Sweet and Salty Quinoa with Bacon and Veggies

This dish is a modified version of a Noble Pig recipe.  It's now one of our favorites.

With our version, we combined sauteed chopped yellow onion and green pepper, cooked quinoa and smoked bacon, sugar snap peas and Honey-Lime dressing. The dressing adds a little sweetness, the bacon adds a little saltiness and then we topped ours with Sriracha that added a little spiciness. And that's why it is now one of our favorite recipes. It's got it all. It's pretty healthy (especially if you cut down the bacon or use turkey bacon; either way there's enough going on that the bacon doesn't overwhelm the dish). We ate ours at room temperature with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar snap peas
- One green pepper
- 1/4 medium yellow onion
- 1 cup quinoa
- 5 slices smoked bacon
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil

Honey Lime Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (or squeezed from one lime)
- Seasoning: garlic, crushed red pepper, paprika, salt and pepper

Recipe:
Cook the one cup quinoa per packed directions (one cup quinoa with two cups water). While it was cooking, I continued with the rest of the recipe. Move quinoa to a bowl once complete to prevent drying out/burning. I didn't cover it and allowed it to cool a little.

Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a sauce pan. Place the cooked pieces on a paper towel to soak up the excess fat and allow to cool before slicing into small pieces.

Saute the chopped yellow onion and green pepper with olive oil, salt and pepper on medium heat until softened.

Bring a large saucepan to a boil. While that is heating up, prepare an ice bath large enough to submerge the snap peas. Place the sugar snap peas in the boiling water for 1 minute, remove and place in the ice bath for two minutes, then remove and place on a paper towel to dry. Slice into thirds or fourths.

Lastly, combine quinoa, snap peas, sauteed veggies and dressing in a large bowl. Mix well and then add the bacon, stirring until thoroughly mixed.

We topped ours with ground pepper and a little Sriracha. Delicious!