Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Asparagus and Roasted Red Pepper

By Carolanne

This recipe is adapted from lowfatcooking.about.com.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Place chicken in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place quinoa in a sieve and rinse well under running water. Put quinoa and chicken broth in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

While quinoa is cooking, steam asparagus pieces 2 to 3 minutes or until tender-crisp.

Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, asparagus, red peppers and chicken.

In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over quinoa and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.

Note: If you're in a hurry, you can always use the breast meat from a roasted chicken from the deli area of the grocery.