Caprese quinoa salad

Quinoa, Caprese-style, wasn't anything that had occurred to me, so when I saw the recipe in "The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime" for Quinoa Caprese, I was intrigued. I like a good Caprese salad, and I've been on a quinoa kick, so I figured it had a fighting chance.

Basically, you mix cooked (cooled) red quinoa with a balsamic vinaigrette, a handful of cherry tomatoes (two colors are nice), fresh mozzarella balls and thinly sliced basil. That's really all the recipe you need to know, but if you want things spelled out in step-by-step detail, you can find Ree Drummond's recipe here.

It was reasonably pleasant, although I found I needed more dressing than called for. She suggests adding cooked chicken to make it a main dish, which I could see working.

Drummond's book is primarily suited for busy moms. Most of the recipes aren't ground-breaking, so kids are more likely to eat them. As one might expect from a blogger turned cookbook author, the book is blog turned into book form: Lots and lots of photos of each step, including the requisite one showing dressing being drizzled, and lots of personal lifestyle/family posing. But I still might have to try her recipe for black bean veggie burgers.