Crock Pot Chili

I've tried a lot of different chili recipes over the years, and none of them seemed to have quite the texture and flavor that I was after. I was always searching for the little zing that was missing. The secret ingredient seems to be cumin. I hadn't used it until I started researching chili recipes, but now it's a must-have ingredient for many of my recipes. If you've never tried cumin in your recipes, I highly recommend it.

This recipe for Crock Pot Chili makes enough for my larger Crock Pot (6 quart). We usually eat from it twice and freeze the rest for another meal or two. It's so nice to have the extra to freeze. It means having yet another meal on-hand in case life doesn't go as planned.

Crock Pot Chili

1 pound extra lean ground beef (We use 92% Laura's Extra Lean.)
1/4 c. frozen onions (Fresh would work; I like to cheat.)
3 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies (Mild for us!)
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
2 15 oz. cans chili beans (undrained - Mild for us again!)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans or Great Northern beans

1. Brown the ground beef and onion. Drain.
2. Mix ground beef with all remaining ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Do you have a favorite Crock Pot recipe? Feel free to leave your recipe or your link in the comments section below to let me know what's cooking at your house.

Homemade Baking Mixes = Quicker Baking

I love to bake, but I don't always love to drag out all of the ingredients needed to bake. This is especially true now that I'm baking everything from scratch rather than from boxed mixes. To solve this problem, I started making my own ready-made baking mixes.

As I was making cornbread last week, I realized how many different ingredients I had out to make a little 8x8 pan of cornbread for one meal. To maximize my efforts, I decided to mix up the dry ingredients for five batches of cornbread while everything was out. I mixed one batch in a bowl and the other four in Ziploc freezer bags.

I then labeled the outside of the bag to show what the mix was, what needed to be added, and the baking temperature and time. (Yes, I should have labeled these ahead of time. Live and learn!)

Here's what went into the bags:
3/4 c. corn meal
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar (Okay, it was more like 1/2 cup. Hubby likes sweet cornbread!)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. powdered milk*

Here's what I need to add before baking:
1 scant c. warm water
1 egg (or 1/4 c. Egg Beaters)
1/4 c. canola oil

*If you prefer, you can skip the powdered milk and warm water and use 1 c. of milk before baking instead.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I make this in my toaster oven (which is also a convection oven), and it's delicious!

We were having Crock Pot Black Bean Soup tonight, and it just cried out for cornbread to go with it. I was able to grab a bag of mix, add three ingredients, and have cornbread ready in no time. I'm thinking about doing this each time I make a batch of any baked goods. Then I'll have mixes on-hand the next few times I want to bake each item. This definitely works for me!

Do you have any good ideas for DIY baking mixes? I'd love to have them!

For more ideas that work, stop by Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family.

Crock Pot Beef Vegetable Barley Soup

I usually don't make Crock Pot recipes that require me to change the temperature and add ingredients during the cooking time. However, since I'm participating in the Eat from the Pantry Challenge this month, I wanted to use up some of the barley I found in my cupboard. To be honest with you, I've never cooked with barley before. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But the finished product was very good... good enough to be kept in the make again recipe file. Here's the recipe.

Crock Pot Beef Vegetable Barley Soup

1 pound beef cut into small cubes (I used Laura's Extra Lean sirloin.)
1/2 c. chopped onion (I used frozen.)
1 t. garlic powder (I used Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic.)
2 cans Campbell's condensed beef broth
4 cans water
2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes (I used frozen ones from my uncle's garden.)
1 c. sliced carrots
1 t. dried basil
1 1/2 c. quick cook barley (I used Quaker brand.)
1 16 oz. package frozen mixed vegetables (I used Freshlike's vegetables for soup.)

Mix everything but the barley and frozen vegetables in the Crock Pot.
Cook on high for 4 hours.
Add the barley, and cook on low for 1 hour.
Add the frozen vegetables, and set your Crock Pot on its Keep Warm setting for about 1 hour.

My Crock Pot cooks kind of hot, so the Keep Warm setting was perfect for the last part of the cooking. If you have an older Crock Pot or one that doesn't cook quite so hot, you might want to leave it on low for a half hour instead.

We had this soup with homemade bread. Yum! I would guess that it made 6 to 8 servings (or 2 meals with second helpings and some leftovers for lunch).

