Necessary share - BBQ chicken quinoa

All of my friends here in town are gonna be like "HEY!  This is our recipe!  We found it first!"  But I keep thinking about the friends I need to share it with but I can't seem to remember to tell them when I talk to them, let alone get to all the other people I think will enjoy this amazingness in a bowl.  So my friend Steph, my love Sarah, and my gal Gina may all know what this is - but I think they will all agree it needs to be shared with all mankind.  Hmmm sounds kinda like a plug for more than just food, don't it?  Uh-ha don't it? ;)

So here goes - but first - Quinoa - hello, I love you.  When I was vegan it was a serious staple for me.  "Keen-wa" is growing in popularity in the U.S. right now for all kinds of reasons.  But the all-knowing vegans have been eating this stuff for forever!  Why?  Because vegans look for any way to get extra protein and vitamins from any plant-based food they can find.  Quinoa is a whole grain, complete protein, gluten free (holla to the celiacs sufferers), and a good source of iron and magnesium (which is really important for your body to function properly).  I love this stuff.  I love the fluffiness of it and I love how perfectly it goes in this recipe.

Check it out and then go buy the stuff to make it.  Then make it for your friends.  And let them know how magnificent and healthy what they are about to eat is.


BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad - thanks to the chick that thought this thang up!

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Recipe Type: Salad

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup shredded BBQ chicken
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 2 tbsp White Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2-4 tbsp BBQ sauce
• 2 scallions, chopped
• cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, toss together the quinoa, corn, black beans, chicken and avocado. Season with salt and pepper
2. Transfer mixture onto a bowl and top with shredded cheese, BBQ sauce, scallions and cilantro.
3. Serve warm or at room temperature

(FYI -- I cooked my chicken in the crock pot on high for 4 hours in bbq sauce.  I used 3 chicken breasts.  Really any chicken will do, ya just need to add bbq sauce.  Mmmm mm mmm.  Also, I did not use any cheese, nor did I use cilantro.  Mama Bear's all about simplicity.  If it tastes good without it, I'm good ta go.)

I can think of 3 people that need to make this off the top of my head...so ready SET GO!

Completely unrelated memories

I found this picture of me and my daddy.  He's 83.  And a hottie.

 This was date night for my birthday.  I think?  Either way, a self portrait is the best we can get without making the babysitter do it every time.  

And Strawberry Festival goodness.  The photos I took with my actual camera!

 Wait...who is that?

 Oh Ethan, it's you!

 Thanks to brother for lifting you up, short stuff!

 Crazy people that birthed me.

 Grainy but still cute.

 I ended up in Forrest's shirt due to a major lemonade malfunction.

 I wish I could adopt this kid.  

Oh wait. :)

I heart you my little bear.

EASTER

 --these are terrible, but they're all we've got.--

**Note to self--if you ask a teenager to take your family's photo--teenagers like to turn cameras sideways and upside down and make your photo funky and cool.  Pretty funky.  Not as funky as the splatter-painted background photo we had taken later.  Now that made for some funky, cool photo ops. ;)  But all of these are still memories, nonetheless.

M-I-C-K-E-Y...

M-O-U-S-E

(Forever let us hold our banner High!)

Hello, please tell me someone, anyone watched the Mickey Mouse Club in the 90's?

Dang they don't make shows like they used to. :)

Like this one, too.

I mean really.  Really.  I can't take it.

And that's that.

--

To Disney World we went.

The biggest brother went when he was 3, but this time the whole family got to go!

Thanks Papa Bear for such a wonderful surprise.

(p.s. I think I see my mom's legs in this picture. Yep.  Ya, I do.)

 

We started out on the Haunted Mansion.  Why?  Because Ethan asked one Mee-llion TIMES if we could "Wide da haunted house first?!?!"  And so we did.  And I thought I'd try to scare everyone.  By the looks of it--it didn't work.  Psh.  Whatev.

 Parker-being-Parker

 "MA-MAAAAAA"  all day.  Every day.  If she could talk she'd say "You best pick me up right now!"

or

"Save meeeeeeeee from whomever is holding me that's not you!"

 Girlfriend's a happy, chunky, little mouse of a bear.

As long as I'm in sight of course.

Lord, help me.

And do you know what my hidden ever so anxiety ridden mind says to me about this photo below?

Look at those poles covered in handprints.  Blech!  Germs.  Sickening. And then there's her shoeless feet walking on a pathogen ridden breeding ground.

Okay.  I'll stop now.

Hello, I'm cute and sure do look a lot like my Aunt Jody here!

 Handsomeness manliness.

Ethan not looking - take 1

Blurry photo - take 2

Yay!  Everyone looking but P-man's got the "DO NOT BLINK" eyes goin' on. 

Still a keeper.

This was the Swiss Family Robinson tree house.  Awesome because I made them watch this movie with me recently.  That...and Shirley Temple's The little Princess.  But whatever, they liked them both.  So neh!

According to my frand Britt, there are levels of how busy Disney will be on each day -- zero being the least busy (hi, never happens) and ten being the busiest.  A good day might be a six, guess what our day ranked??  A FOUR.  Sh-bam!  10 to 20 minute wait lines.  Yes.  Amazingness.  Thank Ya, Lord.

Okay, this here was the Monster's Inc. Laugh Room.  We made this our last stop of the day and may I just say - it was SO worth it.  We all laughed so much.  They pan the audience and put people on the big screen and basically make fun of them.  Parks really wanted them to put the camera on him.  Well they didn't. :(  However, there was a "Cute baby human" in the audience that  they did put on the screen.  Parks said "Of course they would pick her! Ugh!" ha ha  Yep, that's life, kid.  Wah.

And Papa Bear insisted we all stop for icecream as we were leaving the park.  He's such a fatty.  I said no, but he insisted.  Don't ask him though.  He might have a different view point of how it all went down.  That there, folks, was some dern good icecream.

Ethan didn't really like his though.

And what's this aquatic area you ask?

Well, ya see, it's hot in Orlando.  And there are pretty great resorts there that, being honest, we will never stay at because they are nuts expensive.  Ha, I just said nuts. But anyway, we may not stay there, but we like to frequent their pools and such at the end of our days at Disney World. (Like we go ALL the time or something. ha)

  

May said it was a fantastic idea. :)

See? :)

And Hi.  Tell me that aint the way to end an already amazing day.

Sho nuff is.

Thank you for sharing in our wonderful memories--

and somewhat illegal activity involving trespassing at a resort. 

Good ta reminisce for a bit.