Monthly Archives: February 2013

Beautiful Sister/Ugly Dip

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bean dip

I, personally, don’t think this bowl of dip is particularly visually appealing.  The first time my gorgeous sister, Sarah, whipped it up I didn’t get my hopes up too high… And then I tasted it.

Super Bowl of yum.  In fact, yes, I took this dip to a Super Bowl Party yesterday and, as is always the case, it was a huge hit.  The kids who have had it before actually squealed when I took the lid off the top and they saw this stuff ‘cuz they know it’s so tasty.

Beautiful Sarah’s Ugly Bean Dip:

Ingredients: 3 cans of black beans, drained; approximately 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, some chopped cilantro, approximately 12 oz. mild salsa (my kids don’t care for spicy)

Directions: Mix and serve.

Tips: The ingredient list above is a bit vague.  I have really found, though that the measurements can vary and you can still get a great dip.  Sometimes I don’t have cilantro on hand but if I can scrounge a few sprigs from my mom or another neighbor, I can make it work.  Cheese is the same story.  If you’re a bit short, you can still go for it.

Here’s a photo of the beans, cheese and cilantro before I mixed it so you can see about how much I used:

pre-bean dip

After this I just added the salsa and stirred it all up.  Dip some tortilla chips in that stuff and yummm-oh!

I make this dip on a semi regular basis.  It’s a nice hearty snack and packs some nutrition into the punch.  It’ll keep well in the fridge for a few days and we even take it on picnics and to the beach in the summer.  Enjoy!

Something Blue

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something blue

Fruits and Vegetables.  We should all be eating more fruits and vegetables.  I’m assuming this sounds familiar to pretty much everyone reading this blog–if not every person reading any blog.
 
In season right now at my local farmer’s market are Bosc pears that we are totally diggin’ at my house.  Their brown skins make them an exotic addition to the fruit bowl.  Here in sunny southern California even these kiwis are locally grown.  You can get oranges at the farmers market too, but I don’t have to because my mom/neighbor has a tree with prolific amounts of delicious oranges.  Lucky us!
 
Every morning we begin our breakfast with fruit of some kind.  We prefer fresh but are not opposed to an occasional canned pineapple, peach or pears (in its own juice.)

Because I’m a time economizer, I’ve developed the format you see pictured above.  Step 1: Mommy cuts fruit on cutting board.  Step 2: Cutting board is placed on table for mass consumption.  Step 3: Three kids and husband have at it.  Step 4: Mommy–or sometimes Daddy :)–clean up said cutting board.
 
My two girls volunteered as hand models in the photo above–they were so excited to “show everyone how we do it at our house.”  I tried to get a shot that didn’t include the atrocious blue nail polish you see (thanks, Catalina, for the birthday party nail salon!) but couldn’t. 

But then I figured hey, this isn’t the Pottery Barn catalog.  Blue nails and all, here we are eating breakfast at my house.  Have a great day!