Southwest Rice and Bean Salad with Sweet & Spicy Dressing

  We tried a new recipe tonight, one I had printed off ages ago and put in my “to try” drawer with the 200+ other recipes in there.  Anyhow, it looked pretty basic, nothing to get excited about, but I had everything on hand to make it, so I went with it.  The end result was delicious. The bean & rice ingredients are paired with the tangy, sweet dressing that takes this dish over the top!

  It’s a keeper & will be added to the summer meal rotation for sure!! The whole family LOVED it!  Dale’s work-out buddy stopped in for a bowl, and he loved it too, even taking a copy of the recipe.  (Such a good little bachelor!)

  The guys of course, added the infamous Sriracha sauce to it, to bring the heat level up to their taste buds.  I added a few drops to mine as well, and it made this salad taste even better!!!! (Shh, don’t tell Dale I admitted that!!!) 

  At this point you should already own Sriracha sauce, because you made those amazing Korean-style Chicken Noodles bowls I told you about!  hee-hee 🙂 

  BTW, although this recipe contains jalapenos, because they are pickled, it is not an overly spicy dish. The kids ate it fine, with no sriracha obviously, and it had no burn at all!

   Never in a million years would I have expected the flavors of the dressing to be so perfect with the basic bean & rice base.   Try it, you won’t be sorry.  Besides, beans & rice are cheap!!! Especially if you soak & cook your own beans.  I think they have a better flavor/texture than canned, but canned will do in a pinch!

 This is one of those meals that can be waiting for you after a fun afternoon at the pool this summer, since it’s great room temperature or cold from the fridge!

Southwest Rice and Bean Salad

with Sweet & Spicy Dressing

{click title to print}

Salad:
4 cups cooked brown Basamati rice, warm or at room temperature

1 – 6 oz box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice, prepared according to directions

1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked, seasoned, cubed chicken

1 (12-oz.) can corn, drained

4 green onions, chopped

2 t. salt

2 T. Garlic powder

Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. packed brown sugar
2/3 cup olive oil
4 pickled jalapeno pepper rounds, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Combine all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and whisk well. Toss with salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Serves 8-10.

For a fun baking project, we decided to make these:

Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies from Picky Palate’s Website.  YUMMY! They were so soft and chewy, I woulda sworn they were baked in a convection oven.  The trick is they have Butterscotch Ice cream topping in them, who’da thunk it?! 

We didn’t have a fun pan like she did, so we just blooped giant balls of dough on a stone and started decorating with M & M’s.  It was like arts and crafts time!

   No matter how they look, the kids don’t care a bit.  They are just excited that I let them eat sugar!!!!!!

And just like that…..the Sugar Daze & Sugar Crazy’s are already kicking in!

Gotta love it!  🙂

Happy Cooking & Baking!

~T

Shared with the Ultimate Beans and Rice Linky Party over at Meet Penny!