Thursday, February 2, 2012

Southwestern Quinoa Salad


I kind of mushed three recipes together to get this one....the family loved it! Healthy, yummy, and gluten-free? Yes, please!

1 cup quinoa
1 tbsp. margarine
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 cup corn (I used frozen -but thawed- corn...just a better texture)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. cilantro
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
1/4 cup lime juice
4 tbsp. red vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. adobo seasoning (5-6 shakes of salt and pepper; 4-5 shakes of paprika; 3 shakes of onion powder, oregano, and cumin; 1-2 shakes of garlic powder and chili powder - I know it's not exact, but you end up with about a tbsp. of seasoning after this is all mixed together)

I know that looks like a lot of ingredients, but it comes together really quickly.
Melt butter in a large saucepan, stir in the quinoa and let it cook until it's lightly toasted (abt. 3 minutes). Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until all the broth has been absorbed (abt. 10 minutes). Taste this when it's done....yum! Then stick it in the fridge to cool off.

In a large mixing bowl, add red onion, corn, black beans, cilantro, tomato, avocado, lime juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and adobo seasoning. After quinoa is cooled, gently add it into the bowl. Add more lime juice or vinegar if desired. Chill and serve cold. It would also be good with some feta cheese on top (we didn't have any though).

There's 24 grams of protein in this, just from the quinoa! Enjoy it as a side dish or a meal in itself.

1 comment:

Sue said...

I loveeee quinoa! I posted a recipe a while ago.

This looks awesome.