Black Bean and Corn Salad

Today's recipe comes courtesy of the unstoppably perky Rachel Ray. I actually enjoy her show, even though I only watch it from time to time. As you may have caught on, I'm a big fan of honest, unpretentious food that doesn't take 2 weeks to prepare.

This salad is a staple in our household because it's so easy to make and tastes incredible. It packs really well for lunches and matches well with a surprisingly broad range of menus. You can find the recipe here.

We've of course made it our own. The picture above shows Jenny's recent version, with sweet Vidalia onions (which should have been on our state quarter instead of the peach) instead of red onions and without hot sauce.

I prefer the red onions because I like their punch and because it makes the finished product so beautiful to look at, but this version is really good, too. I also leave in the Tabasco for the same reason. I'd also recommend using a high quality olive oil and real lime juice because you can really taste the difference.

It's so easy to make and stores so well that we make it 3 quarts at a time (a double batch). We've never had it last long enough to go bad in our fridge!

Feel free to mix it up! I added some diced ripe avocado and some diced grilled chicken and wrapped it in a low carb tortilla to produce some great healthy tailgaiting food before enjoying a Braves game with our friends (like Floren, below).