Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit…

Contrary to how it may seem based on my taunting, child-like rhyme that I titled this blog post, I do indeed love beans. Not only do I think beans are quite amazing, they have led to this wonderful double meal blog post.

Day one: Bean dip, salsa, and rice & beans.

Day two: Tacos!

For dinner number one, I decided to make a salsa verde salsa, spicy black bean dip, and rice & beans and then use the leftovers in the next day’s Mexi-fest. The black bean dip is an invention of mine that spun out of an attempt at making salsa a few weeks ago. I chopped up tons of veggies and peppers and tomatoes and then grinded them up in my little food processor for a salsa verde. The result was pretty good but not awe-inspiring. I didn’t use enough spice or something and it was a tad too bland. However, I decided to throw in some leftover black beans and the result was fabulousness. The mix of veggies plus beans all chopped/pureed together resulted in a delicious dip that was perfect for my Tostitos scoops (aka the best invention ever for holding lots of dip on a chip.) As before, the black bean dip came out great again, and with an extra jalapeno pepper throw in it also has a rockin’ bit kick.

I then used my second can of black beans and some instant rice (and some of the leftover peppers and tomatoes) to make a vegetarian bean and rice mixture to eat for dinner but also to accompany the next day’s tacos/fajitas.

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Spicy Black Bean Dip

It’s relatively easy and you can really throw in any ingredients you prefer to satisfy your own tastes. What I used:

1 medium red pepper

1 medium yellow pepper

1 large sweet onion

3 medium tomatoes

2 jalapeno peppers

1 can black beans

Chop all ingredients and then combine in a food processor or blender until a smooth consistency. (You can also make a bit chunkier so it resembles a salsa verde with beans.)

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Black Beans and Rice

1 can black beans

3 cups cooked white rice

A couple of spoonfuls of the chopped pepper, onion and tomato mixture from the dip

Spicy Mexican sauce to taste (I used Chalula)

Mix together and heat for a few minutes over medium heat.

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Meal Numero Dos: Taco time!

I headed to Whole Foods and loaded up with an orange pepper, avocado, limes, small onion, corn tortillas, skirt steak, cilantro, shredded cheddar & Monterey jack cheese and sour cream to accompany my previously created bean dip, rice & beans, and salsa. It was a veritable cornucopia of Mexican goodness. Talk about amazing.

These were the best make-your-own tacos. Ever. I got so excited eating and making them that I forgot to take pictures… but you can imagine: picture heaping mounds of medium cooked steak bits, sautéed veggies, cheese, sour cream, sliced avocado, etc. YUM! As with most Mexican meals I make I think the best part is the ‘do it yourself’ method where you can throw in anything you want at any time and mix it up. The key is just to have fun and be creative!

Overall score: 10 out of 10.