Black Bean & Corn Quinoa

I'm at the end in the road for the veggies in my fridge, so this was my clean up meal. Using canned beans, frozen corn, a dressing made from my penniless pantry and the rest of the veggies in the fridge, this quinoa dish doesn't get any cheaper. The quinoa and beans provide great protein, but some shredded chicken could add to this dish and work with the Southwestern feel.

Another great perk for this meal? Now that my fridge is empty, I have lunch for the next couple of days!

Black Bean & Corn Quinoa

Serves 4. 

- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 bunch green onions (scallions)
- 1 cucumber (peeled and seeded, chopped)

Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- Salt, pepper to taste

1. Cook quinoa according to package.
2. In a colander, drain and rinse black beans. Add corn to the colander, and rinse with water to thaw corn and rinse black beans further.
  *Rinsing the beans is important to reduce the sodium from the canned beans. Cold water will quickly thaw the corn. 
3. Peel and remove the seeds from the cucumber. Chop the cucumber into small pieces. *To seed a cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.  Chop the bunch of green onions - I use the white parts, as well as halfway up to the green. When it gets leafy, I stop. Put the vegetables into a big bowl. 
4. Add beans and corn mixture into bowl with cucumber and green onions. Mix the dressing in a separate bowl, or pour each step into the big bowl, and mix until all of the vegetables are seasoned.
5. Add the quinoa. Taste for flavor. Add more cumin, salt, pepper as needed. Serve!


A couple ideas:

 - For spicy food lovers like me: A diced jalapeno pepper would add great heat to this dish- I just didn't have it on hand.

 -Next day use: Make Quinoa Stuffed Peppers!

• Mix some parmesan cheese into the quinoa mixture. 
• Put the quinoa into a green pepper (cut off the top and pull out the seeds and pith). 
• Top with a little more parmesan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.