Baja Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa

  Sometimes you just want a salad.  Whenever I go out to eat, that's usually my safest gluten free option.  Last week my daughter and I went out for lunch and shared what was called a baja fiesta salad. 

Besides being both colorful and flavorful, this salad had about 1/4 cup of quinoa on it.  I am just beginning to expore ways to use this gluten free grain. When my daughter and I made our version of this salad, we added some cucumber, and I used a salad dressing recipe that my daughter-in-law's mother gave me for taco salad.  The onion does not overpower this dressing--it is creamy and delicious.

Baja Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa - for 6

1.  Prepare vegetables & papaya:   You can put these on a platter for people to self serve or you can arrange everyone's bowl or salad plate.
(1)  Wash a head of green leaf lettuce.
(2)  Dice  1/2 of a cucumber.
(3)  Slice 3-5 green onions.
(4)  Cube 1 papaya.
(5)  Cube 1 avocado.
(6)  Take 1 cup of corn out of the freezer to thaw.

2.  Cook 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water in a rice cooker.

3.  Cook 2 cups of black beans until tender according to package.  I usually add a bit of chili powder and salt.

4.  Rinse 2 chicken breasts and chop into bite sized pieces.  Then fry in 2 T of coconut oil.  Sprinkle with chili powder, salt,  and pepper.  When almost done squeeze 1/2 of a lime over the chicken.  Set aside.

5. Assemble:  On individual salad plates arrange the following:
(1)   Green leaf lettuce that you've washed and spun
(2)   Add some chicken pieces, black beans, and quinoa.
(3)  Sprinkle cucumbers, green onions, papaya, avocado & corn over that.
(4)  Drizzle some dressing over the top.
(5)  Serve with chips.

Lena's Mexican Salad Dressing

  In a blender put-
(1)  2/3 cup of olive oil
(2)  2 T mayo and 3 T yellow prepared mustard
(3)  1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
(4)  1 medium onion cut in a chunks
(5)  1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. celery seeds
(6)  3/4 cup of sugar
Blend until smooth.

List of Other Salads on this Blog:

Greens/cabbage:
Make it Yourself Thai Peanut Dressing for Mandarin Salad  (My friend Judi's recipe)
KFC Copycat Cole Slaw   (A friend shared this with me)
Belizean Coleslaw    (From Internet search)
Antioxidant Rich Kale Super Salad  (A copycat from a deli, dressing from Syre School Cookbook)

Main Dish Salads
Gluten Free Chinese Chicken Cabbage Salad   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Baja Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa  (A remake from something I ate at a restaurant)

Mexican Grilled Salmon & Mango Salad   (From a Betty Crocker summer cookbook)
Jackson Square Shrimp Salad   (From my Syre School cookbook)
A Great Way to Make a Main Dish Salad Out of Your Garden Veggies - Nicoise Salmon Salad  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Pasta & Quinoa:
Tasty Gluten Free Pasta Salad  (Something I picked up over 20 years ago!)
Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad Bowls   (From an Internet search)
Michelle's Greek Quinoa Salad   (My foodie daughter's own delicious creation!)
Another Great Salad with Quinoa - Janah's  Original Quinoa, Cranberry & Feta Salad  (a recipe my daughter came up with)
Red Quinoa, Black Bean, & Corn Salad  (A yummy recipe on the Trader Joe's bag of red quinoa)

Vegetable:
Jeremy D's Sensational Greek Salad   (My son-in-law's recipe)

Grandma's Perfect Potato Salad   (My mother-in-law's recipe)
Rose's Refreshing Cucumber Salad   (From a Chinese friend)
A Great BBQ side Salad - Curried Pea Salad  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Dot's Easy Bean Salad  (Recipe from an  83 yr old friend of my father's)

Fruit:
Grandma Marilyn's Frozen Fruit Salad  (My mother-in-law's recipe)