Try Something New Tuesday: Corn Salsa

Last week I challenged my May Madness group to come up with some healthy recipes. And I even bribed them with bonus points for sharing. I chose a couple of those recipes to feature here on the blog. The first one comes from my dear friend, Whitney.

Whitney is our friend and neighbor. She's a ton of fun, and she is the hostess with the mostess. Girl knows how to throw a party. And she can cook like nobody's business. So when she shared her recipe for corn salsa, I knew it would be perfect for the Mother's Day lunch I was planning.

Here's the ensemble.

You're going to start by grilling the corn. Whitney said you could also wrap it in wax paper and cook it in the microwave if you're pinched for time. You can even use canned corn. But I wasn't going to skimp. I was going to do this recipe right. So I opted to grill my corn.

Confession time: I'd never grilled corn before. So I asked Whitney how she did it. It turns out it's very simple. Just stick the corn right on the grill husks and all.

Rotate the corn every 15 minutes or so. I think I ended up cooking mine for a total of about 45 minutes.

I was afraid I had cooked some of those blackened ears a little too long, but it turns out those were the best ones! After the corn is cooked, you remove the husks and cut the kernels off the cob and into a bowl.

Next add about a cup of black beans.

And about half of a purple onion, chopped.

Finally, you'll need about a cup of packed cilantro, minced. If you have a tip for mincing cilantro, I'd love for you to share it with me. I think that was the most tedious part of preparing the dish.

Next take your olive oil, the juice from half a lime (my lime was pretty small so I used the whole thing),  cumin, and chili powder and mix well in a small bowl.

Pour the oil mixture over the vegetables and stir. Voila! Corn salsa!

I served this with grilled chicken, and it was delicious! The flavor reminds me of the Southwestern Eggrolls at Chili's...but without the deep frying. Even the kids loved it. Whitney also likes to serve it with chips, which I'm sure would be equally wonderful.

I calculated this to be around 165 calories per serving if you get about 10 servings from the dish which I think is very reasonable. It is also packed with a lot of protein and fiber. Thanks, Whit, for the awesome recipe!!!

Corn Salsa

• corn - 5 ears, grilled (can also microwave the corn or use canned)
• 1 cup black beans
• 1/2 purple onion, chopped
• 1 cup firmly packed cilantro, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder

Combine corn, black beans, onion, and cilantro in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice, cumin and chili powder. Pour the oil mixture over the corn mixture and combine well. Serve with chips or as a side with grilled chicken.

Question of the Day:

What's your best tip for mincing cilantro?

First Playdate and the Loss of My Nutella Virginity

We had so much fun today! I kicked it off with P90X Chest and Back. I have to admit this is my least favorite workout...so many pull-ups and push-ups! But I owned it today and increased my numbers with several of the exercises!

Next, I got the big girls off to school. Daughter #2 is doing some testing this week, and I volunteered to send a snack. I found these on Pinterest and put them together last night. How cute are they?!?

After I got the girls out the door, I grabbed a shower and some breakfast before taking the boy to preschool. Baby girl was super excited because after the preschool drop-off, she got to have her first ever playdate!

I know, I know. She should have had a few playdates by now, but here's the thing: she's the youngest of four. Things are crazy. AND all my friends stopped having babies before I did. Well, except Whitney, but she went and had a boy so that doesn't help me much.

So we were very excited when we recently got to know some of our neighbors who have a 3-year-old girl too! If you follow me on Facebook, you might remember my post last week about my friend, Karen. She and her husband recently started doing P90X, and she let me know that her husband's cholesterol has dropped 50 points since they started!!!

Anyway, Karen and her sweet daughter came over today so the girls could play. Here are the princesses.

Please note: these two girls were born about a month apart. Look how much hair Karen's daughter has compared to baby girl!!! 

Karen also brought a gift.

That's right, folks. I was a Nutella virgin. So I popped open this jar shortly after Karen left. I had been told it was good with graham crackers.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! So. Good. Baby girl loved it too.

See the way she's attacking that Nutella-covered graham cracker? As though I haven't fed her in days? That's right...she's definitely my kid.

Thank you, Karen for a fun playdate! And for giving me a new addiction to feed. For those of you that play the stock market, now might be a good time to invest in Nutella.

Question of the Day:

What's your favorite way to eat Nutella?