For more great recipes, stop by:
:: Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed with Grace
:: Tuesdays at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff
:: Crockpot Wednesday hosted by Dining with Debbie
:: The Recipe Swap hosted by The Grocery Cart Challenge
:: Ultimate Recipe Swap hosted by Life As Mom

Crock Pot Recipe: Black Bean Soup

My husband LOVES black beans, and he recently tried the Black Bean Soup from Panera. I thought I'd try my hand at making my own version. We both really liked it! I found that the original amount of spice was a little much, so I'm going to be making a bit of a change for next time. I'll share with you what I did this time and what I plan to do next time.

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup
1 pound dry black beans
1/2 pound diced ham
5 cups of water*
5 tsp. chicken bullion *
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (I used Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic.)
1/2 Tbs. chili powder (I used a full tablespoon, but it was TOO much!)
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch

*You can substitute 5 c. of chicken broth for the water and bullion.

1. Soak black beans overnight.


2. Drain and rinse beans. Place in a pan, cover with water, and simmer on low for an hour.


3. Drain beans again.


4. Place all ingredients except cornstarch in Crock Pot.


5. Cook on high for 4 hours.


6. After 4 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove 1 cup of cooked beans and ham. Place them in a blender or food processor with a little bit of the broth. Puree, and return to the pot. Whisk pureed bean mixture into the broth.


7. Combine cornstarch with cold water in a small bowl. Mix. Add to the Crock Pot. Mix with a whisk.


8. Let cook for an additional 30 minutes or until broth thickens a bit.

We served this with homemade bread one night and homemade biscuits the next. Both were yummy!

For more great recipes, stop by:
:: Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed with Grace
:: Tuesdays at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff
:: Crockpot Wednesday hosted by Dining with Debbie
:: The Recipe Swap hosted by The Grocery Cart Challenge
:: Ultimate Recipe Swap hosted by Life As Mom
:: What's in Your Crockpot hosted by Smockity Frocks

Ultimate Recipe Swap: Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Everyone loves a good cheeseball, right? Well.... Even if you're not a fan of the traditional cheesy, rolled-in-nuts kind of cheeseball, you're going to LOVE this one. It's a dessert cheeseball. I don't actually roll it into a ball. I cheat and make it in a pretty glass bowl. (Actually, I use lower-fat ingredients, and they don't like to set up into a ball-ish consistency.) Either way, it's pretty yummy! We eat it with graham crackers (regular or chocolate), Nilla Wafers, or shortbread cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cheeseball

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 T. brown sugar
3/4 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. mini chocolate chips

1. Beat softened cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla until creamy.
2. Slowly add brown sugar and powdered sugar until blended.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Place mixture onto a piece of waxed paper and form into a ball.
5. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
6. You can roll this into crushed pecans if you wish. I'm not a fan of nuts, so I just go with the bowl.
7. Serve with graham crackers or cookies of your choice.

For more great meal and munchies ideas, stop by this week's Ultimate Recipe Swap hosted by Life As MOM or the recipe swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Country Bean Soup

My mom kindly shared some ham with me after our Christmas meal. My first thought was to make some bean soup with it. (Maybe it was the overabundance of cookies that was urging me to make something healthy??) Here's my favorite bean soup recipe. I think I like it so much because of all the different spices that are in it.

Country Bean Soup

1 bag of 15-bean soup mix beans (rinsed, soaked overnight, and rinsed again)
3/4 lb. of ham (or however much you have on hand!) cut into small pieces
1/2 c. chopped onion (I use frozen.)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 cups water

Place all ingredients in your Crock Pot, and cook on low for 8-10 hours. I like to put it on high for a couple of hours and then switch it to low. Shortly before eating, add the following:

2 cups skim milk
2 T. butter

Stir until the mixture is heated through and the butter is melted. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

We usually eat this with cornbread or beer bread. It makes the whole house smell SO good!!

