Cold Quinoa Salad with Green Beans, Mozzarella & Tomatoes

The temperatures have been in the 70's the past few days and it already feels like summer! Lucky me, my job is seasonal so I get to enjoy some time off of work once the ski season is over. I have been enjoying my first few days off of work and spent my time doing yard work, soaking up the sun and enjoying Tahoe life. 

Last summer I decided I wanted a little more grass in our backyard and it grew very well. Today I spent a some time filling in the patches missing grass and a few hours prepping more of the yard for some more grass seed. If you live in Lake Tahoe then you know most of our backyards consist of dirt, rock and weeds so prepping the yard for grass is tough work but worth it. 

I don't know about you but working outside in the sun gets me craving cold salads, soups and sandwiches. Earlier this week I made a few cups of arugula pesto so I decided to plan my lunch around it. I gave my hands a good scrub and decided to get to fixing lunch. This cold salad is quick, easy and packed full of protein and deliciousness. 

Ingredients 
Makes 4 servings
1/2 cup red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups water 
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 lb green beans
3 tbs arugula pesto
8 oz buffalo mozzarella
2 medium tomatoes
1 can chickpeas


Pour the oil in a medium pot and bring to medium heat then add in the onion and garlic, saute for 3 minutes. Add in the quinoa, cook for another 3 minutes, then add the water along with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. When the quinoa is done fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

Remove the stems from the green beans and cut them into 1 inch pieces  Bring a separate pot of water to a brisk boil and cook the green beans for 3-5 minutes. I like my green beans extra crispy so I only cooked them for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

While the quinoa and green beans are cooling cut the mozzarella in to small cubes, dice the tomatoes and add them into a bowl with the chickpeas and arugula pesto. Add in the green beans once they are cooled and toss well until all the fixins are well coated in pesto. 

Serve the green bean mixture on a bed of the cooled quinoa, season with pepper and enjoy! You can drizzle a little balsamic vinegar if you would like but this dish is good the way it is.