Mexican Quinoa Salad

We made this quinoa salad last week on Sunday and ate it for lunch for several days in a row.  (The recipe makes a big batch, so cut in half if you'd like a smaller one!)  It's good warmed up or cold, and you could make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using vegetarian broth instead of chicken broth.  The ingredients are approximate, and you can subtract or add vegetables and adjust proportions.  For lower-carb, make this recipe with 1 cup of quinoa rather than 2.  For a kid-friendly portion, leave some quinoa, beans, chicken, and veggies off to the side so you have a less spicy version.  Omit any ingredients that make the kiddos you'll be serving squirm.  Like avocado.

Ingredients:
2 cups quinoa
4 cups chicken broth
1 rotisserie chicken shredded, or 1 package chicken breast cooked and shredded
2 cans black beans or pinto beans
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced, or 1 package grape tomatoes cut in half
1 jalapeno, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
1 bunch cilantro, chopped up into small pieces
1 or 2 small limes, juiced
5 Tb. olive oil (less or more depending on how sticky you'd like your salad to be.)
cumin
chili powder
salt
pepper
optional: avocado
optional: shredded cheese


Directions:

1. Rinse and cook the quinoa in chicken broth according to directions on the package.  We used a tri-color quinoa, but any kind will do!  You could use rice if you prefer.
2. While quinoa is cooking, shred the chicken and dice up veggies.
3. Rinse beans.
4. When quinoa is done cooking, allow it to cool down a bit.  Then add the lime juice and olive oil to quinoa and mix.  Add spices to taste.  (I probably added around 1 Tb. of cumin and 1 tsp. of chili powder, salt, and pepper.)  Finally, toss quinoa with beans and vegetables.  Lastly, stir in the chopped cilantro. 
5. Serve warm or cold on its own, on lettuce wraps, or over salad greens.
6. If you want to serve w/avocado, I cut that up daily and added it just before eating it.  Even with the lime juice, it would begin to turn brown fairly quickly if added right away.

-Nikki & Ryan