Southwest Black Bean Salad

Hello to all my blogging fans!

I hate to break it to the dessert lovers, but I am currently on an experimental diet to see if I can get rid of this nasty cellulite under my butt. (I know we all have it, but I'm going to try to get rid of it!) With that being said, I can no longer eat starches. So there went all the desserts I love baking. I'm sure this diet won't last long, so hang in there! I've got some fabulous cupcake recipes I am dying to try!

I ran across this delicious recipe and got really excited. I looooove black beans, and CILANTRO! My favorite. My absolute favorite. So I whipped this up, but of course a little bit differently than the original recipe.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

So, I went on a whim and baked TWO lemon cookie recipes!

This one was from scratch however, and I was in a rush because I was running to class at the last minute of baking. So I didn't get to finish baking these, and I will when I get home tonight!

I ran across this on Pinterest of course, so I grabbed the recipe for this site and starting baking!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I love lemon. So much. I always asked for lemon for my birthday cake flavor, and anytime I was able to make a cake when I was young, lemon it was. So when I found this recipe for lemon burst cookies, I was STOKED!

And, this recipe calls for four ingredients. Four. How awesome? And you should have at least two of them if you bake. The other two are super cheap. A cheap and easy cookie recipe is what I'm all about!

Mediterranean Fish Tacos

I told my wonderful boyfriend that I have been cooking dinner far too much these last few weeks, so he had to decide on a recipe and help me cook it tonight. It's true, I've been cooking far too much (probably every night, no joke). So I was excited when he came up with these delicious fish tacos!

Black Bean Soup

Well hey there blog readers. It has been a while. A long long while. I am currently in my upteenth semester taking 17 hours and having an internship and a job. Bad decision, by the way. Anyways, back to the point of you being here!

About a month ago, I bought some dry black beans at Wally World and remember the other day that I still had some soaking in the fridge. Oops! Luckily, it takes forever for black beans to go bad, so I went ahead and decided to cook them.

My first thought was black bean burritos, but then I remember that I had tried black bean soup at a local restaurant and LOVED it. So I went on a mission to find a delicious recipe for Mexican-style black bean soup.

I found the recipe here and liked most of the recipe. But if I liked the entire recipe, then this blog wouldn't exist, however... I changed it.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons chili powder
A large pinch of fresh cilantro
3 15 oz cans of black beans
Black pepper, to taste
Pico de Gallo
Shredded cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot, pour the oil and drop the onion into the pan, turn it on medium-low heat, and let it sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, chili powder and cilantro.

3. Puree 1 can of black beans, undrained, and place in the pot. Add another can, also undrained. Drain the last can and pour in to the pot.

5. Let is simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add any extra spices to taste.

6. Serve warm with pico, cheese, sour cream, or any of your preferred toppings.