Black Bean Salsa

It's no secret that I love chips and salsa. Like it's possibly the worst kept secret in the whole world. I'd rather sit down with a bag of chips and a bottle of salsa and call it dinner than eat many, many things. Not that I've ever done that...ok, let's be real, that happens many, many, Sunday nights. This is a salsa that I've gotten as a neighbor gift at Christmas and because it never tastes the same when you do it yourself I resisted the urge to recreate it for literally years. But, whoever it was that brought it to me that year hasn't brought it again and I can't remember who it was to ask for the recipe so this is my version. Still pretty darned tasty if I say so myself. It's definitely better the second day but if you prefer your avocados bright green add them just before serving.
Black Bean Salsa

2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed
3 avocados, peeled, cored, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced fine
1 orange bell pepper, diced fine
1 green bell pepper, diced fine
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, diced fine
1 can yellow/white corn drained
3 cans regular Rotel
1 bunch cilantro stems removed and chopped finely
3 TBS garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste

Add all ingredient together in a large bowl. Taste and adjust flavors as you go. Chill several hours or overnight. Adjust seasoning level after the salsa sits overnight and the flavors blend together. Serve with tortilla chips.

Sunshine Chicken Salad

 I have no idea why this wasn't ever published...and no idea where the picture I took ended up...so I'm posting it without a picture and maybe I will run across it in my travels. This was really good served with croissants. I love the chicken salad with the grapes and almonds but this was almost it's equal in my opinion, different but very good overall. I ate it plain with salad the second day and that was good too.

 Sunshine Chicken Salad
Servings 12

6 c. cooked chicken, diced
1 c. celery, finely diced
1 med green pepper, finely diced
8 green onions, sliced
1 can water chestnuts, diced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 c. reduced fat mayo
8 T. spicy brown mustard
2 1/2 T. brown sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 large can mardarin oranges, cut into chunks and drained
1c. cashews (opt) I put mine on the side

Bake chicken, cool and dice. Combine with cut vegetables in a large bowl.
Mix onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, brown sugar, mayo and mustard. Pour over chicken and vegetables. Mix well.
Gently fold in pineapple and oranges. (You could also add grapes or craisins)
Chill overnight or for a couple of hours. Serve over lettuce greens or on croissants.
*Add nuts just before serving. 

Enchilada Bake

I haven't actually died, just been extremely swamped with work stuff in my life. Lame. I've made lots of cupcakes...without photos, but not much actual food in the past few months so when I threw this dinner together the other day and it was so well received by all I thought I should probably at least write down what I did. I don't have a picture (of course) but it looks like Mexican lasagna. It was super simple, one of those "I only have 30 minutes and a pound of hamburger" kinds of meals. ;)

Enchilada Bake
10 servings

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 c. dried, minced onion
1 can spicy jalepeno refried beans
corn tortillas
2 small cans enchilada sauce (I used 2 1/2)
colby jack cheese shredded

1. Spray 9x13 in baking dish with non stick spray.
2. Brown ground beef with onions and season with garlic salt. Mix in refried beans and approx 1/2 can of enchilada sauce. I added more sauce because we really like the flavor, do what feels right to you.
3. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce and layer them on the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over them. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over that. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture. Top with a layer of tortillas, pour any remaining sauce over the top, cover with cheese.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 20 min at 375 degrees or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Triple Chip Blondies

I love the "Our Best Bites" blog and check it regularly. I saw this the day it went up and immediately printed it out and stuck it in my purse so that it could be made when I got home. It didn't disappoint; the blondies were rich and just the right texture and none of the chips overpowered any of the others. All in all a win. Thank you Our Best Bites for making me a hero!!

Triple Chip Blondies
Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with the back of a knife
2/3 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup for drizzling on top
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the butter in microwave. Combine in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined (don't overdo it). Add the chocolate chips (excluding the 1/3 cup reserved chips), white chocolate chips, and peanut butter and mix until combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely. When cool, combine the reserved chips and the coconut oil or shortening in a small freezer zip-top bag, seal it, and heat it in the microwave in 15-second increments, smooshing the bag with your hands until the chocolate and oil are smooth (repeat as long as necessary). Cut a small corner out of the bag and squeeze the melted chocolate over the baked blondies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.