Recipe Love and Share

I hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather here was perfect, and we spent every moment possible out doors. Saturday the hubs did a "canoe and brew" which is basically kayaking down a river with a bunch of people and sippin on beers while you do so. Sounds pretty fun right? While he was having his guy time, I spent some time at the in laws so the babe could visit his uncles and grandparents. Sunday we took Cameron to the park to use the splash pad (he loves to get wet) and the swings etc. Stopped at Fro-Yo World after for some refreshment, came home and grilled for dinner. Summer+grilling=perfection. I wanted to share the side dish I made to go with the meal. We made chicken kabobs, always a favorite...and then I made a Quinoa Summer Salad. I love Quinoa, my husband however is new to it and I try it in different things to see how he will like it best, if at all. I found the recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it a bit.

                                                     Quinoa Summer Salad (my way)

 I used one cup of un cooked Organic Quinoa...then cooked it obviously and set it aside to cool. For my veggies, I chose chopped organic tomatoes, corn, green onions, orange and red bell peppers, and garbanzo beans. If i had cucumbers and avocado on hand I would have thrown those in as well. I put all of this in a large bowl and tossed in the Quinoa. Mixed it all together so all the beautiful colors of vegetables were showing and then added in a little Italian dressing. I love Good Seasons dressing, it is the only Italian dressing in our home, and it tastes perfect on this dish!!! That's it! Like I said, super easy and very good for you. I am in fact eating it right now for lunch!

Here is the link to the original recipe, they use a different dressing here so if Italian is not your style perhaps you will enjoy that one instead:)

A few reasons to eat Quinoa: 

It is packed FULL of protein! 
It contains twice as much fiber as other grains
For those of you trying to avoid Gluten...its your lucky day! Quinoa is Gluten Free!

If you are looking for a side dish that is perfect for summer....this is it! You can add or substitute any vegetable you love!! 

Enjoy your day!!
xo