Hello Hello my friends. On todays post, I am sharing a fun and unique SPECIAL INGREDIENT GAME that my friend Eleni from My Easy Gourmet came up with a few weeks ago. Here is the fun part: SPECIAL INGREDIENT ORANGE. You have to come up with 1 recipe that is either savory or sweet with our special ingredient. I love orange and it definitely falls under Winter food. I decided to do a savory recipe. Since I love love love quinoa I came up with a  Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Ala Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette. Sounds interesting right?! It was a very colorful and tasty dish in deed. Check out my recipe below along with my wonderful food bloggers who were also involved in this fun game. CHEERS~ 

~Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Alla Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette~

• Ingredients:
• 1 cup quinoa cook per package directions
• 2 cups water
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of ground pepper
• 1/2 lemon, reserve juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 orange, peel and cut in cubes.
• 1 orange, reserve juice
• 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter

Method:

1. Cook quinoa according to package. Place chicken bouillon in boiling water.
   Add garlic to water, and cook for about 15 minutes or until quinoa is done.
2. Gather the scallions, kalamata olives, feta cheese, bell pepper, orange cubes, pomegranate seeds, herbs, and parsley in a large bowl. Mix to combine. Add the lemon juice, and olive oil over the mix. Add quinoa and mix to combine.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, balsamic vinegar, and orange juice. Cook until the sauce has thickened. (About three minutes.)
4. Serve the Mediterranean quinoa salad on a plate, and gently drizzle the orange reduction over the top.
5. ***This dish is paired wonderful with some focaccia bread.

KALI OREXI~

~Special Ingredient Game Recipes~

• Athina Pantazatou from Kicking Back The Pebbles  shared her Christmas Morning Breakfast Bites: Orange Mini Muffins (Sweet)
• Eleni Anagnostopoulou from My Easy Gourmet shared her Choco-Orange Cupcakes.  (Sweet)
• Gina Martino Zarcadoolas from Foodie WineLover shared her Grilled Flank Steak with a Balsamic glaze and Orange Gremolata. (Savory)
• Natalia Alexander from The Greek Glutton shared her Greek Butter Cookies with Orange Zest (Sweet)
• Kiki Vagianos from The Greek Vegan shared her Cornbread (Bobota) with Orange Syrup. (Savory)
• Jackie Mansfield of Edibletcetera – Fast & Fabulous Food shared her Sticky Spiced Blood Oranges. (Sweet)
• Sia Mavris Aristidou from Greek Weddings & Traditions shared her Yiayia Eleni’s Eliopitas – Greek Olive Bread. (Savory)
• Nidhi Raghav from Platter Joy shared her Chicken & Orange Delight (Savory)