Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I know that there are about a million different recipes out there for this, but this is my go-to. It is great for parties and potlucks or just to have on hand. I can throw this together in about 5 minutes, but give it a couple hours in the refrigerator for the flavors to combine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Makes about 8 cups of salsa

2 Cans Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 Can of Corn OR 2 Cups Fresh or Frozen (I use frozen)
1 Can of Rotel (Diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1/2 of a White or Red Onion chopped
1/2 bunch or so of chopped cilantro (I actually have used a few tablespoons of dried cilantro)
Diced Avocado (I omit this because I am mildly allergic to avocado, that is why it's not pictured)

Combine all above ingredients in a bowl.
Make vinaigrette and pour over salsa. Serve with Tortilla Chips.
Tastes best when refrigerated for a few hours or overnight.

Vinaigrette
1/4 c olive Oil
4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lime or about 1 Tbsp.

Whisk together.

Rainbow Jello Salad - Happy St. Patrick's Day

Yeah, I know St. Patrick's Day was a week ago, but hey I am trying here. The weeks seem to be filled with so many things to get done that I don't have much spare time. There are actually like 5 other things that I SHOULD be doing right now, but oh well. :)

In case you didn't know, we're Irish. My mom has Irish heritage and we always celebrated with Corned Beef and Cabbage each year. For the last three years I have really missed out on this tradition and finally decided that I would go ahead and do it for my own family this year. But, also because I have a wonderful group of friends, we used St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to get together and enjoy some food. Everyone brought a green food to share, the kids played, the women talked, and the men......watched March Madness. :)
So I made a delicious green salad as well as this........

I know it isn't just green, but rainbows are totally festive for St. Patrick's Day too. It isn't a hard recipe, but it is a little time consuming. There is a lot of waiting timed while you let each layer set up. But don't let that intimidate you! This jello is totally worth it. (Ha, people don't usually say things like that about jello.)

So here you go:

Rainbow Jello Salad
Servings: about 12 (makes one 9x13 pan)

One small box (3 oz.) of each jello: lime, lemon, orange, raspberry, and grape
1 1/4 cups of sour cream
1 tub of Cool Whip (optional)

Take one cup of boiling water and add to lime jello. Stir until dissolved. Divide in half. Add 3 tablespoons of cold water to one half of the jello and pour into your glass bowl or dish.

Refrigerate that layer for 20-30 minutes until set.

To the other half of the jello add 1/4 cup of sour cream, mix well. After the first half has set, add your sour cream layer over the top and let that set for another 20-30 minutes.

Continue with the other flavors in order (lime, lemon, orange, raspberry and grape) until you have 10 layers.

Top with Cool Whip if desired.

I always use Cool Whip, I like to think of it as the clouds around the rainbow. :)

I know that these are pictures of the Raspberry, but just pretend I took pictures of lime.

 Adding the first half with just the cold water.

 Making the 2nd half with sour cream.

 The color will become more solid and creamy.

 All of the finished layers. Doesn't that look awesome!

I am telling you, this Jello is GOOD! And all of your friends will be so impressed! It is a great dish to take to a BBQ or other summer party. I don't know about you, but it feels like summer is right around the corner.

Pinterest: Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies

I have to say the second I saw these on Pinterest, I was like, YUM! They looked so delicious, and to be honest I am not really a ham person, I much prefer turkey, but you know ham and swiss just go together so I stuck with the recipe and used ham. I found this recipe on Pinterest from Beyer Beware. There is also a similar recipe on The Girl Who Ate Everything, where she uses individual rolls as opposed to the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. I chose to go with the Sweet Rolls because they taste amazing and it was also much faster than cutting and stuffing 24 individual rolls (you will see what I mean).

 Image from Beyer Beware

I made them for our Super Bowl Party, which is more like a small get-to-gather with friends and we usually have cake for my hubby's birthday. Everyone RAVED about them, and I thought they were really good. I would totally make them again for a party. My husband did not enjoy the sauce over the top, maybe too messy, but I liked them that way. I made a double batch so I just put them on a sheet pan instead of two 9x13s. And really they were SO simple too, it maybe took me 10 minutes to put it all together. I really hope you get a chance to try out this recipe, it is awesome!

Chop up your onion, if you have a food chopper, use it! (By the way, I only used one whole onion instead of two for a double batch, and I thought it was more than enough). Then combine your butter, onion, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds in a sauce and simmer for several minutes.
Then cut your entire package of rolls in half lengthwise. Place the bottoms in a foil lined baking sheet and spread 3/4 of your onion mixture on the rolls.

Then layer your ham and then swiss cheese over the top of the onion mixture. I will be honest I didn't go to the deli and get fresh cut ham and cheese I just bought the regular old packaged stuff and it worked out great! So much cheaper too!

Then place the top half over the rolls and spread the rest of the onion mixture over the top. Cover the entire thing with foil and you can bake or refrigerate until you are ready to bake them. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. Believe me, you will not regret making these. Oh man, I think I want one right now!

Image from Beyer Beware

Sorry not all of the images are mine, I was in a hurry and my pregnancy brain tends to forget a lot of things. But I promise mine looked exactly the same, and that rarely happens!

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies

From: Beyer Beware

Servings: 12 rolls

1 package of 12 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

1 onion, chopped finely

1 stick of butter

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

3 teaspoons of poppy seeds

1/2 pound of shaved ham

8 slices of swiss cheese

Melt butter in saucepan and add onion. Combine mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds with onion and butter. Simmer for several minutes.

Slice rolls as a group lengthwise and place in a foil lined baking sheet.

Spread 3/4 of the onion mixture over the bottom half of the rolls and top with ham and cheese.

Place roll tops on and spread the remaining onion mixture over the top. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

I hope you enjoy these! Let us know what you think! What recipes have you tried and loved from Pinterest?