Oh, Yeah...I signed up for that didn't I...

okay, so I'm a total planner...
so very organized that it's ridiculous!

okay, so I lie...

I'm one of those people that agree to do something and then forget until like 5 minutes before and then rush to get it done and usually stress my family out in the process!

so anyways, I signed up to bring a salad to a baby shower this past Saturday...
easy peasy....

Saturday morning...
doing a mini tri run thru
(oh, yea signed up for another one of those things and it's less than a week away now!)
and then the baby shower...that I signed up to bring a salad to...

hmmm...no lettuce in the house and no time to go to the grocery store...
how do you make a salad without lettuce...
what DO I have in the house...
a little spinach (very little, not even enough for a personal salad let alone a pot luck salad)
some onions...
can of black beans
and rice...

I posted on facebook that I was looking for a cold rice salad...and had some great friends post a few different recipes...none of them with what I had on hand, but with enough ideas that I was able to make a really delicious rice salad, one that will now go onto our dinner menu list...

I really don't have great measurements for this, it's all about taste and what you have on hand...

Spinach Black Bean Rice Salad
1 cup rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 clove garlic (grated)
2 cups water with chicken bullion or 2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs butter
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 handfuls of spinach leaves chopped
1/2-1 cup of chopped red or yellow peppers
lime or lemon (zest and juice)
mayo
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or chopped almonds

1.  Sauté rice, onion & garlic in butter for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.  Add water and chicken bullion and salt and pepper, stir.  Bring to boil, simmer with lid on for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool

2.  Once rice is cooled, toss in beans, spinach and chopped peppers.

3. Mix juice of one lime or lemon (or more per your taste) and about 1 tea zest of same fruit and about 3/4 cup mayo, blend well into rice mixture.  Add more mayo and lime juice per taste, and salt and pepper.  Top with toasted nuts.

...so this is the recipe I used...I would have loved to use lime but only had lemon, and also wanted to add chopped cilantro but also didn't have any of that...
other things to add that would be good...artichoke hearts, broccoli, asparagus, cherry/grape tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles, crispy bacon pieces....

I was actually surprised how good this was, and the little that came home from the shower was devoured by the husband...