Black Bean Salsa

If I had to pick one food that I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would probably be chips and salsa. I love most kinds of salsa as well as most kind of tortilla chips. Well except baked. Sorry, but if you are gonna eat them you might as well just put in the caloric effort.

This black bean salsa is insanely easy to make and will rock your salsa eating world. My sister was over when I was making it and to be honest she was more than a little skeptical as I was making it. You think by now she would just trust my salsa wisdom. But sadly, she still lacks a little faith. Since she too is a lover of all things salsa and chips, she took a leap and took a giant scoop and popped it in her cute little doubting me mouth.

Well of course she loved it. DUH. She should have just known. After all there is bacon in this salsa. Yup I said it BACON. What isn't made better with some bacon? Ever had bacon in your salsa? No. Well here is your chance.

This black bean salsa only has four ingredients. FOUR. I feel like I have exuberantly "yelled" (aka the ALL CAPS) a lot in this post. I am pretty much still really excited about this salsa.

This salsa is pretty healthy with the black beans and all the veggies from the salsa and the jalapeno. There is a little bit of bacon in it, but let's face it bacon gets a health pass because it's deliciousness trumps all that healthy mumbo jumbo.

We paired our black bean salsa with toasted black bean tortilla chips, but I would wager that any kind of tortilla chip would be good with this salsa. So whip yourself up some. Open a bag of chips. Dig on in. And smile.

It is that good.

Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
5-6 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Eat right away or refrigerate until ready to serve (up to a few hours).

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Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Tis the season for holiday parties, which means it is also the time for yummy appetizers. I don't know about you, but appetizers are always the hardest for me. I never know what to make. I am never sure if I should try and bring something warm and in return have to keep it warm. Do I just grab a bag of chips? Oh what to do.

Well, this is the appetizer that fixed all my woes. This Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip is by far our favorite holiday appetizer.

The prep is fairly easy. Chop, mix, and let it set overnight. Then put it all on top of a layer of cream cheese. Then you just dig in and eat it with some crackers.

This dip has been a hit every time we have made it. The next time you have an appetizer assignment for a party, bring this and all the guests will love it and will henceforth declare that you be the bringer of the appetizers from that point on.

Click HERE for printable recipe

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Bacon Wrapped Mozzarella Biscuit Bites

Keepin' it real moment people.

I haven't hardly eaten anything that can't be found on the BRAT diet in about 24 hrs. Feeling rotten. However, I am really trying to get back to regularly posting, so I am busting out a post while wrapped up in a quilt sitting on my couch.

Another keepin' it real moment...

...even though I am unable to eat anything, and my appetite is almost non-existent...

I still wish I had a plate of these. (I made these a few weeks past, just takes me forever to post anything nowadays.)

I mean honestly, bacon makes everything better.

Who needs modern medicine?

Nah, bacon will do it for me.

Bacon wrapped around a fried dough ball all nestled around a chunk of mozzerella cheese, well that will cure what ails ya...right?!?
 

Okay, perhaps it won't cure or solve everything. I mean these probably won't help you on the quest for a smaller jean size.

However, it will probably make you happy in the jeans you are wearing because you will be blissfully unaware of any evil or sorrow around you.

Yep, they are that good.

I will recommend that you make them for a group. College football season is upon us and this would make one happy sports-watching crowd. If you just make them for a Friday afternoon hanging out with the Hubby, well, you will be sorely tempted to eat them all yourselves. That, while delightful sounding, probably isn't the wisest thing.

However, I will leave that up to you. Who am I to judge?

Bacon Wrapped Mozzarella Biscuit Bites
makes 24

1 pkg refrigerated flaky biscuits
24 1" cubes of mozzarella cheese
12 strips of bacon
oil, for frying

Heat several inches of oil in a deep pan.

Cut the biscuits into fourths.

Cut each strip of bacon in half.

Take one piece of the cut up biscuit and flatten out. Place a piece of cheese in the center of the biscuit. Wrap the biscuit around the cheese, making sure there are no gaps. Wrap a half strip of the bacon around the outside of the biscuit and secure with a toothpick.

Repeat until you have all of the bites wrapped in bacon.

Then fry 4-5 at a time in oil at about 350 degrees. Let them fry for about 1-2 minutes. Allowing them to get golden brown and also cooked through. You might want to do a test batch with one or two to see how long your biscuit will take to cook just the right amount.

Let them drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the Bites are done.

Serve warm.

Enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

Crab Wontons

You wanna know one of the things I love most about food...

...well besides the fact that it is practically always oh-so-yummy...

Okay, so one of the things I love most about food is that it often evokes memories. Memories that stay with us and come vividly to life every time we eat.

I remember the birthday dinner I requested every year. I can remember the cookie jar filled with Mother's frosted animal cookies that I used to devour whenever I stayed at my Grandma's house. For the first five years of my marriage I made shepherd's pie every year for Hubby's birthday.

I remember Sunday night dinners when we lived in Utah. Every Sunday we had friends over. We rotated who was in charge of cooking. We always pulled out the stops. Sometimes we tried new recipes and sometimes we clung to our group's tried and true favorites.

One of our tried and true favorites was a delightful fried wonton filled with cream cheese and crab.

The recipe came to us via my college roommate and lifelong friend, Elyn. We called this fried goodness Crab Poofs. Forever more I will always think of Sunday night dinner and games when I eat crab poofs, which I now so maturely refer to as Crab Wontons. I will also think of my friend who lives too far away.

I recently made these for New Years Eve for a game night with friends. Now I am layering new memories on top of old memories.  The food was delightful as was the company.

Good food and good company is always a grand idea.

Call up your friends, invite them over.

Then make some Crab Wontons and make some food memories all your own.

You will need:

1 package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups chopped imitation crab (or crab if your have some extra dolla's falling out of your pockets)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
wonton wrappers
oil for frying

Mix the cream cheese, crab, green onions, and garlic salt together until the cream cheese is evenly distributed. Stir somewhat gently so you don't mush up the crab.
 

Spoon a teaspoon amount of the crab mixture into the center of the wonton wrapper.

Moisten the top edges with water.

Fold the bottom of the wrapper up, creating a enclosed pocket of crab. Press all the edges, making sure to seal them closed. Also gently press the air out.

Using a little more water, bring in the bottom corners and fold them into each other. Press to seal.

Repeat until the crab mixture is gone. I made just under 30 wonton.

Heat up several inches of vegetable oil in a deeper skillet.

When the oil is ready, gently drop several in the oil at a time. Let them fry for 30-45 seconds, gently flipping over to evenly cook each side.

Drain on a paper towel when done.

We like to serve ours with sweet and sour sauce or our favorite sweet chili sauce.

Oh good grief. 

So yummy.

Thanks Elyn for this fantastic recipe/memory.

Crab Wontons

Print Here

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups chopped imitation crab

3 green onions, sliced

1 teaspoon garlic salt

wonton wrappers

oil for frying

Mix together the cream cheese, crab, green onions, and garlic salt in a small bowl. Mix until the cream cheese is evenly blended. 

Place teaspoon sized scoops onto the center of a wonton wrapper.

Moisten the top triangle edges with a teeny tiny amount of water. Fold up the bottom and seal the edges making a small pocket. Press the air out. Bring the bottom corners around to the front and seal the corners together with a little water.

Repeat until mixture is gone.

Heat up the oil in a deep skilled.

Cook 5-6 at a time for 35-40 seconds. Drain on a paper towel.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

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