Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to throw out whatever dinner plans you had for tonight and make Quinoa Power Salad instead. (Sorry, my oldest and I are on a MI kick…) Say goodbye to the spaghetti you had planned, and hello to the can’t miss combination of cooked quinoa, bacon, dates (a la Bacon-Wrapped Almond-Stuffed Dates!) chicken, brussels sprouts and a few other goodies that combine to create a flavor and texture-packed meal placed firmly in “POWER SALAD” territory.
What’s Inside
Part stir fry, part salad, this dish was inspired by the Kale and Brussels Sprouts Cobb Salad I had at Ophelia’s in Denver though, as much as I liked that salad, I’m loving this one 100 times more. As I said, cooked quinoa and mixed greens are combined with hearty toppings including chicken, dates, bacon, sauted brussels sprouts, avocado, goat cheese, and fried shallots, then tossed with a spoon-drink worthy Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette. Not only do all these ingredients pair together perfectly, but they make each serving incredibly filling. They put the POWER in Power Salad.
Start by cooking quinoa in chicken broth until tender then fluff with a fork and set aside to cool slightly. Quinoa is great for making ahead of time since it doesn’t harden after being refrigerated. That said, feel free to prepare it up to 3 days ahead of time.
Next add 4 strips bacon to a very large, 12″+ skillet then place it over medium heat and cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain then chop or crumble once cool enough to handle.
Pour out (but don’t throw away!) enough bacon grease to leave a light coating in the bottom of the skillet, then turn the heat up to medium-high and add chicken breasts that have been pounded thin and seasoned with garlic salt and pepper. Saute the chicken until cooked through, 3-4 minutes a side, then transfer to the plate with the bacon. Chop the chicken once it’s cool enough to handle.
Next heat some of the reserved bacon grease into the skillet then add shredded brussels sprouts. You could of course hand-shred/slice whole brussels sprouts, but the bagged, pre-shredded sprouts saves so much time. Season with garlic salt and pepper then saute until the brussels sprouts are tender and golden brown, 7-9 minutes. Transfer the brussels sprouts to a plate then set aside.
Last step is to add the last of the bacon fat plus enough extra virgin olive oil to equal 1/4 cup fat in the skillet. Add jumbo shallots that have been sliced into rings then fry until golden brown, 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, before transferring to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon and sprinkling with salt. If you’ve never tried fried shallots, you are in for a TREAT! They taste like onion rings but don’t require any batter or coating. So delicious.
Last stop: assembly! To a very large mixing bowl add mixed greens, the cooled bacon, chicken, brussels sprouts, and quinoa, plus chopped dates and avocado.
Drizzle over enough Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette (extra virgin olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper) to coat then toss to combine.
Scoop the salad onto plates then top with chevre and a quarter of the fried shallots and dig in. I hope you love this incredible, protien-packed salad that will power you through your day!
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