Corn and Quinoa Salad

You know you want to know what Quinoa is - besides good food.  Quinoa is a seed that is closely related to spinach and beets.  Now that I have a supply, I will be finding more recipes, but this was an excellent second dish (I tried one about a year ago, but I currently cannot find that one.)  If you are shopping your friendly, neighborhood Giant, you will generally find this in the organic section.  Enola sells it in the bulk organic section (or it did the last time I looked) while Camp Hill only carries pre-packaged product in the organic section.  So jump out of your comfort zone and try something new, you'll like it.  If you need to ask for help finding it, it is pronounced KEEN-wah.

  3/4 Cup Quiona, Uncooked                                                     2 Cups Corn Kernels

  1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock                                                         2 Tbl Lemon Juice

  3 Tbl Olive Oil                                                                         1/2 Tsp Cumin

  8 Ounce Spicy Turkey Sausage, cut                                         1/4 Tsp Salt

  -into chunks                                                                             1/4 Tsp Black Beans

  1 Tbl Onion, diced                                                                   1/2 Cup Red Bell Peppers, diced

  2 Cups Zucchini, diced                                                            1/4 Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped

To Prepare the fresh corn:  Purchase 4 ears corn.  Blanch the corn and remove it from the cob, set aside.

Put the quinoa and chicken broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and pour into a large bowl, set aside.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to the bowl with the quiona. Add another tablespoon oil to pan, then add the onion and cook until softened. Add the zucchini and cook about 5 minutes and then add the corn and cook an additional 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender-firm.  Pour into the  bowl with the quiona and sausage.  Add the pepper to the bowl and stir.

In another bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, remaining oil, cumin, salt and black pepper. Pour over the quiona mixture and chill in the refrigerator at least 60 minutes or up to two days. When ready to serve, stir in the parsley.

Per Serving (if divided into 5 bowls): 272 Cal (49% from Fat, 26% from Protein, 25% from Carb); 18 g Protein; 15 g Tot Fat; 3 g Sat Fat; 9 g Mono Fat;  18 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; 4 g Sugar; 33 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 569 mg Sodium