Recipe: Fiesta Vegan Bean Salad

Do you ever have one of those days where you just don't feel like cooking...but you don't want to go anywhere to get food, either? Yeah. That happens to me sometimes. Last week I was trying to use us some food in my house and after doing a quick scan of my cupboards, I decided to google the various ingredients I had on hand to see if I could find anything that sounded good to me.

And so I found the Fiesta Bean Salad. I liked the sounds of the recipe and had most of the ingredients it called for, but I decided to jazz it up a little to take it from a side dish to an entree.

Fiesta Vegan Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive
• 1 tsp cumin
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• I cup fresh or defrosted corn
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup minced red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 medium avocado, diced
• 2 or 3 Gardein Scallopini cutlets cooked and cut into bite sized pieces

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, lime juice, oil, cumin, crushed red pepper, and salt.
2. Add the black beans, corn, tomato, Gardein, onion and cilantro; mix well. 
3. When ready to eat, gently mix in avocado and serve right away.

I can't take credit for making this tasty dinner. My boyfriend did everything but add the corn and the fake chicken. The recipe came together really quickly and was pretty tasty. Think Chipotle rice bowl minus the rice and with some protein. I think this would be a great dinner to have on a hot night when you don't feel like cooking...or would make a great side dish at a picnic. (probably minus the avocados  though...they turned brown pretty quickly)