Quinoa Salad

I am new to the quinoa world but so far I am loving it!!! To me, it has a similar taste as rice but its better for you! Can’t complain about a little extra protein!!

My sister was visiting a few weeks ago and made the most AMAZING quinoa salad. It is served cold which is perfect for these summer days and the perfect side that can be prepped ahead and taken to picnics! Now, she’s not one to measure so I had to play around a bit and I left out the cucumbers when I made it to please my amazing hubby but its still pretty good! Oh and just as I went to finish up I realized that I had cilantro and not basil but it still turned out pretty good!!! I have a good bit of left overs and a trip to the store planned today – so I’ll be grabbing the basil to spice it up a bit.

Qunioa Salad

1 pound Quinoa

20 grape tomatoes, chopped

1 medium cucumber, chopped (optional)

1/4 pound jack cheese, shredded

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Basil to taste

Directions:

Make quinoa according to package directions and chill in fridge for at least two hours. Combine all ingredients above and serve!

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Prepping the cold quinoa salad

We’re big fans of turkey burgers so our dinner included the quinoa salad, turkey burgers, and steamed veggies.

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My ideal dinner

And luckily this recipe makes a lot…so we had it again the following night with some crockpot chicken and grilled veggies. This time I added in the chopped cucumbers – loved the additional crunch!