Black Bean Quinoa

Here's a yummy dish I stumbled into. I've had every intention of eating Quinoa before, but just hadn't gotten to it since we had cut back on carbs. Now I'm sorry I hadn't eaten it more, but I certainly intend to now!

I purchased a giant bag of it at Costco. The directions recommended toasting in before cooking; so I did. In a small skillet I toasted one cup of quinoa and it smelled like roasted peanuts....mmmm. 

After toasting it I gave it a quick soak to remove some of the powdery-ness.I cooked 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups of liquid (one cup of chicken broth and one cup of water). Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cooking will take about 15 minutes and you will notice the grain will be translucent and sorta spiral out of the hull. 

Cool, then toss in 1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 chopped medium tomato, 1/4 cup of chopped red onion, 1/8 cup of roasted red peppers, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp fresh lemon zest for brightness and salt to taste. Serve at room temperature. In addition...if I had fresh parsley, I would have added that too. (I think it needs a little green, don't you?)

Thanks for reading, enjoy!