Can we talk briefly about a random subject before we talk about food? Candy Crush! I do not play games and I don't normally get addicted to things like that...I played Words with Friends for like 4 1/2 seconds, Farmville never caught my attention...but Candy Crush...it has taken over my entire world!! The whole countdown to life thing is the biggest anticipation tease I have ever experienced! The whole trying to advance to the next level by playing the same game 47 times in a row...killer. The whole fun music, colorful graphics and making you feel like you are a 6 year old again...out of friggin control! It is becoming harder and harder to find time to blog due to this Candy Crush addiction...forget AA I need some type of 12 step program from Candy Crush!!



Anyway back to food and wine. I am always looking for creative food to bring for lunch. I am not a huge fan of leftovers and so only certain things sound good the next day. Plus I really can't eat the same food for several days in a row, that is almost like a cardinal sin to me. So hence the creativity, needing to mix it up, need to cook to get away from Candy Crush...yes, see it all comes full circle.

So Saturday night I made a Salsa, Black Bean and Rice Salad. I had to run 8 miles on Sunday so I thought this would be a good carb dinner and it made 6 servings so I had visions of weekday leftovers. Let me start by saying I used Frontera salsa, which is Rick Bayless's new label and I loved the salsa! It was spicy, smokey and had chipotle peppers in it so that roasted flavor was incredible!


This is also a great recipe if you have leftover rice, which I often do, as it calls for cooked and chilled rice. I also loved the collaboration of southwest flavors between the pepper jack cheese, salsa, cilantro and black beans. The fresh veggies-green onions, tomatoes, peppers and corn are a really nice addition. And the sour cream and lettuce helps to cut the spice!

The only feedback that I have that is even remotely negative is the fact that as the salad sits it does get a little dry. But I just added a little extra salsa the next day and it went back to being perfect. In general, this salad would be great as a side dish for tacos, enchiladas, etc or you can just eat it as a salad like I did and take it for leftover lunches.


It is also extremely easy, just combine the rice, beans, tomato, pepper, corn, onion, cilantro and salsa. Add in the cheese cubes and serve on a bowl lined with lettuce and topped with sour cream...seriously doesn't get much easier than that, right!!




And ya know what else I have found? If you make easy, fast meals that leads to more time playing Candy Crush...I so just need to delete that app. Cheers my friends!