Southwestern Avocado and Black Bean Salad

I hope you had a nice long relaxing weekend! I nursed a sick hubby most of the weekend, but I did get to meet the Houston Texans quarterback TJ Yates. Isn’t he a cutie?

 

 

I was amazed at how shy he was of course he’s only 25 and fairly a new guy to the team, but I thought it was really nice that he wasn’t such a show off. He took time with each of the kids in line and talked to them and encouraged them to stick with what they where working at. I hadn’t been to an athletic signing before, but I have to say it’s so much faster and the lines aren’t as long as the cookbook authors I’ve met. Oh well, it was all for my father in law who’s a huge fan of the Texans so I hope he enjoys his father’s day gift!

 

Ok now on to some food! My parents brought we a bunch of home grown tomatoes not long ago so I wanted to find a recipe that you could actually taste them in and this was a good one. I added a little more cheese just because I like cheese, but it tasted really good.

 

If you are looking for a crowd pleasing salad, this is it. And when I say crowd pleasing there’s not “I need to double this recipe” because it makes a lot!

Southwestern Avocado and Black Bean Salad
(Adapted from Paula Deen)

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1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 or 3 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 avocados, peeled and diced
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
About 3/4 cup (3-ounces) grated pepper jack cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the cilantro, oil, lime juice and hot sauce.

 

In a large serving bowl, add the lettuce, avocado, corn, beans, tomatoes, and cheese. Add the dressing and toss well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.