Refreshing Quinoa Salad

The original recipe came from cookieandkate.com - Favorite Quinoa Salad

This salad was introduced to us by my sister-in-law. We loved it so much I had to make it again. I knew my Mom would love it and it was the perfect side with our chicken tonight and after a nice, warmer, sunny day in PA! It is rather simple to make and it's healthy and vegetarian friendly!

Ingredients:

1 c uncooked quinoa

2 c water

1 medium cucumber, chopped

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 c fresh chopped parsley

3/4 c red onion, chopped

1 can (15oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Dressing:

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c lemon juice

1 tblsp red wine vinegar

2 cloves minced or pressed garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Steps:

1. Bring the 2 cups of water and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan.

2. Once it boils, turn down the heat to simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes. The quinoa should abosorb all the water. Remove from heat. Cover, and let rest for 5 minutes to fluff up.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped cucumber, pepper, parsley, onion and chickpeas. Set aside.

4. I used a shaker bottle for this step. I combined the oilive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and shook until well mixed.

5. Once the quinoa was cooled, I added it to the vegetable, parsley and chickpea mix, tossed in the dressing and then put it in the fridge so it could all chill together. We had it in there about an hour before we served it with dinner.

Notes: You could leave the dressing on the side until you serve it. You can make this ahead of time, but then you may want the dressing on the side.