Summer Days & Monday Made It

Hope your summer has been going well. Mine has been excellent! :) After teaching summer school for the first month of summer, I took a physical and mental break from all things teacher and spent a week doing a whole lotta nothing. 

I spent my relaxing time in this beautiful place with my beautiful family. 

My grandparents, mom and uncles have been coming to Clear Lake, CA since they were babies and now the fourth generation of our family is enjoying this special place. We spent a week in cabins lakeside with 25 of our closest family members. Lots of time floating, boating, talking and laughing. 

And with my family, lots of wine drinking is also a given......Of course we also had to find a lakeside winery to visit. (Pretty sure this is one of the ONLY wineries you can boat to!). 

We just docked our boat down on the lake and walked up to amazing wine and a great view! Gotta love that! :) 

We also did a whole lotta eating too. Take a look at what my uncle whipped up: 

These were amazing grilled chicken sandwiches with Saracha sauce and avocados with a side of grilled corn on the cob and grilled nectarines for dessert. He even grilled lemons and limes to squeeze over the top. Delish! Obviously we don't mess around when it comes to food! :) 

Speaking of food.....Time for my Monday Made It! I'm linking up with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics for her adorable linky! :) 

Today, I want to share my favorite salads. Now, I am NOT creative or even skilled when it comes to cooking, but I can slice and dice and I do know what flavors I like. And I L-O-V-E this salad. 

It is a standby in my kitchen. I made it last week to share at the lake. I also love to make a big version and keep it in the fridge for a quick work lunch. Being as I am not a fancy-smancy cook, I don't really have a recipe but still wanted to share. I hope my directions make sense! :) 

Quinoa & Veggie Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing 

Here's what you'll need: 

    1 cup uncooked quinoa 

    1 can black beans (rinsed and drained) 

    1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn 

    1-2 limes (depending on how tangy you like your dressing) 

    Olive oil 

    1 bunch of cilantro

    Salt 

    A generous helping of a variety of veggies (I have used red peppers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions and what ever else I have laying in the fridge that day.) 

Here's what you'll do: 

Cook the quinoa according for the directions on the package and let cool in fridge. 

Rinse and drain the black beans. Defrost corn if using frozen. 

Slice and dice the veggies. I used 1/4 of a red pepper, a couple tablespoons of red onion, a handful of cherry tomatoes tomatoes, 1/2 a cucumber and chopped the cilantro for the dressing. You can add or sub any vegetables you have on hand.  

Mix the dressing using olive oil, salt and lime. I do all of this to taste. Then I throw in the cilantro at the last minute. 

Toss the salad. Combine the quinoa, beans, corn and veggies in a large bowl. Add the dressing.

Enjoy! 

***PS sorry for the poor quality photos. I am definetly NOT a food blogger. Hahaha***

Now that I am back from my teacher break, I am eager to get busy and start dreaming about my classroom. I am off to Target and Michael's to get the creative teacher side of me revved up again. I'll be stopping by some of the other Monday Made It posts for some inspiration too. 

Have a great day! :)