Ja cię kocham…

My apologies for the not so fabulous pictures.  I was making it quick so I could serve them warm.  )

You will quickly notice that the pineapple is making an appearance in the next few postings.  Pineapple adds a subtle sweetness to the most savory dishes, and a little goes a long way.  It worked beautifully in my Stuffed Peppers with Pineapple Rice as it did with these delectable pizzas.

I am going to safely assume that these pizzas are incredibly tasty because no sooner did I have them on the platter, they were gone.   Nope, I didn’t get to taste them!   My family downed them in about 5 minutes or so!

If you’re having a get together and want to make something unique and popular without a lot of effort, I suggest trying this recipe out.  They will be ready in minutes – allowing you to mingle with your guests without have to stress about the food.

Petite Prosciutto and Pineapple Pizzas

Source: Party Food, Paragon Publishing, p. 227 – (One of the $5 cookbooks you can find in Barnes and Noble!)

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4 English Muffins
1/2 cup pizza sauce or marinara sauce
2 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped (mine were dry, so I plumped them up in water over night and then tossed them in oil)
2 oz. prosciutto
2 rings fresh or canned pineapple, chopped (Dole has pineapple tidbits that save you from chopping)
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I omitted this)
4.5 oz. mozzarella cheese thinly sliced
olive oil, for drizzling
salt and pepper
fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Directions:

Preheat your broiler to medium.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Cut the English muffins in half and toast the cut side lightly.

Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the English muffins.  Sprinkle the sun-dried tomatoes on top of the sauce.

Cut the prosciutto into thin strips and place on the muffins with the pineapple and pepper.

Carefully arrange the cheese slices on top.

Drizzle each pizza with a little bit of olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place under hot broiler and cook until the cheese melts and bubbles.

Garnish with basil and serve immediately.

Forgive my absence on here.  Life has created a whirlwind that has picked me up, whooshed me around, and before I knew it, it was the end of April.  Where has the time gone??!

No worries, though.  I have plenty of recipes to be posted in the next few days or week….  I won’t let you down.  Promise.

Lucky for me red peppers are on mega sale this week.  They are always so painfully expensive, but THIS week they were more than 50% off!  SCORE!  As soon as I saw them, I piled them into my cart with a huge grin on my face.  Stuffed peppers dinner!  Yes!

This recipe was literally thrown together with whatever I had in my fridgie and cabinets.  Don’t you just love those experimental meals?  You hope and pray that it turns out okay since there is absolutely no recipe in sight.   And guess what.  These stuffed peppers were delightful!   The pineapple gave them a hint of summery sweetness while the red beans gave them the heartiness I need in a meal.

Get creative with your pepper stuffing.  Throw in whatever you would love to eat in your rice!  Or do what I do and just throw in whatever you got.  You won’t be disappointed.

Stuffed Peppers with Pineapple Rice

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4 c. vegetable stock (or whatever amount of liquid that your rice calls for)
2 c. instant brown rice
1 c. diced pineapple (Dole has the Pineapple “tidbits” that are perfect!)
1 can small red beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary, chopped
Pepper to taste (If your veggie stock isn’t salty, then add salt to taste)
3-4 red bell peppers with tops cut off and discarded, seeds and ribs removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil on medium in large skillet.  Saute garlic until fragrant.  About 3-5 minutes.

Add veggie stock to skillet, bring to a boil.  Add rice and cook according to directions.

Toss in the rest of the ingredients except for the peppers.

Fill a baking pan with an inch of water.

Divide the rice evenly among the peppers and fill them to the top.  Place stuffed peppers into the baking pan with water and cook for 30-45** minutes or until peppers begin to wrinkle and rice begins to brown on top.  Feel free to top the peppers with cheese with about 5-7 minutes left to cook.  I opted not to because I was looking for a more low-fat meal.

**IMPORTANT FYI – Many recipes call for 40-50 minutes but my peppers were done in 30 so use your judgment.  It doesn’t hurt to check them at 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Well hello wonderful sandwich that is figure friendly, sweet, and simple.  Thank you for being so incredibly satisfying in that roaring belly of mine.  You make me happy, very happy.   I want to have you on my plate every night for the rest of my life.   Would you mind that?

