I'm not exactly known for my phenomenal cooking skills (a no-sugar carrot cake with faux cream cheese frosting I made for Hayden's first birthday comes to mind) but I do have a few tried-and-true recipes that I've perfected over the years. I recently posted a pic of one of my faves on Instagram and got several requested for the recipe. It's simple, with easy-to-find ingredients, doesn't require any fancy appliances or equipment and you can totally drink a margarita while you put it together. Which pretty much means it's my ideal recipe.
Black Bean & Corn Salad
2 - 15oz. cans black beans, drained & rinsed
2 lb. bag of frozen corn (you can also use fresh corn)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 jalepeno, diced (or two, if you like it spicy)
3/4 c. chopped cilantro
juice from 2 limes
1/4 c. plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 c. red salsa (I like Blue Moose salsa)
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
salt & pepper to taste
Mix everything together in a big bowl. Cover tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Ideally, make this the night before you want to eat it. It gets better with a bit a of time to "marinate" in the frig! (During which time, you should totally drink margaritas.)
Serve over lettuce and/or corn chips and top with crumbled queso fresco. If you want to bump up the protein content, you can also add in edmame (I threw some in the last batch I made and it was tasty), garbanzo beans, or avocados. It's also a nice salad to serve with grilled chicken or steaks. And a margarita, natch.
Enjoy!
P.S. I'd be remiss if I didn't direct you to my favorite margarita recipe right here, now wouldn't I?!? Cheers!
