black beans

Chipotle Black Bean and Tomato Quesadilla

June 12, 2013 by Erica

The Laughing Cow® provided me with the product featured in this post. However, all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the brand.

I am loving the quesadilla thing recently.

Hot, crispy, cheesy, and bursting with flavor.

And how could you not love an easy meal that takes 10 minutes to get to your plate?

That’s right, you couldn’t.

Sometimes I want a quesadilla loaded down with nothing but cheese. But often, especially this time of year, I’d rather prepare something with light, fresh flavors instead of such heavy ones.

So I was very pleased when the lovely folks at The Laughing Cow offered to send me a few of their cheeses to try out. Yum! Just the thing I had in mind. One wedge was perfect for holding a quesadilla together, making it creamy and delicious, but still qualifying it as a light dinner.

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Grilled Asparagus and Crispy Black Bean Tacos

April 24, 2013 by Erica

Grilled Asparagus and Crispy Black Bean Tacos

I couldn’t let the spring pass by without posting at least one asparagus recipe.

Grilled Asparagus and Crispy Black Bean Tacos

The blog world goes gaga for asparagus, but until recently, I wasn’t the biggest fan. Then I discovered that when you grill or roast asparagus, it turns into an entirely different vegetable.

I should have known. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever met a grilled vegetable I didn’t like.

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Chipotle Black Bean Dip

January 7, 2013 by Erica

Last week, as I was writing Friday’s Bachelor cupcake post, I realized something terrible.

Tonight = Bachelor season premier.

Tonight also = National championship bowl game.

Uhhhhh ohhhhh.

Let’s just say that this is Nate’s and my first “bowl season” living together. (Did not know that was a phrase until last week.) Sure, we’ve been together for many football seasons, but shit got real once my TV was also his TV.

There is football on ALL THE TIME.

I actually forced him to watch multiple episodes of Honey Boo Boo on New Year’s Day, just so we could take a break from football. Believe it or not, Honey Boo Boo was a compromise. What we were not doing was watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which sat on our coffee table for 5 whole nights before I gave up and returned it to Redbox, unwatched.

The Bachelor doesn’t even stand a chance.

Yay football.

OK, I don’t really hate football; it’s just the crazy frequency of games recently. (And don’t even remind me about that March Madness thing coming up…)

One thing that all these bowl games are good for, though, is experimenting with new recipes on unsuspecting taste testers. Enter: a new bean dip!

There have been many bean dips on here lately, and I’m basically just hoping that you love bean dip and all his hummus cousins as much as I do. This one, made with black beans, is much different than my hummus recipes, and much more appropriate to serve to a living room full of hungry football fans. It tastes like classic football food without having any cheese, has a little kick to it, and is unbelievably quick and easy to make.

Making this bean dip tonight: Mandatory. Making your boyfriend watch The Bachelor instead of the bowl game: Optional.