Saturday, September 22, 2012

CPK Inspired Quinoa + Arugula Salad

This is not a recipe for CPK's salad. It is a loosely based copycat, therefore inspired by, Cpk's Quinoa + Arugula Salad. You'll find their salad on their 'New Adventures' menu.

Now that that is out of the way, let me just tell you all, in case you don't know already, some of my favorite things to eat are quinoa, arugula, and salad. Imagine my happiness when I stumbled upon this little ditty at CPK. I knew it would be fairly easy to recreate especially since they are so helpful by giving a description of exactly what they put in it. The description reads "Our super grain salad with asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, toasted pine nuts, Feta tossed in our house made Champagne vinaigrette."

My version is slightly different, based on what I had and what I like. I omitted the asparagus, added roasted red bell pepper, replaced the sun-dried tomatoes with fresh tomatoes, and mine was more quinoa based than arugula based.
 
 
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, cooled quinoa
2 Tbs. toasted pine nuts
1 small chopped tomato, or a handful of chopped cherub tomatoes
1 Tbs. chopped red onion, or 1/8 sliced red onion
1/4 c. chopped roasted red bell pepper
1/8-1/4 c. crumbled reduced fat Feta cheese
1 handful Arugula
1-2 Tbs. Champagne Vinaigrette (I used Trader Joe's Lite)
 
Combine all ingredients and enjoy.
This will hold up just fine in the fridge overnight as long as you don't drench it in dressing.
 
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

 
This is a great way to use your leftover pulled pork and corn on the cob. That is, if there ever is any!
 
 
Ingredients:
Pizza Crust ( I used Boboli original crust)
1 ear of corn, cooked, and shaved
1 cup BBQ pulled pork
1/4 cup BBQ sauce ( I used Harris Teeter's Original Sweet and Tangy)
1/8 cup diced red onion
2 sliced smoked provolone, chopped
1 c. shredded mozzarella
 
Spread pizza crust with BBQ sauce.
Cover almost every inch with shredded pork.
Sprinkle with chopped provolone, onion, and corn in that order.
Drizzle with a bit more BBQ sauce.
Cover with mozzarella.
Bake according to pizza crust directions.
 
I baked mine right on the rack, that way,
the crust stays crisps and is able to hold the weight of the toppings.
The measurements of toppings are estimated,
and of course, you can adjust to your liking.
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