31 Days of Pintrest DIY: Day 8: Quinoa Carmel Apple Salad

I tried to stay away from food this time around my 31 Day posting. I did a lot of cooking in July with my 31 Days of Nutella Recipes, so I wasn't really interested in doing more at this time. However, one look at this beautiful fruit salad changed my mind. It has one of my favorite things in it, Quinoa. I love Quinoa. I love it because we are not allergic to it, it was popular in ancient Egypt, and it's a very healthy whole grain. Great stuff!

As much as I love the look of this salad, it just didn't look like fall to me. So I made my own version, Quinoa Caramel Apple Salad.

You will need 1 cup dried Quinoa, 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, a stick of butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 6 large apples or 8 small ones.

Cook the Quinoa according to manufacturer's directions. I use 2 cups water with the dried Quinoa, bring to a boil, cover and cook 10 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Meanwhile peel, slice and core the apples. I love my apple corer, it makes short work of doing it all at once.

When the butter is completely melted you can add the apples slices.

Then add the dried cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Combine. Inhale deeply. It smells wonderful.

Cover and cook 10-12 minutes on low heat until apples are soft and cranberries are puffy. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then mix with the Quinoa. I love it when it's served warm. Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Designer Mom