Black Bean Summer Salad

        My girlfriends and I were talking about this recipe at the park the other day, and it got me in the mood to make it.  I make this just about every week during the summer.  It is healthy, cheap, totally easy to make, and oh-so-tasty!  There are many variations of this recipe, mine is a simple one, but it has SO much flavor you would never know it is so simple.  To most people, this would be considered a side dish, but in our house, we eat it as a meal.   It is really filling (did you know corn is considered a carb?!?!?)  and since it has veggies in it, I consider it perfectly acceptable as a meal :-)

Black Bean Summer Salad

2 Cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Can corn, drained

2-3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Mix all ingredients together and set aside

Dressing:

 2 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

juice of 1 lime

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper

 whisk together dressing and pour over salad, mix.

Enjoy!

 

Roasted red pepper pasta sauce

As most of you know, I love a good vegetarian dish! I am not really a big fan of meat, so whenever I come across a great meatless pasta sauce, I usually give it a try.  I had never tasted a roasted red pepper sauce, but I had heard amazing things, so I decided to give one a try.  I am soooo pleased with the results! 
The first one that caught my eye when I started looking up recipes was the red pepper pasta sauce from the Pioneer Woman Cooks website, (my idol)....but hers just seemed a bit to heavy for what I was in the mood for.  So I kept looking and couldn't really find just the right one, so I took ideas from all of them and created my own! 
I am happy to report that the taste and texture was exactly what I thought a red pepper sauce should be :-)  The only change I will make next time, is to make a LOT more!

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

~ 1  12oz jar Roasted red peppers 

~ 1  14.5oz can diced tomatoes

~ 1  medium white onion, diced

~ 4  cloves garlic, minced

~ 1 tsp dried basil

~ 1/2 tsp salt

~ 1/2 tsp pepper

~ 2 tbsp dark brown sugar

~  2 tbsp olive oil

Drain red peppers and chop to about 1 inch pieces

Drain about 1/2 of the juice from the diced tomatoes
Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for about 4 min

Add garlic and saute for another 2 min

Add red peppers and tomatoes(with about 1/2 of the juice),  remove from heat

Add mixture to food processor or blender and then add spices (basil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar)

Blend just until creamy with a bit of texture left

Serve over your favorite pasta

Enjoy!

 

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Here in Utah we drink a lot of hot chocolate from about October through March-ish (sometimes mother nature tends to give us "hot chocolate weather" in April or May). But a lot of places around here serve frozen hot chocolate all year round.  I had never actually tried it until moving to Utah....I had heard of it, just never actually tasted it. Its super good, so when I a came across a recipe for a homemade version in a recent issue of my Every Day with Rachel Ray  Magazine, I thought I would give it a go.  I changed up the recipe quite a bit. My family tends to like white chocolate much better than good ole fashioned milk or dark chocolate (they take after their father...I do not claim any part of the dark chocolate haters), so I made mine with semi-sweet and white chocolate.  I am actually really happy with the way it turned out, though I am not a white chocolate lover, it did make it nice and creamy.  My kids and I pretty much demolished it right out of the blender, so I guess that pretty much speaks for itself....it was GOOD!

Missy's Frozen Hot Chocolate

Two cups milk

1/2 cup of your favorite hot cocoa mix

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 oz white chocolate chips

1tsp vanilla 

about 24 ice cubes (I used two trays worth)

whipped cream

chocolate shavings for garnish

Combine milk and hot cocoa mix over medium heat just until it gets hot,

Add both kinds of chocolate chips, and stir until melted

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla

Pour into blender (if using a glass blender, wait until it cools a bit)

Add ice and blend until smooth.

Pour into dessert cups and garnish with whipped cream and chocolate

Enjoy!