Quinoa Black Bean Salad

I love this salad!!  I eat it mainly at lunch time.  I always pack my lunch, and I do a lot of greens and veggie salads, so this is always a treat!!  You could of course make it as a vegetarian dinner, which I have done, but this is mainly a lunch for me.  You can make a big batch of it, it will stay good in your refrigerator for days.  I always top mine with avocado, so get a few of those, since they turn brown fairly soon after you open them up. Quinoa is a super food, a protein and complex carbohydrate.  It's really great for you and has been making a bigger appearance in the food world recently.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can corn, rinsed

1.5 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 red, yellow and orange bell pepper, chopped

cilantro, chopped, to taste (I love cilantro so I put a lot into my salad)

Dressing:

Juice of 4 small limes

2-3 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder, or 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Avocado, to top the salad off

Directions:  Cook the quinoa.  Don't forget to rinse quinoa before you cook it, although some come prewashed.  1 cup quinoa goes into 2 cups of water, or I like to use chicken stock, as long as I'm not using my cooked quinoa in a breakfast porridge the next day.  I put the quinoa into the water all at once and then bring to a boil.  It usually takes about 15 minutes.  While the quinoa is cooking rinse your beans, drain your corn, and chop up your veggies.  Once the quinoa is done and has cooled, fluff it with a fork.  To make the dressing, juice your limes into a small bowl.  Add the oil, cumin, garlic and S and P.  Whisk together and pour over your salad. You can adjust your seasonings to how you would like it.  Sometimes if I'm lazy I just drizzel the lime juice and olive oil over the top and shake a little of the seasonings on top :)  Top with avocado and a few extra cilantro leaves and you're ready to rock and roll!!