Meg's Meal Planning

Side dish

Southwestern Easy Black Bean Salad

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As summer is winding down, my garden is taking off! This happens every year! I think it must be the climate I live in? This year in the garden, my cherry tomatoes and jalapeno peppers plants are doing the best! I’ve already made lots of fresh salsa! Click here for a peach salsa recipe!

I had fresh cilantro in the fridge left over from steak tacos last week, so I decided to make a black bean salsa using the cherry tomatoes and jalapeno pepper! I enjoyed this meal 3x for lunch! I added crumbled tortilla chips for a little extra crunch!

Southwestern Easy Black Bean Salad
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 15 oz can of black beans
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper (less or more depending how spicy you like it)
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir together. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Fresh Blueberry Basil Summer Salsa

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Homemade blueberry basil summer salsa is sweet with the perfect amount of kick! Serve with tortilla chips or on top of grilled chicken or fish.


Blueberry picking season is one of my favorites.  I could eat them by the handfuls and I usually do.  As a result, I’ll run out of them before I can make something new with them.  This year I told myself to show some self control and not eat them all up right away! I am so thankful that worked and I was able to make this homemade fresh blueberry basil summer salsa.

Sweet with the perfect amount of kick makes this the perfect happy hour snack on a sunny summer Friday night! This would also be great served on top of grilled chicken and fish. If I can hold off from snacking, I’ll make this again with a dinner dish! To read about what else I made with the blueberries, click here to read about my healthy blueberry and banana oat muffins.


Blueberry Basil Salsa
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • ¼ cup red onion, chopped
  • ½ jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
  • Fresh lime juice to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh basil leaves cut into strips
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
  1. Place blueberries into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
  2. Pour into a serving bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, stir.

 

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blueberry basil summer salsa

Creamy Sage and Cheddar Mac and Cheese

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The aromatic sage enhances this dish. It pairs beautifully with the cheddar cheese, causing a fragrant aroma and warm flavor that you won’t be able to get enough of. 

I’ve had cheese that was sage flavor in the past and it was awesome! So the other day I was digging in the depths of my freezer thinking what on earth do I have in here when I found the fresh sage that I froze. I said hmm I already made sage/cheddar biscuits, what else can I make??? I remembered that time I had the sage flavored cheese and thought that would be perfect! Since I knew we were having ribs for dinner, mac and cheese would go along perfect! 

Sage and cheddar mac and cheese


Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon 
  • Salt
  • 8 oz elbow pasta
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoon chopped sage

Steps

  1. Bring pot of water to a boil and cook the elbows halfway, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and return pasta to the pot
  2. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the milk, flour, butter, the mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer stirring until sauce thickens, 3-5 minutes
  3. Turn off heat and stir in cheese and sage. Serve