Easy Bean Dip

Okay, so this picture DOES NOT do the dip justice in the least. But boy is it sooooo good!
The hubby and I had some leftover chips and cannellini beans from our taco night. Not having any more tortillas or meat for tacos, I saw fit to make a bean dip. I hadn't had bean dip in yeaaarrrsssss.
Taking some inspiration from Stephanie O'Dea and her use of the CrockPot Mini Dipper- I knew I wanted to make a warm bean dip. Yummy.
This recipe is really more of a parts list that can be changed around to suit your tastes.

I used up the rest of my cooked cannellini beans (about a cans worth) and added in a can of low sodium black beans...it's what I had in my cabinet other than garbanzo beans, which I thought would be weird. Definitely not going for the hummus flavor here. Not yet.

So to my 2 cans worth of beans I added an 8oz can of tomato sauce. Heated the whole darn thing up in a small saucepan and added some various seasonings. In my case, garlic powder, cumin and pepper. Just a little at first because you can alwasy add, but cannot take away!
Blend all that goodness up in a food processor, blender, or in my case- the immersion blender! What a fun tool! Taste for seasonings and serve.
I put my dip in the little dipper to keep it warm- but this stuff is great right out of the fridge.

Easy Bean Dip

2 cans worth of beans (black, white, whatever you like!), drained (I prefer low sodium)
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce (I prefer low sodium)
seasonings! cumin and some lime juice would be great.
                   some chili powder for kick
                   garlic and lime juice
                   italian seasoning
                   you're only limited by what's in the cabinet!

Combine everything in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook just long enough to warm everything up. Then blend it all until smooth, or chunky, or whatever you like. Check the seasonings and add more if desired!


I linked my dip up to these awesome parties:

• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at BlessedwithGrace
• Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam 
• Strut Your Stuff Thursday at somewhat simple
• It's Party Time Thursday at Pony Tails & Fish Scales
• Recipe Share Party at Harrigan Howdy

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Wow, two posts in one day. If you haven't already, check out my recipe for Flour Tortillas.
I like watching Food Network, and occasionally when I see a recipe that strikes me, I save it with plans to try it sometime.
This is the case with this salsa. I was watching Tyler's Ultimate and he was making chicken enchiladas with a roasted tomatillo salsa. It looked tasty. And when putting together my Cinco de Mayo dinner menu, I thought about trying it. Problem is that the weather is getting warmer in these parts and I didn't want to heat up the whole house baking off some enchiladas. Not today anyways. So I settled on just using his roasted tomatillo salsa recipe to go along with my Flour Tortillas and a few other things to make some tasty chicken tacos later. Yum.
I changed the recipe up a little to suit the tastes of me and my husband. After all, we are the ones that plan to eat it.
First thing to do is roast about a pound of husked and washed tomatillos, a jalapeno (instead of 2), one white onion in quarters and a garlic clove (instead of 4, only because I don't have much left). Pour some olive oil over the veggies and move them around a bit to cover. It really helps them to roast better.
Roast everything in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Times like these I really like my toaster oven. It does the work without heating up the whole house. And I must say that the kitchen smelled wonderful while those veggies were roasting!
Once everything is roasted, toss it all in a food processor with some parsley (instead of cilantro- we just don't like that stuff), cumin, salt and lime juice. Pulse until its salsa consistency- however it is you like it.

This salsa is really good! I was eating it with a spoon. Some more garlic could be nice, but I don't think I would change a thing with it!
The notes of lime go really well with chicken.....or even some tortilla chips! I'm sure it would be great in Tyler's Ultimate Chicken Enchiladas.


Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
(adapted from Tyler Florence)

1 pound of tomatillos, husked and washed
1 jalapeno
1 white onion, quartered
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tbs. lime juice
1/3 - 1/2 c. parsley
a sprinkle of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Put the first four ingredients on a baking sheet and drizzle some olive oil over them. Move them around to get everything coated.
Stick the pan in the oven and roast the veggies for 12-15 minutes. The tomatillos will start to split open when they're done.
Stick the veggies into a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and pulse until it's the consistency of salsa- however it is you like it!


This recipe has been linked to

• Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
• Recipe Share Party @ Harrigan Howdy
• I'm Lovin' It @ Tidy Mom
• Foodie Friday @ Designs By Gollum
• Friday Favorites @ Simply Sweet Home
• Friday Food @ momtrends