Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad

Hey all! I'm sorry I've been away so long. These past few weeks have been crazy, filled with trips to the beach and trips to the doctor (well, at least part of that sounded wonderful).

A friend introduced me to quinoa earlier this summer, and it really is so simple to make! While it is actually a seed, quinoa is so similar to a pasta in that it is like a blank canvas: you can really do whatever you want with it. I found this recipe on Pinterest, but changed the measurements a bit. Hope you all enjoy!

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup quinoa
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 branch basil
1 slice mozzarella
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Method:

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of quinoa to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and simmer on LOW until all of the water is absorbed. This will take anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes. Make sure you cook your quinoa on low, because cooking it on a hotter temperature will make the quinoa absorb quicker and it will turn hard.

Cool the cooked quinoa in the refrigerator for at least an hour before adding the other ingredients.

To prepare the salad, cut the cherry tomatoes in half. I chose to use 6, but you can really use as many as you would like, depending on how much of the tomato flavor you'd like in the salad. This applies for all ingredients.

Cut the mozzarella into bite-sized pieces. I'd recommend adding a pretty good amount of this, because it really adds a great texture to the salad. Add chopped basil from the basil branch to the mix. Be sure that you chop the pieces really well. A big piece of basil can have quite a kick.

Lastly, add the balsamic vinaigrette dressing. This adds a really nice flavor to the salad. For a lighter taste, substitute olive oil for the dressing. If you'd like, you can put the mix back into the fridge to let it cool, or you can serve at room temperture.

And that's it! Quinoa really is so simple to make, and it tastes wonderful either plain or dressed up.

Happy cooking!

~Christy