Quinoa + Pesto + Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs Pesto (homemade or good quality store bought)
• 10-12 asparagus spears
• 1 large handful of spinach
• 4-5 roasted peppers, chopped into 1/4 to 1/2″ pieces
• 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
• 12 oz of Quinoa (I used Ancient Harvest’s Organic Traditional Quinoa)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook the quinoa as directed (I used a rice cooker / steamer and it turned out great).
• Add the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice to a small bowl and baste the asparagus spears with the marinade.
• Cook the asparagus for 15 minutes.
• Once the quinoa is cooked, stir in the pesto.
• Add the peppers, artichoke hearts, and spinach and stir gently – until the spinach is wilted.
• Place the quinoa in a bowl and cover with the asparagus spears.  Drizzle the remaining olive oil / lemon marinade over the asparagus and quinoa.
• Add salt & pepper as needed.