Mexican Quinoa Salad

We had a big potluck luncheon at our school last week and one of the moms made this delicious salad!  Everyone was raving about it and asking for the recipe!  The flavors are fresh and the quinoa is packed with protein!  It's a great meatless meal and it's super yummy!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

MEXICAN QUINOA SALAD

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed with cold water and drained
1/2 cup seeded and chopped red or yellow bell peppers
1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced finely (optional)
1 small red onion, or 2 green onions, chopped fine
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can pinto or other beans (red kidney or black), drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
Juice of 1 lime (or two if small or not super juicy)
1 tablespoon canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt

1)  Heat the water to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan and add the quinoa.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cover.  Cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.

2)  When the quinoa has cooled, add the peppers, onions, tomatoes, beans, cumin, cilantro, salsa, oil and lime juice.

3)  Season with salt and pepper and toss to blend well.  Chill before serving.

NOTES:

~The lady who made it doubled the recipe (the single recipe serves 4) and she also doubled the lime juice per recipe.

~I don't recommend using canola oil, because it is GMO, so I would recommend grape seed oil instead.