This is the perfect summer salad.  It can be served warm or cold and is delicious either way.  What I love about this dish is that it can be adapted to your individual tastes so easily.  You can really add anything you want, but in my opinion the creamy avocado really elevates this otherwise simple dish into something special.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa – (looks best with red quinoa, I used white because that’s what I had on hand)

2 bell peppers – diced (I like to use different colored ones to make it visually appealing)

1 medium onion -diced

3-4 plum tomatoes – diced

5-7  mushrooms – diced

1 avocado – cubed

2 lemons (juiced)

1 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Garlic powder to taste

Onion powder to taste

Soy sauce to taste

Garnish with fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the bell pepper, onion, mushroom, garlic powder, onion powder and a little soy sauce.  Sauté the mixture until the onions and mushrooms are tender, then remove from heat.  In a large bowl gently mix the sauteed vegetables, quinoa, tomatoes and avocado together, then top with lemon juice, soy sauce and sea salt and mix some more.

There you have it.  This dish is so easy to make and has been a tried and true crowd-pleaser  in our circle.