Quinoa Taco Salad

In the last two weeks I have made this recipe twice. It is a real winner. We enjoy it so much every time!

Here are some wonderful things about it:

• It is super healthy, vegetarian, low-carb
• Since it is served chilled, I can make it in the morning or the night before and then just toss it over the leaves
• It is just as good as left-overs
• It can easily be altered to your personal taste - we will add tomatillo and jalapeno next time

Quinoa Taco Salad

by Katie Goodman of goodLife{eats}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• half a red bell pepper, chopped
• half a green bell pepper, chopped
• half a yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons chili powder, depending heat preferences
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1 -15 ounce can black beans, drained
• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 2 limes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6-8 ounces baby spinach
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/3 cup cheddar or feta cheese
• 1 avocado, diced

Instructions:

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, swirl a bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until translucent and tender. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne and peppers and saute an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the black beans, tomatoes, and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill.

Roughly cut baby spinach into strips like you would shred iceberg lettuce for tacos. Remove about 1 cup of cilantro leaves from the bunch, rinse and pat dry, and toss with the spinach. Divide spinach and cilantro mixture evenly among 4 salad plates. Top each plate with a scoop of the quinoa salad. Top each salad with your choice of cheese and diced avocado. Cut the remaining lime into slices to garnish the plates.

I obviously cut and pasted these instructions from Katie's blog. You should go there - she has a lot of great recipes (liked up top).

I was talking to Anna on the phone yesterday about this recipe and she mentioned the expense of Quinoa. It is expensive. However, if you know someone with a Costco membership (thanks mom!), then you can get a humungo bag of it for the same price as a tiny box of it from the healthy food isle in your grocery store. And it is a very healthy substitute to rice and other carb-ey fillers -something that maybe should be a staple in your kitchen anyway.