So this daylight savings time thing.  Are you feeling it?  Am I crazy {enter VERY loud boom upstairs and a screaming 4 year old…I’ll be right back}

Okay, back.  Oye.  It’s nap/rest time over here.  Jude is fast asleep and Georgia was ‘resting’.  No naps for her anymore, but she gets 30 minutes of rest in her room (because mama needs it as much as she does).  That boom?  Georgia has a little person table and chairs in her room where she likes to sit and read, etc.  And Georgia decided to put one of those wooden chairs on top of her bed to rest on today.  Super comfy.  And logical? She is, most of the time. Today…I wouldn’t give her a solid thumbs up on that one.  The chair, and the poor girl, went tumbling over and crashed.

So in the midst of tears streaming down her face she screams out “Mom, my head!  That hurt so bad I might not ever be able to do a summersault again in my life!”.   See, so she is logical.

And after a tiny bit of love she is golden.  I know this because she got up, looked at me in the eye and asked for some water in prime Georgia fashion, “Mom, my tongue’s a little sticky, I think it needs some water”.  Again, pure logic.

So this daylight savings time stuff.  Yikes.  Perhaps thats why a very irrational decision was made by Georgia.  Perhaps thats why I am still just dragging today…am I alone here?  And perhaps thats why I feel fortunate to already have all the ingredients to make this salad in my fridge.  No work needed for dinner tonight.

This is one of my favorites lately.  I love it because I can cook a pot of quinoa on Sunday and, as long as I have the rest of the ingredients in the fridge, which I typically do, I can throw a really quick, simple, healthy lunch together in no time.

I am not always a quinoa fan, as I’ve told you in the past, but mixed with a green salad it really speaks to me.  It’s hearty and healthy with a great touch of nuttiness.  And the rest of the ingredients, well, put it all together and it’s such a simple-tasting delight.

Here’s to wishing you all a solid nights sleep tonight…followed by a day full of logic tomorrow! I’ll be sharing a fun way to serve up a St Patricks Day classic on Kare11’s 4 O’clock show…tune in if you are able!

Quinoa, Spinach + Roasted Chicken Salad

notes: often times I like to swap the water for chicken stock when cooking quinoa for this, it adds a very nice flavor to the quinoa.  For the chicken, a store-bought rotisserie would work just fine, I find it helpful to roast a few chicken breasts at home at the beginning of the week and use them for quick salads and snacks throughout the week…I pan roast them just like I do in this recipe here  

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Quinoa, cooked according to package directions

5 Cups Baby Spinach Leaves

3/4 Cup Shredded Roasted Chicken

1/2 Cup Halved Red Grapes

1/4 Cup Crumbled Bleu Cheese

White Wine Vinaigrette, recipe below

Directions

Combine the quinoa (chilled or slightly warm), spinach, chicken, grapes and bleu cheese in a bowl.  Drizzle on a small amount of vinaigrette and toss to coat.  Serves 2.

White Wine Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard

1 Garlic Clove, grated or pressed

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt + Black Pepper

Directions

Place all ingredients in a mason jar or other container with a tight fitting lid and shake well until combined; season with salt and pepper.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.