Anytime Black Bean Dip

            GRRRRRR!  I just sat down and wrote a perfect "raking the leaves" short and my computer lost it.  Double grrrrrr!

            Today was raking the leaves day.  Our little home has a little yard, but we have enough trees to fit on a big log.  These wonderful trees completely covered our back yard, front yard, side yards and drive way with thousands and thousands of leaves.  I do not mind removing late November raking, the leaves are dry and light.  The first couple of weekends of raking the ground is covered with red, purple, orange and brown leave a bit heaver than their dried November cousins.   While raking we could hear other neighbors cleaning their yards with power equipment.  On the next street behind us we could hear someone picking their leaves up with a lawnmower; to the north we could hear the sound of someone blowing their leaves.  At our home, all you could hear is us chattering away as we cleared them away the old fashion way, raking.  After two hours of work, with the sun setting in the west, our backs a bit tired from the fall clean-up, Brian and I entered the house where I ran a hot bath to relax my tired muscles.  After a short nap, I decided that cooking was way too big of a project for the night, so I decided to make a yummy black bean dip.

            Anytime Black Bean Dip

            Add into a medium bowl:

1 -14.8 can each of black bean, corn and diced tomatoes.

diced pepper, ½ chopped red onion, 1 large crushed garlic clove, 1 dices into small pieces apple, ¼  cup of olive oil, 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons of taco seasoning, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of  sugar,  1 teaspoon of red peppers (optional), 2/3 cup of salsa (desired heat), ¼ cup of jalapeño’s chopped (optional), ½ cup of cilantro.  Mix all the ingredients together and serve with corn tortilla chips.    

This is a great dish to take to a potluck.  It is sure to be one of the favorites that night; whenever I do, I get enthusiastic comments.