Rachel Ray's Mexican Corn Salad

I admit...I have been slacking in the food blog posting as of late. Life has quickly become insane with work, school, and wedding season kicking off last weekend. So much fun, but so much to do! I am so excited for summer as I begin my internship in about a month- eek! It will be a summer of lots of learning, being crazy busy, as well as more weddings! With all that going on, I hope to stay dedicated with the meal posting. Austin and I have begun to dedicate ourselves to healthy eating. I enjoy eating healthy anyway, but we're kicking it up a notch by doing it together. I'm hoping it will be easier to meet fitness and weight goals if we work at it together ;) We'll see how it goes!! So far so good, but this is literally day 2 of the Lettinga team efforts of eating healthy.

 So I love me some good quality Mexican food. This salad is everything you need for a little quick fiesta during the week. It is a fun, healthy, and colorful summer salad. It's actually a great dip for tortilla chips as well...but seriously what isn't good with a tortilla chip?! I found this recipe on Rachel Ray's website...steered away from Pinterest for a change...so liberating! Austin has been actually looking at my pin boards to tell me what to make next...I figured we needed a change! haha

 Recipe is as follows...
 1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained
 2 cups frozen corn kernels 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped - I chopped 7 green onions instead
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, half a palm full
 2 teaspoons hot sauce, just eyeball the amount (recommended: Tabasco)
1 lime, juiced 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, eyeball it
 Salt and pepper (I also added garbanzo beans and a can of tomatoes and green chilies)
**I also chopped an avacado, added a can of tomatoes with chilies, and a can of garbanzo beans too and added that in there...yum!

  Directions Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, then toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick-chill on this easy side-salad as it defrosts -- no need to refrigerate!

All the ingredients set out ready to go!

Draining & rinsing the beans, corn, and tomatoes...

Choppin up the veggies!

Stir it all up...and its litterally that easy.. Add in seasonings, lime juice, olive oil, S&P, cumin, and hot sauce...

                        Served ours on a hamburger patty...its pretty much delicious with anything!