Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

The fam and I were headed to a friend's house for a cook-out over the holiday weekend and I needed to whip up a side dish recipe.  A big focus for some of these friends is healthy eating...and one of them is a quinoa addict so I went through my pantry to see what I had available.  I wasn't able to find any recipes out there that matched what I had on hand, so I whipped up my own Mediterranean twist on quinoa salad.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup Garlic Expressions dressing
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 fresh lemon, squeezed

Directions:

1. Fill a medium pot with water, add quinoa and kosher salt and bring to a boil.  When the water boils, reduce heat to low and cover; simmer covered for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and keep covered for additional 5 minutes without lifting the lid; then fluff with a fork and set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool.
2. While the quinoa cools, dice all the vegetables and chop the olives.  Add the peppers and olives to the cooled quinoa and squeeze the 1/2 lemon over it.
3. Whisk the red wine vinegar and Garlic Expressions dressing in a small bowl.  Pour over the quinoa and mix. 
4. Add feta and toss well.

 Even though this was tossed together at the last second with what I had on hand, it was a big hit and I probably should have doubled the recipe.  Enjoy!