Texas Caviar

This is an easy peasy salsa/dip to serve with some blue corn tortilla chips or alongside some chicken or fish. I adapted this recipe from Mckmama, originally found here. The sweetness complements the salty chips so well, though. In as much time as it takes to open a few cans and rinse, you can get this ready in the morning, refrigerate overnight or during the day, drain the salsa and serve.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans (drained/rinsed)

1 can garbanzo beans (drained/rinsed)

2 cans corn (drained/rinsed)

1 small carton of cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)

1 small white or yellow onion (diced)

1 bunch cilantro (shredded or finely chopped)

1/3 bottle of Italian dressing

lime juice (1-2 limes' worth)

sugar to taste (I start with 2 T and add more if needed)

salt to taste (I start with 2 T, but remember the salt from the chips)

Directions:

Drain canned ingredients and rinse well (especially the beans). Combine all ingredients, unless you're worried about the tomatoes or cilantro going bad, in which case you can add those right before serving, but I love the cilantro infusion as it marinates and have never gotten sick since it's refrigerated. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours, though I'm sure it would still taste great if you did at least one hour. Excess liquids will accumulate during the marinating process, so drain before serving.

I would recommend serving with Tostidos corn chips or blue corn chips. Mckmama also adds kidney beans and avocado to her recipe, but I don't like either. If you do work with avocado, add it at the end or squirt it with a little lime juice to keep it from browning. Enjoy this easy hit!

Paula's Popovers

Yes, I realize that my popovers are a little obscenely deformed, but I have a solution! Make sure you remove the top rack in your oven because they will rise. Wrestling them out can be dangerous; that's how I got this burn, which is a nice pink scar now. These were a hit at my first married Thanksgiving; we eat them with hearty meals or for breakfast with some honey or jam. Or BUTTER, as the recipe's creator, Paula Deen, would have it!

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Grease 12 large muffin tin cups or 12 custard cups. (My husband bought me a popover pan!) Break the eggs into a bowl and beat well. Add the milk, flour, and salt, and beat until just blended. Fill the muffin tin cups or custard cups 3/4 full with the batter. Place the pan on the center rack in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes without opening the oven door.

Serve the popovers hot with butter, jam, syrup, or honey.

Giada's Potatoes and Onions

Ingredients

• 2 pounds new potatoes (white, red, or Yukon gold), scrubbed and halved
• 1 pound cippolini onions, peeled
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss together all of the ingredients. Spread the mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the potatoes and onions are golden brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately or cool and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, reheating the next day in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.