This cute treat was a spectacularly light and satisfying dinner for Jay and me.  Typically this recipe is for a brunch but it worked well for us as night time.  I always have a huge craving for dessert after dinner but this sammie was nice and sweet and satisfied the Sugar Monster that visits me around 8 o’clock every night.  He looks remarkably similar to the big, hairy, orange Hunger Monster on the Weight Watchers commercials.  Sugar Monster doesn’t bother me all day, but as soon as dinner is over he throws Hershey kisses and ice cream sandwiches at my face.  Crazy monster.  Will you ever leave me be?  Probably not – unless, of course, I eat this sandwich for dinner every night.

Speaking of Weight Watchers, this sandwich is only 3 points (per full slice of bread with topping).  I recommend using the Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Bread because it is only 80 calories a slice.  )

Hands-on prep was all of 10 minutes and cook time was as long as your toaster takes to make your toast.

If you’re a mom or dad, Mom-Mom or Pop-Pop, you’re (grand)kids will love these!  They can be cut into hearts, stars, or whatever cookie cutter shape you’ve got!  This recipe reminds me so much of my Mom-Mom and Poppy.   I used to go on summer vacation for a week at a time at their house, and they always made me sliced strawberries mixed with sugar.  Mmmmmm…. I love the fond memories.  This takes me back to the 1980s…

I regret that I didn’t have the required raspberries for this recipe, but I definitely added some lime zest for a kick and some contrasting coloring.

Berry and Cream Cheese Open-Face Sandwiches

Source: Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites Cookbook, p. 75

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup raspberries
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar (I used turbinado)
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tsp. fresh orange juice
4 Tbs. light cream cheese
2 tsp. honey or agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 slices cinnamon-raisin bread
lime zest for garnish

Directions:

Combine the berries, sugar, orange zest and juice in a small bowl.  Let it sit for 5 minutes (or until sugar dissolves) while stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, honey, and vanilla in another small bowl.

Toast the bread; let cool about 30 seconds.

Spread 1 Tbs. of cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.  Cut each slice in quarters and top each quarter wtih about 2 tsp. of berry mixture.  Sprinkle with lime zest.  Serve immediately.

So cute!  Enjoy guilt-free!

A pita sandwich is the perfect lunch for me – especially the smaller pitas.  They are so cute, you can stuff them with whatever you want, and they are incredibly filling.  Whenever I’m in the mood for pitas, I don’t have them so I remedied that by making my own.  Jay just bought a lot of tuna from Costco so I thought that these little additions would be ideal for us.   They are like fluffy bread pillows waiting to be stuffed.  I recommend making these when you have some down time to let them rise.   Lazy Sundays are great for this.  You mix, knead, take a nap, roll dough into balls, get back on the couch… you get the idea.   Not a lot of work, but it takes time.   And trust me, they are worth the wait!

Homemade Pita Bread

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Yields: 8 pitas

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (If you want fluffy pitas, use either all-purpose or whole wheat pastry)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1 packet yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

Directions:

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes. 

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

Take a nap… )

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it’ll be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

Since my cookies sheets aren’t that long, I was able to squeeze two in the oven long ways.  That way I can bake all of the pitas simultaneously.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or on parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.

Open the oven, remove pitas from greased cookie sheet and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.

To all of my quirky friends out there, this dish was made with Soba Noodles.  My beautiful puppy, Noodles, was not boiled, tossed in oil, and served in a bowl.  She is alive and well, still loving her fluffy pillows and eating carrots and peanut butter.

Noodles loves her pillows…

Moving on to the soba noodles…  I’ve been really trying to find easy recipes using only the ingredients in my cabinets.  Often, these meals are what I would post on here because they are simple, no brainers, but this recipe is totally post-worthy.  From the time that I put the water in the pasta pot to the time I mixed the sauce in finished noodles, this meal took all of 10 minutes.  Fan-flipping-tastic!

