Meal Bite: Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Kale and Quinoa Bowl

Hi Busies!

Let’s talk sun-dried tomatoes for a minute.  Not gonna lie, I never really thought about how these were made – usually I’m too busy eating to ask any questions!  But, I did some research, and this just in – sun-dried tomatoes gained popularity when Italians dried them in the summer sun on the rooftops of their villas.  (On the rooftops.  Of their villas. *spends 15 minutes imagining my life as an Italian movie star in the 1960’s, eating poolside bruschetta made with sun-dried tomatoes from my rooftop*)  

Anyways, it’s a pretty luxurious life – they get to spend 10 days tanning in the Italian sun, and then get to end up as the star of any number of dishes – including this one!  

The (superfood) gang’s all here – kale, quinoa, and avocado, with pan-seared chicken and topped off with a delicious sun-dried tomato and almond sauce.  Part of the sauce gets stirred into the quinoa to make sure it’s there in every delicious bite!

Meal prep for this dish involves precooking the kale, quinoa, and chicken.  When it’s time to eat, just whip the sauce together and stir it into the quinoa before reheating.  Then garnish with (lots of) additional sauce!

Print

Kale and Quinoa Bowl with Sun-dried Tomato Sauce

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Sam - Busy Girl Bites

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2-3 T lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Bowls

• 2 large or 4 small chicken breasts
• 1 bunch kale washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
• 2 cups quinoa
• 1 avocado

Sun-dried Tomato Sauce

• 1 16- oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes drained
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/2 c almonds
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Whisk together ingredients for marinade and marinate chicken about 1 hour.
2. Saute chicken over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes per side or until cooked through.
3. Cook quinoa according to package directions.
4. Saute the kale in 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Freeze

1. Store cooked quinoa in its own bag, and cooked kale and chicken together in separate bag.

To Eat

1. Thaw overnight. Place ingredients for sauce in a blender or food processor and pulse until combined. Stir 1/2 of the sauce into the quinoa, add kale and chicken, and reheat. Garnish with remaining sauce and avocado.

Recipe Notes

While the chicken marinates, work on sautéing the kale for this and the other kale bowls in my meal prep plan! Check out my quick tips page for other meal prep tips!

Adapted from Pinch of Yum