Bag Lunch: Quinoa Steak Salad

My work lunches are often inspired by meals I've eaten out that I know I can recreate successfully at home. This salad is one of my first attempts at a remake, so I can't offer a precise recipe. Also, because I'm a single woman and have never used this recipe to entertain, I don't have any concept of how much you'll need of any of these ingredients to satisfy a family or your really hungry boyfriend/fiance/husband. Here's what I think could feed two people, but what I lived on for a week's worth of lunch:

• Prepare a cup of quinoa per instructions on the box
  

• Sear a piece of steak on a hot cast iron skillet for 4-5 minutes on each side and let rest for 10 minutes

• Slice (or chop) a handful of dried apricots

• Dice half a red onion

• Toss apricot, a handful of dried cranberries, and onion with quinoa

• Slice steak, and dress quinoa mixture with lime vinaigrette (I like Newman's Own, but it's hard to find, so you can either make it from scratch or use something like balsamic)
  

• Serve quinoa and steak over arugula

For work, I pack everything in a glass tupperware in layers (quinoa mixture, dressing, steak, arugula) and then dump it all out into a bigger container at work. That way the arugula stays crisp and I don't have to worry about packing an extra container of dressing (or having said container of dressing open up in my lunch pail. Yes, I typed lunch pail.).
I know it sounds somewhat unusual, but nutty quinoa, juicy steak, peppery arugula, sweet dried fruit, spicy onion, and tangy lime vinaigrette make this dish hugely satisfying. I need flavorful lunches or I'll get bored and start supplementing my diet with candy from my colleague's stash down the hall.

Here's what it will probably look like when you make it.

And here it is moments before entering my hungry face.