For more great recipes, stop by:
:: Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed with Grace
:: Tuesdays at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff
:: Crockpot Wednesday hosted by Dining with Debbie
:: The Recipe Swap hosted by The Grocery Cart Challenge

Recipe: Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Land-o-Lakes Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil
3 T. Kraft Mayonnaise made with olive oil
2 T. lime juice (I used the little plastic lime kind!)
1/4 t. dried basil
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/8 t. onion powder
1/8 t. season salt (I'm leaving this out next time. It was kind of salty for us.)
2 lb. tilapia fillets

1. Preheat your oven or toaster oven's broiler. I used our toaster oven. It's quite large, and it's made for broiling meals. Line a pan with aluminum foil, and spray it with olive oil cooking spray.


2. In a small bowl, mix together everything except the fish. Set aside.


3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over, and broil for another 3 minutes.


4. Remove the fillets from the oven, and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side.


5. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and bubbly. Can I just tell you how yummy this looked as it got browned and bubbly??? The fish should also flake easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook!

This got a YUM rating from me, my husband, and my daughter! I served this with baked yams. It was a simple meal, but very good! And I couldn't believe how quickly the fish cooked in our little toaster oven broiler. I'll definitely do that again!

Peel a Potato in Seconds

My friend Katie sent me this video, and I was AMAZED! Let me just say that I'll never again pick up a peeler when I'm making potatoes. Check it out. (If you're reading this post via email or a blog reader, you may need to click the title of the post in order to view the video.)

For more ideas that work, stop by Works for me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family!

Berry Delicious Pancakes

Emma is currently hungry for pancakes almost every morning. While I don't make them for her every morning, I do like to make them once in a while. Breakfast is a time when we get lots of whole grains, and I don't want pancakes to get in the way of that! So I've adapted a favorite pancake recipe to make it healthier and more filling.

Berry Delicious Pancakes
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 c. Egg Beaters (I use the Kroger brand.)
You can substitute 2 eggs for the Egg Beaters.
1 1/4 c. skim milk (possibly a bit more)
1/4 c. canola oil
1 c. fresh or frozen berries (defrosted and drained)

Mix the dry ingredients.
Then add everything else except the berries.
GENTLY stir in the berries.
You may need to add another splash of milk. It just depends on how much liquid was added with your berries.

We've been making these with frozen mixed berries, and they are VERY filling! I'll have to take a picture for you the next time I make them. They're a pretty shade of purple-blue. And I have one very happy little lady when I make them!

For more great recipes, stop by:
:: Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed with Grace
:: Tuesdays at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff
:: The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

FREE Thanksgiving Recipes eCookbook

Are you ready to talk turkey? Head over HERE to download the FREE eCookbook Things to be Thankful For: 30 Free Thanksgiving Recipes. You'll get 54 pages of recipes, including quick and easy recipes (my favorite kind!). The Holiday Mashed Potato Casserole and Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie are calling my name!

Crock Pot Potato Soup

My friend Pam made this soup once when we were at their house. I had never tried making potato soup in the Crock Pot before, but this was really yummy! Below is the recipe with the adjustments that I made to it.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

6 c. water
1 c. ham*
5 c. potatoes - finely diced - We leave the skins on.
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed - We use reduced fat.
half an onion, chopped - I use frozen.
1 tsp. garlic - I use Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic.
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. celery, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dill
2 tsp. chicken bouillon

Combine all in Crock Pot, and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

*Since my husband isn't supposed to be eating regular ham, we get a 1/2 pound slice of Smithfield Lean Generation's deli ham. It's incredibly lean, and it works great in recipes. Our deli will slice it in one 1/2 pound slice for us. That's also much less expensive than buying a regular ham.

For more great recipes, stop by:

:: Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: Crock Pot Wednesdays hosted by Dining with Debbie
:: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed with Grace
:: Tuesdays at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff
:: Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
:: The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Now that fall is here to stay, I thought I'd share one of my favorite fall recipes with you. My grandma found this recipe somewhere a few years ago, and I absolutely love it!



This cake is soooo good that you don't even need a glaze or anything. We'll sometimes have it with Cool-Whip or a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream when we have people over, but I could eat it plain all the time. It is very dense and heavy, and it's very simple to make. It can even be used as a breakfast bread.


Pumpkin Bundt Cake
15 oz. can pumpkin
4 eggs (I used 2 eggs and 1/2 c. Kroger brand Egg Beaters.)
1 c. canola oil
1/2 c. water
3-1/2 c. flour
3 c. sugar
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. baking soda
1-1/2 t. salt

Combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water. Mix well.
Mix in the dry ingredients, and mix well.
Pour into a bundt pan that has been coated with cooking spray.
Bake 1 hour and 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This cake truly does add a warm, cozy, fall-ish smell to your house! Yum!

