Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Chicken, and Goat Cheese

This recipe is a recreation of a fabulous lunch I had at a favorite restaurant in the Milwaukee, WI area. My teenagers and husband loved it too! Serve warm or cold with balsamic vinaigrette.

Step: 1

Place chicken breasts in a saucepan; add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer just until chicken breasts are no longer pink in the middle, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove chicken breasts and set aside to cool, reserving water.

Step: 2

Measure 3 cups from reserved water and discard any remaining. Pour the 3 cups water back into saucepan. Add quinoa and bouillon; return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step: 3

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pecans and toss until fragrant and one shade darker, about 5 minutes. Remove pecans and set aside. Add butternut squash and 2 tablespoons water to the same skillet; cook and stir until just tender, adding more water if needed, 4 to 5 minutes.

Step: 4

Chop chicken breasts into 1/2-inch pieces.

Step: 5

Combine cooked quinoa, chicken, squash, and pecans in a bowl. Stir in cranberries, goat cheese, and parsley; season with salt and pepper.

Per Serving: 631 calories; protein 29.9g; carbohydrates 66.9g; fat 29.1g; cholesterol 69.9mg; sodium 419.6mg.

The most clear way to pick a side dish is to look at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and choose more different. When you’re cooking pasta, go for a simple vegetable . Made steak? Go for something light. If you’re want to cooking stir-fry with rice, it must not a best idea to adjust with make a rice salad.

One make sure is also can make to cooking process . You don’t want to push more often your oven by making to do list three dishes at once in there, or be juggling four pans on the cooking items . But often you can made a dish do more often .