And, I discovered that soba noodles are now my all-time favorite pasta.  I could eat them when they are crunchy and raw – yeah, I know, I’m weird.  The closest thing that I can compare it to is an angel hair pasta as far as consistency goes.  Regardless (or should I say, irregardless?  JUST kidding.  That word drives me nuts!), this meal is a winner.  It’s fast, it’s light, and it’s inexpensive to make.  Oh, and Jay gave me the HUGEST hive-five after his first bite!

Hot and Sour Noodle Salad (without my puppy)

Source: The Vegetarian Cookbook, p. 155

Serves 4

Ingredients:

12 oz. thin pasta (I recommend rice vermicelli or SOBA NOODLES!)
4 Tbs. sesame oil (canola or vegetable works well if you don’t have the sesame)
3 Tbs. soy sauce
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp. sugar
4 scallions, finely sliced (use any onion if you don’t have these on hand)
1-2 tsp. hot chili sauce (any hot sauce is perfect)
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions.  Drain, put in a bowl and toss with half the oil.

Mix the remaining oil, soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, scallions, and chili/hot sauce together in a bowl.  Stir into the noodles.

Toss in the cilantro and serve.

I know, I know – these sound utterly strange and unappealing.  But, I literally received 3 recipes for these guys in two days.  They sound weird enough for me, and the comments from those having already made them were shockingly incredible so I say, why not?  Of course, I couldn’t help but think about WHY anyone would want to put black beans in brownies but apparently the bean addition creates an even moister brownie that one can ever imagine.  And the fiber doesn’t hurt either.  Oh, and I get to put coffee in them.  Sweeeet.

Soooo I got a little over zealous with this recipe and poured WAY too much coffee in the batter.  After mixing everything together, I was left with black bean and coffee soup.  Ew.  Needless to say, I had to add a ton more flour to the batter creating brownies that were mildly sweet and were of a strange yet surprisingly appealing consistency.  And I just realized now as I’m typing this that I forgot to add the butter.  Man, what was wrong with me!?!  Ha.  But it’s okay!  It was like a big, chocolate sponge bread.  My errors quickly turned my dessert into a lovely breakfast bread.  Works for me!

These brownies would be perfect for my mom because she loves chocolate but doesn’t have a big sweet tooth.

As weird as they sound, black bean brownies are quite delicious.

PS – The recipe below is the original one that I was supposed to follow ;o)

Black Bean Brownies

Source: Mildly adapted from WeightWatchers.com

Yields: 24 brownies (3 WW points per brownie)

Ingredients:

cooking spray
1/2 cup black beans (canned are fine.  just make sure to drain and rinse them!)
1/4 cup black coffee, strong
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups of sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. espresso powder (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9- X 13-inch pan with cooking spray; line with aluminum foil and coat foil with cooking spray.

In a blender or mini food processor, process beans with coffee until smooth; set aside.

In a double boiler over very low heat, melt butter and chocolate.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, add melted chocolate to eggs; incorporate well. Add black bean mixture, vanilla and salt; mix well. Add flour; combine thoroughly on low speed.  Add espresso powder and mix gently.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted in center of brownies comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, remove brownies from pan by pulling up on foil and placing brownies on cooling rack to cool more.

Cut into 24 pieces and serve.

Okay, I have a husband that is obsessed with only a few things as far as food is concerned – milk, english muffins, and fiber one bars.  Milk is an absolute must, so we always have at least a glass of milk in the house, but english muffins can be rather expensive.  I try to buy them during a “buy one get one free” deal, but I haven’t seen one in a while.  So I decided to make my own in the form of bread.

This recipe comes with the nooks and crannies found in a typical english muffin, but it is made with ingredients that we all have in our cabinet.  YES!!!  There is nothing more gratifying than to find a recipe that I want to make, AND I have all of the ingredients.

You can make pizzas, french toast, McDonald’s “egg mcmuffins”, and much, much more with this bread.  You need to make this.  Even if you have never set foot in the kitchen, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.

