Guys, can you believe there are only 13 days until Christmas? This whole year has just flown by and it's picking up speed as we finish it up.
Here's how we spent our weekend:
It was filled with a family Christmas party, breakfast with Santa, our annual mall shopping, fancy cocktails, delicious food and live music with lots of dancing. If you are still shopping (me too!), check out my Gift Guides for Foodies, Wine Lovers, Kids and Buckeyes or daily deals on Facebook for some ideas. 

If you are looking for a healthy, festive and delicioius recipe to take to a party, look no further! We made this for the family Chistmas party this weekend and it was the hit of the party. It's vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and really easy to make. Soooo many people requested the recipe after the party, I thought I should share with my fabulous readers too. You're going to want to make this.
Roasted Mushroom and Cauliflower Quinoa Salad

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 12 oz packages of mushrooms (we used baby bellas and button), halve or quarter them depending on the sizes so they are consistent sizes
6 oz oyster, shitake, maike or other "fancy" mushroom
1 cup red quinoa, cooked in 1 3/4 cup broth
2 large bunches kale (about 6-8 cups cut into bite size pieces)
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
4-6 oz feta cheese, crumbles
3 green onions, sliced
1 T. dried thyme (fresh is even better - use about 3x more)
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic glaze
salt, pepper, granulated garlic or powder to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt, pepper garlic and half of the thyme. Place in shallow baking pan. Do the same with the mushrooms but put them in a separate pan. Roast veggies, stirring occassionally. The mushrooms will release a lot of liquid so you will need to drain them part way though so they don't end up simmering. We save the liquid - it's so good and great to add to soup, when cooking rice, etc. The mushrooms will take about 20 minutes, the cauliflower will take a little longer. When it is tender but still firm, it's done. Don't cook until soft and mushy or you'll end up with a mess.

While the veggies are roasting, drizzle olive oil on the chopped kale. Just a little bit is needed, maybe a teaspoon or two. Massage the kale to soften it and ensure the olive coats all the leaves. Place in a huge bowl.

Add cooked quinoa to the bowl of kale. Toss very well until the quinoa is evenly distributed. Add roasted veggies. Toss again. Add cheese and a generous dizzle of the balsamic glaze and toss yet again. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Place in serving bowl and garnish with the green onions, walnuts and another drizzle of the glaze.

Ideas and tips:

• If your "fancy" mushrooms are small, don't add them at first. Stir them in after you drain the liquid. This will keep them from over cooking.
• Add fresh chopped parsley
• Use blue or goat cheese instead of the feta
• Use lacinato kale instead of the curly kind and you can skip the massaging. Just toss lightly with the olive oil and move to the next step.
• Try regular quinoa or a pretty blend like this one. I picked red because of the holiday but the blends are my normal go to.

• Add pomegranate seeds for a pop of color and flavor
• I use this balsmic glaze - it is so good! It's expensive but a little goes a long way and it lasts for a really long time (store in the fridge.)

This fragrant salad tastes like spring and that is exactly what I've been in the mood for. It's super fast and great as a side dish...