other families that live here and have their own dietary needs and requirements? We also live in an apt that is about 500 sq. feet and don’t have a full kitchen. My kitchen is basically in the garage, that the parents have graciously donated for own specific uses and that is where most of our magic happens. 

However, now that we are finally in the full swing of summer, the best thing about that is I gain a whole outside cooking space that I don’t have in the winter. My little patio outside our door that has my beautiful little grill. I can cook almost anything outside on that grill that i can inside. I love it. I don’t have to step over anyone else, I don’t have to bother or interrupt someone’s cooking, its just me and my space cooking whatever I want to. One of my favorite go-to’s is grilling, charring veggies.  There really is just something about charring the outside of veggies that makes them extra delish. Putting fire to food just makes it taste better somehow. Natural sugars get caramelized and the flavors of the veggies get really enhanced, making for an overall more flavor veggie or dish, and makes it really hard to pass them up even by the pickiest of eaters. You really can cook anything on the grill that you can inside. I have even made biscuits and gravy on the grill. Seriously! But that is another post. 

Today I decided I would chargrill some peppers, onions, zucchini, tomatoes and asparagus and make a delicious quinoa salad. I needed some ingredients to make this wonderful meal come together so I decided that I would head on over to Sam’s Club and pick up a few items. I love shopping at Sam’s Club when I am having a summer get together because its a one stop shop for all my needs. I can get the propane I need there along with everything else for a good summer gathering. Today was also a sample heaven day! That might be the best thing about having a Sam’s membership is going on the days that have all the samples, who needs lunch? But if you do there is always those awesome hotdogs that we can get or a hot slice of pizza. Yum!! Today I found a treasure trove of veggies, and great new quinoa called truRoots, and something to add a little zing to my party Pace Organic Salsa.

TruRoots Quinoa is organic, non-GMO verified, Gluten-Free and a sprouted grain. This quinoa is premium quality, has traceable sourcing and from a brand that is a leader in the organic foods industry. I know when I am serving this not only is the taste going to be fantastic but I can feel good about the nutrition being served to my friends and family.

I have been cooking quinoa for a long time. I know that it takes the flavor of anything that you add to it. By far my favorite cooking liquid for quinoa is Swanson’s chicken broth. Swanson’s is always flavorful and is a premium quality that I have come to count on and expect. It has the perfectly balanced flavor of chicken, vegetables and spice that pairs well with the quinoa. It’s 100% natural and 99% Fat-Free so I can feel good about serving Swanson’s chicken broth to my family.

No party is complete without a little zazz and zing. Pace Organic Salsa provides the spice I want for my dish but also serves as a delicious appetizer all on its own that my family just can’t get enough of. I love that it is USDA certified organic and its the quality that I expect from Pace Salsa’s. My favorite part……I can get all the ingredients I need in one place at Sam’s Club.

I chopped my veggies and prepared them for the grill. I like to keep the size pretty big so there is a lot of surface area to impart the grill flavor. When the veggies have charred, I take them off and put them in a sealed container. This not only keeps them warm but it steams the skins off the peppers and tomatoes. In a cast iron skillet I boil the chicken broth and pace and then add the quinoa and bring it back to a boil. I take it off the heat and cover it and allow it stand 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork. I gently mix in the chopped grill veggies and just like that you have a  warm quinoa salad delight. I found the quinoa so flavorful that it didn’t really need any dressing or cheese. But you could certainly add both!

Give this recipe a try and head on over to Sam’s Club and be the block party hero by picking up these wonderful ingredients!

Ingredients

1 cup of truRoots Quinoa

2 Cups of Swanson’s Chicken Broth

3 Sweet Peppers for grilling

3 tomatoes halved and deseeded

1/2 bunch of trimmed asparagus

1 zucchini halved

1 tbs of oil

Pace Organic Salsa for topping

salt and pepper as needed

Directions:

Follow directions on truRoots bag and cook quinoa in the broth until done. Prep veggies and oil, salt if desired. Place them on the grill and cook until slightly soft and you have grill marks. Chop veggies and toss with quinoa. Serve warm or chilled.