Tabbouleh Salad

In honor of warmer weather and the possibility for picnics, I thought I would share with you my favorite tabbouleh salad recipe.  If, you can tolerate cheese, I HIGHLY recommend sprinkling on some feta... oh how I miss feta!

I am just going to give you ballpark measurements for this one. 

INGREDIENTS:

cooked quinoa (for smaller portions maybe 3-5 cups, for larger 6-8)

tomatoes (I like using cherry tomatoes and quartering them)

cucumber (peeled and diced)

flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

lemon juice (juice from 1-3 lemons depending on how tart you want it)

feta (optional)

olive oil

s/p

Once the quinoa is cooked and cooled, toss it with a little olive oil.  Squeeze in lemon juice and add in tomatoes, cucumber and parsley and s/p.  This is where you eyeball it.  If it looks like you could use more veggies or parsley... by all means add them in.  If you taste it and think it needs more lemon juice, add it in.  You really can't mess this one up!

Meatless Millet Meatballs

One of my husband's (old) favorite meals is spaghetti and meatballs.  So, I set out to make a healthier alternative and I am extremely pleased with what I came up with.  They had all the characteristics off a good meatball, crispy outside and flavorful and soft inside.  I used millet as the main ingredient, but you could use brown rice.  Millet is a gluten free grain that is high in protein and lots of other nutrients.

1 1/2 -2 c. cooked millet (or brown rice)
olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large, or 2 small carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten (or egg replacer)
s/p

In a medium sized sauce pan, heat a splash of oil over medium heat.  Add in onion, garlic, carrots and celery.  Saute until veggies are tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix together (most of the) millet, egg and salt and pepper.  Add in veggies and parsley and stir until well combined.  You want the mixture to be moist, but not runny.  So, feel free to add in more millet to thicken it up.

Scoop a rounded tablespoon sized portion and roll it into a ball.  Continue until all the mixture is used up.  Now, at this point, I placed the balls on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.

When you are ready, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add in the balls.  Allow them to brown on one side before turning them.  Be careful to not over crowd the pan.  If you do, the meatballs will steam instead of brown.  When all sides are browned and heated through, remove to a plate covered with a paper towel.

Serve with your favorite pasta!