For more great recipes, stop by The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Menu Plan Monday: The Late Edition

I had to work today, I've been trying to catch up with the odds-and-ends at home, and I think I'm getting sick again. So, this week's menu plan will be pretty low-maintenance for me.

Monday
We had leftovers!

Tuesday
Broiled Tilapia Parmesan (recipe HERE)
Crock Pot Baked Potatoes (recipe HERE)
Canned Veggies

I will also be using my second Crock Pot to cook some chicken breasts on Tuesday. I will dice, bag, and freeze these for later meals.

Wednesday
Chicken Spanish Rice
To make this, I make a Zatarain's Spanish Rice mix according to the directions on the box. Then I add in a can of black beans (drained, rinsed) and some diced chicken. Sometimes we sprinkle a little bit of shredded cheddar on top too. Yummy!

Thursday
Leftovers!

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Hubby & I are headed to the Ohio State football game!! Yay!! No cooking and a great day of Buckeyes football with my husband... what more could I ask for!?!?

Sunday
Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

For more great menu planning ideas, stop by Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

FREE Hearty Crock Pot Recipes e-Book

You know what a HUGE Crock Pot fan I am! You can download a FREE copy of the e-Book Hearty Crock Pot Recipes HERE. I am especially interested in the bread recipes, as I've never tried to make bread in my Crock Pot before!

Ultimate Recipe Swap: NY Style Cheesecake

This cheesecake is a family favorite! In fact, I have some cream cheese sitting in the fridge just crying out to be made into a cheesecake! The nice thing about this recipe is that the finished product stores for a few days in the fridge or a few weeks in the freezer. We like to cut the leftovers (if there are any!) into single-serving sizes, wrap them in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer-safe container, and pop them in the freezer. In fact, the cheesecake is really good when eaten frozen... Umm... Not that I would know, of course.

NY Style Cheesecake
Crust:
1-3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
5 T. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
4 8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I use light. Fat-free does not work.)
1-2/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
4 large eggs
1 T. vanilla
1 c. sour cream

Crust:
Grease bottom and sides of a 10 inch springform pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine crust ingredients with a fork. Stir until moist.
Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool completely.

Filling:
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese at medium to medium-high speed until smooth.
Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Add eggs and vanilla, beating only until combined.
Stir in sour cream.
Pour filling over crust in pan. Place pan on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes until center is nearly set when shaken. (I've found that it's slightly browned on top when it's done.)
Remove pan from oven and cool 15 minutes.
Carefully loosen cake from sides. Let cool 30 minutes.
Remove sides. Cool completely.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

The cake can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen (well wrapped) up to 3 weeks.

Berry Topping
2 c. sliced strawberries
1 c. blueberries
1 c. raspberries or blackberries
* Frozen berries will work. Just thaw and drain first.
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
2 T. orange juice

In a saucepan, combine berries, lemon juice, and sugar.
In a bowl, combine cornstarch, water, and orange juice. Add to fruit mixture.
Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
Cook and stir 2 minutes more.
Cool to room temperature.

Store in refrigerator.

You can find more great recipes for baked goods at this week's Ultimate Recipe Swap hosted by Life As MOM and The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Weekly Menu Planner Online Service - Great Deal!

If you struggle with planning a weekly menu that isn't stuck in a rut, you might be interested in the Relish! Weekly Meal Planner service. Relish! is an online recipe site that helps families built a healthy menu plan and then automatically generates a weekly grocery list.

Each week you choose five entrees to make for the week. All dinners are kitchen-tested and take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Monthly freezer menus are also included in the service. They even have a gluten-free option.

Head over HERE to learn more and to set up your subscription. The cost is just $7 per month. Having a plan could definitely save you more than enough to make this service worthwhile!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 10/5

I finally tried the tilapia that I mentioned last week! I found a recipe for Broiled Tilapia Parmesan that fit into the dietary guidelines that we have to follow. The original recipe is HERE, but I changed it a bit. Here's what I did. (Note: I didn't use 2 lb. of tilapia, so I cut the following recipe in half.)