English Muffin Bread

Source: Donalyn Ketchum

Yields 2 loaves

Ingredients:

5 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
2 packages dry yeast
1 Tbs. sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pam, butter, shortening (or whatever you may use to grease your baking pans)
cornmeal for sprinkling pan and loaves prior to cooking

Directions:

Grease 9×5 pans with Pam and then sprinkle cornmeal in and tilt the pans to coat all surfaces and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the all purpose unbleached flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

Heat the milk and water until it’s very warm but not too uncomfortable to touch.

Stir it in the flour mixture.

Add the final 2 cups of all-purpose flour and knead into a ball.

Divide the bread dough into two even groups and place them in the prepared bread pans.  Sprinkle with cornmeal.

Let the bread sit in a warm location for 45-60 minutes to rise.  (I used a halogen lamp since I turned the heat off.  I like my house relatively cold.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F while bread is rising (with 15 minutes left or so).

Place pans in the oven for 30 minutes.  (Since my bread was placed in dark pans, I placed a cookie sheet under them and only cooked them for 20 minutes.)  My oven tends to cook faster than others.  With this in mind, it doesn’t hurt to check your bread after 20 minutes.  Check with a toothpick and when it comes out clean, remove bread from pans and allow to cool on a cooling rack or plate.

Enjoy!

There are days when I want a light meal, but I want something that can hold me over.  Normally when I eat a salad, I am hungry an hour later.  It’s frustrating.  I want to eat healthy, but I want to be satisfied.   This soup really did the trick.  It’s made from fresh vegetables and it’s incredibly hearty.  After having it for lunch, I was full for the rest of the night.  There isn’t much that can keep me from eating dinner, but I was so full I just couldn’t do it.

So if you’re looking for something light, healthy, and filling, you’ve met your match.

Fresh and Hearty Carrot Soup

Source: 101 Cookbooks

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds carrots
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cups+ vegetable stock or water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

olive oil, toasted sesame oil, or red chile oil for a finishing drizzle
cayenne pepper to garnish

Directions:

Take the tops off the carrots and give them a good scrub.

Cut them into 1-inch segments and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent.

Add the stock and carrots and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender – longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger. But try not to overcook. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Puree with a hand blender or regular blender to the consistency that you are looking for then stir in the lemon juice.

Now salt to taste. If you used a salty veggie stock, you might just need a little salt. If you used water, you’ll need quite a bit more.

Finish with a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil and cayenne pepper.

I saw this recipe and just HAD to try it.  Melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar all enveloping warm dough that just falls a part on your plate – count me in!  These muffins are incredibly delicious and quite a yummy treat for breakfast.  If you plan on making these, please be sure that you are not in a rush and have time to love your dough and give it the attention it needs to turn into these beauties.   It’s a little time consuming because it involves fresh dough that needs to rise, be flattened, and rise again.  The actual hands-on part isn’t so much work.  You just need to have the time to allow the dough to rise.

You can even make extra dough and set some aside for a lovely pizza crust.  )

I did alter the recipe a little.  Half of the flour that I used was whole wheat (that’s the maximum amount allowed for this recipe to turn out), I used natural cane sugar instead of brown sugar, and turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) instead of white, granulated sugar.   I try my best to steer clear of processed and bleached foods.

The muffins literally melt in your mouth as you eat them.  I recommend eating them warm with a nice cup of tea.  It’s a great start to your day.

Monkey Bread Muffins

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Yields roughly 12 muffins

Ingredients:

For the dough:

3 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
2  tablespoon olive oil

For the mixture that keeps it all together:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup brown sugar or natural cane sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar or turbinado sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
handful of golden raisins (optional)
more flour, granulated sugar and cinnamon for dusting

Directions:

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can.  Make sure to include all of the floury bits into the ball.

Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl where you had mixed it.

Place the dough back into the oiled bowl and toss it in the oil so it’s completely covered.

Cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.  Joy mentions that you may place the dough in the fridge overnight.

Place the dough on a floured surface and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.

