Mexican Quinoa Salad

I’ve been making this Mexican quinoa salad for quite some time now. It was one of the first quinoa recipes that I ever tried. I knew after I made this that I was totally hooked. I remember discovering this dish when Max and I were living in our first place in Hawaii. Oh my goodness you guys wouldn’t believe how tiny our place was. It was literally a bedroom, a kitchen and a small bathroom. Basically a small box, but in paradise. There was no stove or oven and very little counter space so I made this meal by prepping everything on our tiny table and boiling water with a hot plate. Good times…  We were there for about 5 months in the very beginning of our marriage. I love thinking back to that time. This goes to show you how simple this meal is. All you have to do is cook the quinoa and add your veggies and dressing. Simple, delicious and makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. YUM!

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 orange bell pepper chopped
2 Roma tomatoes chopped
3/4 cup cilantro chopped
2 green onions chopped

Dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
1 large garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper

Directions
1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. While the quinoa is cooking prep the vegetables.
2. Once the quinoa is done cooking add the frozen corn. This will unthaw the corn and cool the quinoa at the same time.
3.  Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk together.
4.  Add the can of black beans, bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro and green onion to the quinoa and corn in a large serving bowl.
5. Add the dressing to the quinoa salad and toss together. Enjoy!

Adapted from thegardengrazer.com