Southwestern Pasta Salad

Ohhhhh how I love this! I have a dear friend whose family members I can all count as friends too and the Mama of this family is the BEST cook. She makes this killer Southwestern Pasta Salad that I've started making as well with a few of my own personal tweaks.

This is great to make on a Sunday for a weeks worth of lunches or you could throw in some chicken or beef fajita meat to make it a more complete meal.

Enjoy!

via My iPhone

Southwestern Pasta Salad

½ lb quinoa (I've been using a quinoa/brown rice blend from CostCo that you microwave in the oven!)

1 ½ c. frozen corn

1 can black beans, rinsed

½ cup each diced red and green bell pepper

½ c. diced purple onion

feta cheese, crumbled (I use fat-free or reduced-fat)

Cherry tomatoes

Dressing:

1/3 c. vegetable oil

¼ c. fresh lime juice

1 jalapeno, minced

1 T. cumin

½ tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook quinoa, drain, cool a little. 

Whisk all dressing ingredients together.

Add corn, beans, peppers, onion and feta to pasta and add dressing.  Garnish with tomatoes and enjoy!