The Ragamuffin

I love lunch. I know, it's kind of the weirdest meal to love... People are usually dinner people or breakfast people, who don't mind skipping lunch if it means they can have a nice big [insert meal-that-isn't-lunch-here]. I'm in the very small number of humans who loves sitting down to a good afternoon meal. Think about it for a second... When you ask a friend to grab a meal with you, which meal is it normally? Lunch! It's the casual, social, authentic, community-fostering (okay maybe I'm going a little too far... but you know what I'm getting at) underrated meal!

Rant aside, I love lunch, and I love cooking lunch for both myself and others. Hence, this recipe for one of my favorite yummy power-foods! This is a delicious concoction that I threw together a couple days ago, and have whipped up a few times since then (okay, maybe every day since I first created it. Addictive personalities: high five!). It's quick, super filling, and DANG good. I hope you all will put your own spins on it, and just maaaybe grow to love lunch as much as I do!

Start by making a lil' bit of quinoa! This is customizable (along with most of the elements of this recipe) in that you can choose any type of quinoa your lil' heart desires! I'm really enjoying this Tricolor Quinoa from Trader Joe's, but you can use pre-cooked quinoa if you want to cut even more time! Follow the cooking directions on the package, adding two parts water to one part quinoa, and either stove-cook it or microwave it! I'm usually a microwave girl because it saves time, but I do admit that I like the texture better when I cook it on the stove. For this lunch, I used about 1/2 a cup! You can let your tummy lead when deciding how much you'd like to use, though!

Here's where the substance kicks in. Add some cooked & seasoned ground turkey in about a 1:1 ratio to the quinoa. If you don't have ground turkey cooked and ready, like I usually do, then this part will take a little more time. You'll want to cook the ground turkey in some olive oil with a good amount of sea salt, pepper and whatever seasoning you find yourself gravitating towards. I really like thyme with turkey! Now, don't be shy with those seasonings. I think that's the #1 mistake new chef's commonly make: failing to season their meats well. Seasonings cook out a little bit, so feel free to slather those seasonings on!

After adding the turkey, crumble some goat cheese in! Grocery tip: it saves money to buy the regular hunk of cheese instead of the crumbles! It's way more cheese for way less money! It's also way more moist that way. 

Now, here's another customizable part! I like to chop up and throw in about 3/4 of a persian cucumber. Other choices could be avocados, cherry tomatoes, arugula, bell peppers, or any combination of those! If you're feelin' crazy, use 'em all!

Mix it all up, drizzle some olive oil on top with some sea salt and fresh pepper, and PRESTO. You've got yourself a yummy, power-packed meal. Add your lunchtime drink-of-choice, and you're set (mine bounces between iced green tea and Pellegrino, for now).

Enjoy! Then watch for that extra lunch-eatin' bounce in your step. I promise, a good lunch will brighten your day and put a smile on your face. Happy Wednesday!

(Tell me what you did if you customize it!! I LOVE lunch ideas!)