Adrienne’s Famous Bean Salsa

I’m not sure how long my sister-in-law, Adrienne, has been making this bean salsa for my family. I’ve been out of state for a while so I haven’t been savvy to who brings what side dishes to gatherings. But everyone in our family knows about it so it’s probably been a while.

All I know is that when hubby and I moved back to NY this summer, she invited us to join her and my brother at her parents’ cottage on the lake for an afternoon. We were sitting on the patio in the shade, watching boats go by and sipping cold beer. Hubby and I had just eaten lunch so we weren’t particularly hungry, and we pretty much ignored the bean salsa that was sitting on the table. For a little whole.

Then, during a lull in the conversation, I picked up a tortilla chip and scooped some out.

Then I couldn’t stop, even though I was full. So nummy. Scoop after scoop.

Afterwards, I wanted it again, but didn’t want to make it just for hubby and I because I knew that it makes a lot. And it’s one of those recipes that’s very difficult to halve because you’re using a can of beans here, a can of corn there, an envelope of seasoning there, etc.

But then Adrienne invited some people over. Now was my chance! It’s a little silly to bring over someone’s own recipe, but I did it anyway.

Here are my ingredients:

Start with the green bell pepper.

Dice it up, and then do the same with a sweet onion.

And then a couple tomatoes.

Next, open up cans of black beans, black eyed peas, and corn. Drain and rinse, then add to the diced veggies.

Then take a tablespoon of minced garlic. This took me forever to prepare, peeling and mincing a ton of small cloves. Better than the stuff from a jar, though.

Plop it on top of everything else.

Oh, and then cut open a lime

And squeeze it over the whole thing.

Now for some seasonings… Oregano…

Basil (from the tube in my fridge)…

And cilantro (also from a tube).

Finally, in a little bowl, combine some olive oil…

and vinegar (I wasn’t sure what kind, so I used white wine vinegar)…

and a packet of Italian dressing mix.

Mix it up, and pour on top of the salsa!

And with that, you’re done!

Chill it for a few hours, then serve with tortilla chips.

It’s so addicting. Seriously. The dressing mix tenderizes the veggies and makes such a delicious flavor. You’re supposed to drain before serving, but I happen to love the Italian dressing/ veggie juice mixture sitting at the bottom of the bowl, so I didn’t.

So when can I have this again?

Amatriciana

This dinner had its origins in a package of diced pancetta that I picked up from Wegman’s. I really love that store. It makes impulse buying happen far more often, but that’s a good thing. After all, it led me to this dish. I had planned to make Ravioli with Arugula, Tomatoes, and Pancetta, but I didn’t have any arugula and did a google search instead. Amatriciana is what I came up with. The recipe called this a “quick and flavorful classic,” so maybe it’s something Italians would know about, but  it was new to me.

Well, technically the recipe called for bacon, but all the reviewers said to use pancetta, so I’m assuming this is the “authentic” way.

I started off with the pancetta in a pan, cooking over medium heat. I really wanted everything to get crispy, since it would be sitting in sauce later and I didn’t want it to be soggy.

Oops, got too close with my camera and let the lens fog up.

For some reason, it got really bubbly, but you can kind of see that the pieces are getting crispy.

Or not.

Anyway… While it was cooking, I turned to some homegrown garlic from rural Virginia.

After I peeled a bunch of it, this is what it looked like. Each segment was small so this is not as much as it looks like!

The next step is technically to sauté chopped onions with the pancetta, but I didn’t have any. I moved right on to the garlic.

Here I am using my garlic press to mince it into the pancetta. It’s been so long since I’ve done this instead of using the canned stuff!

Let it cook for maybe 30 seconds…

And then move on. The recipe said to use two cans of stewed tomatoes – I used diced. Just add them to the pancetta/ garlic/ onions (if you have onions, that is), along with some crushed red pepper flakes, and simmer for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, boil some pasta. I used fettuccini.

Just before serving, stir a tablespoon of fresh basil into the sauce. I think this stuff is almost as good as fresh. This was my first time really using it. If you’re using dried, I would put it in a lot sooner so the flavor can be released.

I took a picture after it was stirred in, but that one’s blurry, so this picture will have to suffice.

Drain your pasta when it’s done…

And then mix the sauce into it.

And there you go! I topped with some shredded Parmesan and served with some green beans and a garlic bread stick from the freezer aisle. Delicious!

The pancetta lends a smoky, salty flavor to the sauce, and the red pepper flakes are subtle but present – this isn’t spicy, but you do taste the spice. It’s simple, but it’s pretty good. And relatively healthy, if you overlook the pancetta grease.

A good recipe, and one that I’ll be making again (assuming Wegman’s continues to make it easy to find pancetta!).

Here’s the recipe.

Creamy Chicken, Bacon, and Tomato Pasta

Hubby and I are still staying with family for the time being, though we’ve signed a lease and expect to move soon. I’m still trying to alleviate the inconvenience of having us by making dinner when I can.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while but hadn’t gotten around to trying it. It’s actually fairly similar to Philly Shrimp, which is cool.

First, I got out some tri-colored farfalle pasta. I started to measure out the three cups that the recipe called for, but then I thought, “Screw that,” and dumped the whole box into boiling water.

Next, I cut up some chicken breasts. I used about twice as many as the recipe called for.

I also seasoned them with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and a touch of onion powder just for fun. This wasn’t part of the original recipe, but reviewers thought it should be.

Put it into a big skilled and start frying it up.

Meanwhile, I started prepping the rest of my ingredients. I love being back in an area where we have Wegman’s! I opened one can of Italian-style diced tomatoes, as the recipe called for, but then immediately decided that since I’d already doubled the chicken and put in more pasta than I needed, I might as well double everything.

So I opened another can.

Then I gave my niece a piece of farfalle pasta, which had been cooked and drained by this point. She wasn’t sure what to think of it.

But she liked the camera.

Anyway, once the chicken was about done, I transferred it to a saucepan so I’d have room to add more stuff. I added those diced tomatoes first.

And then a brick of cream cheese (my favorite ingredient!).

The recipe called for a bit of water to be added, but I used chicken broth instead.

Once it started melting and mixing, it looked more like this.

It got creamier as the cheese continued to melt. I also noticed that the sauce was a bit watery and mixed up some corn starch in water to thicken it up.

Also, I just realized that I have no photo evidence of the bacon that I fried up, crumbled, and mixed in. It’s there, I promise, I’m just dumb and forgot to take pictures.

It was too much pasta for one serving dish, so here’s about half of the yield.

And served on a plate:

Creamy and with a deeper taste than I’d anticipated. I liked the smoky flavor of the bacon combined with the tomato. Personally, I could do without the chicken, but I know a lot of people would disagree.

Regardless, delicious. And the leftovers were just wonderful.