Cucumber and Black Bean Salsa

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I packed up the baby, the husband, and the dog and headed East to visit my parents for the holiday. It was great to see them of course, but also great to enjoy some delicious food together! My mom is a wonderful cook and she often takes really fun cooking courses, just to stretch her skills or try new cuisines. I wish we lived closer so I could take them with her.

Lately she's been on a cilantro kick, which is fine by me. Yum! So I was tickled when she put together this refreshing cucumber and black bean salsa for us to munch on before the turkey was ready.

• 1 (15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chopped and seeded cucumber
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced (Compari are the best)
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion tops
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (olive oil is not as good because it will set up in the fridge)
• 1 tablespoon snipped FRESH cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients above and enjoy!

How simple is that?! It's hard to explain the amazing flavors in this salsa, but it's a little tangy, a little tart, a little cooling, and a little heat! It's fantastic. The texture is more similar to a pico de gallo than a traditional tomato salsa but it worked perfectly as a dip with tortilla chips. I could also see this being good as a relish for white fish!

As my mom told me, it's not a difficult recipe... it just takes time due to all that chopping! But the result is a delicious twist on a classic snack.

Salsa Strips

I'm still trying to figure out a balance between spending time in the kitchen (which I love) and not being away from my husband and babe for too long due to a complicated recipe. So that tends to lend itself to a lot of taco nights at our house. Which is GREAT because we love tacos, but seriously... how boring is that?! So I decided that instead of reinventing tacos I would make us a little appetizer. Salsa Strips seemed like the perfect answer! Quick, tasty, and still something new to try.

Ingredients:

• 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup salsa
• Shredded cheese
• Cilantro (I use Penzey's dehydrated Cilantro... great stuff if you don't have fresh on hand!)

Directions:

• Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into four rectangles.
• Place on greased baking sheets.
• Spread mustard onto each rectangle. Then top with salsa.
• 
• Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 8-10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Cut each into four strips; sprinkle with cilantro.

These were a nice change of pace. Although the flakiness of the crescent roll was kind of odd compared to the heaviness of the salsa and cheese. I think I would try on a different type of refridgerated bread next time. But the dijon/salsa combo was delicious!

source: taste of home

Taco dip... I think.

I don't know exactly what you would call this, but the first name that comes to my mind is DELICIOUS. The second is EASY.

Umm, hello? Those are my two requirements in making anything. This tasty dip satisfied both!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of refried beans. I used spicy.
• One 8 oz package of cream cheese
• One 16 oz container of sour cream
• One package of taco seasoning. Again, I used "hot and spicy"
• And your toppings of choice (I used shredded lettuce, Taco shredded cheese (the packaged kind), tomatoes and olives)

Directions:

• Spread refried beans on the bottom of a baking dish.
• With a stand/hand mixer, combine cream cheese and sour cream. Once mixed, add the taco seasoning packet. Stir well.
• Spread that mix over the refried beans.
• Then sprinkle on shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and olives.

Talk about the easiest and most delicious dip! This got gobbled up at our fourth of July party! Just serve with chips and call yourself a hero.

Honestly, it was better after it was sitting awhile. It let the flavors work together.

Southwest Black Bean and White Corn Chicken

Phew! What a long name! But don't let the name fool you, it's just my salsa chicken with a different kind of salsa! The salsa is actually called Southwest Black Bean and White Corn salsa. It's a Wal-Mart brand and it's actually DELICIOUS. I'm a spice freak and could eat hot food for every meal but I need to change it up for Drew. This is a mild salsa, but the beans and corn add a delicious taste to it!

Just follow THIS recipe and sub in any different salsa you desire. The possibilities are endless (and tasty!).

Instead of over rice, this time we rolled them up in soft shell tortillas. Mmmm...



One change in the recipe though... Instead of taco seasoning, I used fajita seasoning. Your choice!

South of the Border Stuffed Shells

Pasta is cheap and easy, but it tends to get a little boring. So instead of Italian stuffed shells, I made taco stuffed shells! This tasty dinner was easy and helped 'spice up' our weekly menu...

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese
• 14 large pasta shells
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup taco sauce
• 2 cups of cheese (I used mozzarella because that's what I had, you can use anything)

Directions:

• Brown the ground beef, add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. (I threw in some finely chopped onion and garlic too!)
• Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• While meat mixture is cooling, cook the pasta shells and drain. Set aside on a cutting board but keep them seperated or they will stick together.
• Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
• Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.
• Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook for about 15 more minutes.
• You can garnish these shells with whatever you normally would use for tacos (sour cream, more salsa, etc)

Mmmm these were good! Word to the wise: I only had HOT salsa and HOT taco sauce. I love spicy, but I think I made my poor husband sweat a bit ;) I would suggest using hot for only one or the other.

Adapted from THIS recipe