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Land-o-Lakes Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil
3 T. Kraft Mayonnaise made with olive oil
2 T. lime juice (I used the little plastic lime kind!)
1/4 t. dried basil
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/8 t. onion powder
1/8 t. season salt (I'm leaving this out next time. It was kind of salty for us.)
2 lb. tilapia fillets

1. Preheat your oven or toaster oven's broiler. I used our toaster oven. It's quite large, and it's made for broiling meals. Line a pan with aluminum foil, and spray it with olive oil cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix together everything except the fish. Set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over, and broil for another 3 minutes.
4. Remove the fillets from the oven, and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side.
5. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and bubbly. Can I just tell you how yummy this looked as it got browned and bubbly??? The fish should also flake easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook!

This got a YUM rating from me, my husband, and my daughter! I served this with baked yams. It was a simple meal, but very good! And I couldn't believe how quickly the fish cooked in our little toaster oven broiler. I'll definitely do that again!

Now on to this week..... I'm going to try to use up some of the food that we have here. My freezer is my main target! It's so full that it's not even funny. I bought some frozen veggies today, and I'd like to bake and freeze some banana bread this week. That means that I need to make room. Here's the plan.

Monday:
Leftover BBQ Pork that I pulled out of the freezer yesterday - It should be thawed completely by Monday evening. I'll just add a bit more BBQ sauce to make sure that it's not too dry.
Sides: Homemade biscuits and green beans

Tuesday:
Stuffed Pepper Casserole (recipe HERE)

Wednesday:
Chicken 'n Noodles - Made with leftover chicken from the last rotisserie one we got at Kroger. I froze the meat into meal-sized portions. So I just have to cook the noodles, add the cream soup, and defrost the chicken. Quick!
Side: Frozen veggie of Emma's choice


Thursday:
I'm going to try another tilapia recipe... I'll have to let you know what I come up with.
Sides: Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, Salads

Friday:
Homemade Pizza

Saturday:
We'll probably be watching the Ohio State football game at my parents' house, so I'll be coordinating with my mom on dinner this day.

Sunday:
Our small group is meeting again, so we'll just need a side dish. I'm thinking about making something involving some of the shredded zucchini that's taking up a LOT of room in my fridge!

For more great menu plan ideas, stop by Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

For more great recipes, stop by the recipe swap hosted by The Grocery Cart Challenge.

FREE Recipe Books

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Pork Chop Recipes eBook
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Menu Plan Monday - Week of 9/13

Well, company just left Wednesday, and more is on the way this Thursday. Our house must be the place to be! This time my cousin from VA will be visiting, and I'm excited! I haven't seen her in WAY TOO LONG. That said, I have one up-in-the-air night for dinner. I can't decide what to do the night she arrives, and right now it just depends on whether or not I'm working that day.

Here's what's on the menu for the other nights.

Monday
Leftover grilled pork chops
Leftover green beans with ham, garlic, and butter (YUM!)
Leftover parsley potatoes

Tuesday
Five Can Soup in the Crock Pot (recipe HERE)
Homemade Bread
I'm not working this day, but using my Crock Pot will free me to do whatever needs done around the house to get ready for company.

Wednesday
Leftover Soup & Bread

Thursday - ??????

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Grilled Chicken
Homemade Applesauce
Fresh Green Beans
Baked Potato Bar

Sunday - ??????

If anyone has some great ideas for Thursday and Sunday, feel free to send them my way!! Maybe I'll check out the menu plans of others and see if anything jumps out at me! I think we'll probably be heading over to my parents' house on one of the nights she's here, so that may shift things around a bit.

For more great menu plans, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

DipTacular!

Do you love football season and the dip-worthy parties that it brings? BooMama is hosting DipTacular right now. Grab your crackers and chips, and head over HERE to find TONS of dip recipes.

My favorite dip is simple and easy to make with things that you can keep in your pantry.

Black Bean Dip

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can corn, drained

Just mix it all up and add whatever seasonings you like. I keep it simple and just throw in some diced green onions. The last time I made it, I had some leftover salsa in the fridge, so I added that too. This is a very fresh-tasting dip, and it works well with the scoop-type chips.

If you have a favorite dip recipe to share, stop by DipTacular hosted by BooMama.