Joy’s advice for the overnight dough: If you’ve left your dough in the fridge overnight like I did, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, place the covered bowl of dough near the oven, or on a stovetop burner that doesn’t get too hot, bringing the dough to room temperature faster.  After it’s been out of the fridge for about 30 minutes, dump it onto a floured counter, press the air out and knead the dough into a smooth, happy ball.  Return to the down to warm up a bit more, and rise just a bit more, about 30 minutes more.  Your dough should be doubled in size from the previous night.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a muffin pan and dust it with flour.  Set aside.

On a well floured work surface, dump out the dough.  Press out with your hands until your dough is about 3/4-inch thick.

Cut into tiny chunks – about 3/4 of an inch and sprinkle with a bit of flour, a handful of granulated or turbinado sugar and a generous dusting of ground cinnamon.  Toss on the counter top.

In a separate bowl, combine brown or cane sugar, granulated or turbinado sugar, butter, flour, cornstarch, raisins (if you feel inclined to do so) and cinnamon until well combined.

Fill the muffin tin to the halfway point with dough chunks, softly packing them in.  Top with about a tablespoon of the sugar mixture, then top with more dough chunks, packing lightly.  Finish with more sugar mixture.  That’s four layers for each muffin.

Place a large cookie sheet under your muffin tin to avoid any dripping onto the bottom of your oven.  Don’t want a smoky mess!

Bake for about 12-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them after 12 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Run a sharp knife around the edges of each muffin then gently scoop out of the muffin tin.

Please pardon the horrible picture with the enormous shadow.  It was pretty late at night, and the lighting was non-existent.

Omigosh, this salad was SOOOO good.  My favorite part is the Creamy Cilantro Dressing.  I used fresh limes, and it is absolutely divine.  I’m typically a ranch girl, but this dressing has swayed me away from ranch.

Another not so pretty picture, but it’s so delicious that I want to lick my computer screen!

This salad is really fun because I used a glass trifle dish to expose all the colorful layers of the salad.  It’s perfect for a small gathering of friends and family.  This baby makes you look like you know what you’re doing, and it’s so simple.

Aside from the fact that it is quite tasty and presentable, there are a few changes that I will definitely be making.   There was simply not enough lettuce.  I felt like I was eating a cheese salad.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love cheese, but I need some other flavors and textures incorporated in there.  Next time I’m going to add an additional layer of lettuce after the first layer of cheese.

Secondly, inasmuch as the cornbread croutons look amazing nestled on top of the salad, there were simply too many of them!   My plate was full of cornbread and I had to put them back in the trifle dish.  It’s a shame because that’s what really makes the salad look beautiful.  I say either bake half of the amount of cornbread mix the recipe calls for or just bake all of the mix, put half on the salad, and serve slices on the side as well.

With minor alterations, this salad is extraordinary!  It’s fresh, vibrant, and oh so yummy.

Layered Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Source: Cooking for Real by Sunny Anderson

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Butter, for preparing 8 by 8-inch glass pan
1 (8.5-ounce) box cornbread mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet sazon seasoning (It’s made by Goya, but 1-2 tsp. ground coriander and 1-2 tsp. cumin work well if you don’t have sazon.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup salsa
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 large head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
Creamy Lime Dressing, recipe follows*
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack Cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease an 8 by 8-inch glass pan with butter.

Stir together the cornbread mix with the egg and milk. Evenly spread into prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely.

Mix together the beans with the sazon (or cumin and coriander) and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the salsa with the tomatoes.

When ready to serve, cut the cornbread into 1/2-inch croutons.

Toss the lettuce with 3/4 cups of the dressing and split into two piles.

In a clear trifle dish, layer the Tex-Mex Salad beginning with the black beans followed by the Monterey jack cheese, one pile of lettuce, the tomato salsa mixture, the Cheddar, the remainder of the lettuce and top with the cornbread croutons. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.

Creamy Lime Dressing*

Yields 1 1/2 cups

2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice (I recommend FRESH!!)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Soooooo good!!!