Have a Fiesta Friday!

Its crazy in the world out there lately. A few weeks ago we experienced a hurricane and an earthquake all in the same week. I was trying not get caught up in everyone's doom & gloom, especially when people were yelling at me at work for situations I can"t control (the entire east coast had sold out of sump pumps and I'm a kitchen designer at Lowe's)...

Anyway, amidst all of that negativity,  my hubby & I decided to have fiesta Friday.  We made up some sangria and some nice turkey tacos. I was determined to get some more veggies on our plates and didn't want to have unhealthy refried beans (besides I really don't like them), so I came up with a nice black bean salad instead. We both really enjoyed it. I love having leftovers to use in burritos & salads the next two days as well. Below are the results.


This experiment turned out surprisingly well for a last minute idea and it was great to use up some of my leftover bits in the fridge & pantry.
Toss together all the following ingredients and let marinate at least 30 minutes before serving.
1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cups corn kernels (we used leftover from the local farmers market, but thawed frozen kernels work well too
1 red bell pepper diced
1 green onion sliced
1 cup diced jicama 
1 Tbsp lime juice
spice blend I used: cumin, paprika, cilantro, red chili pepper, garlic and a smidgen of sea salt

***Note: if you're not familiar with Jicama its kind of a cross between a potato with an apple or a pear. It is usually found in the produce section of your grocery store or favorite Latin market.


This weekend we are "rained in". We live in central PA and the flooding has been way worse than anyone expected. So instead of being grumpy about it, we're reveling in having time to actually be home together for a long weekend. We'll be cleaning & organizing to give ourselves some stress relief, have some laughs while playing our favorite games and of course, I'll probably be cooking up a storm as usual. Not sure what I'll be making to keep the dark clouds away, but I'll be sure to post the results. Happy Friday!