Mexican Pasta Salad

8 ounces whole wheat pasta (bow tie, elbow, or pasta of choise)
1 (15-ounce) can corn
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2 large avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
3 whole green onions, thinly sliced
1 large jalapeno, cored, seeded, and diced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

FOR THE DRESSING:
3/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 limes, plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon Tabasco or similar hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions:

Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Rinse with cool water, drain, and place in a large serving bowl. Add the corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, avocados, green onions, jalapeno, and cilantro.

To make the dressing, in a small bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lime zest and juice, hot sauce, salt, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Taste and add additional salt or spices as desired. Pour over the pasta mixture. Toss to coat, then sprinkle the feta over the top.

If time allows, chill for 2 hours prior to serving or enjoy immediately.

About 6-8 servings
https://www.wellplated.com/mexican-pasta-salad

Spicy Black Bean Soup

This healthy black bean soup recipe is easy to make with canned beans. Thanks to some basic aromatics and Cuban spices, it’s incredibly flavorful and delicious. This soup is naturally vegan, vegetarian and gluten free. The recipe yields quite a bit of soup (6 to 8 servings)—it is easily halved, or you can freeze the leftovers.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped fine
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
4 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (use ¼ teaspoon if you’re sensitive to spice)
4 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 to 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, to taste, or 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional garnishes: diced avocado, extra cilantro, thinly sliced radishes, tortilla chips…

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and carrot and a light sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetable are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the beans and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until the broth is flavorful and the beans are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Puree about 4 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth (beware the steam that escapes from the top of the blender, it’s very hot). Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir in the cilantro, vinegar/lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

https://cookieandkate.com/2016/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/

Chopped Greek Salad

Yield: Recipe yields 6 to 8 side servings or 3 to 4 meal-sized servings. If you store the salad separately from the vinaigrette, it will keep well for up to 4 days.

INGREDIENTS
10 ounces chopped romaine lettuce* (about 2 medium or 3 small heads, chopped)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium cucumber (about 8 ounces), seeded and chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper
1/2 medium red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
6 ounces feta cheese, sliced into 1/4” cubes (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 can of chickpeas (optional)

Greek vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes, for heat (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large serving bowl, combine the chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, parsley, olives and feta. Toss the ingredients together and set aside.

To prepare the vinaigrette, combine all of the ingredients in a liquid measuring cup or OXO’s Twist & Pour Dressing Mixer. Whisk (or twist) until blended. Taste, and add more vinegar if you’d like a more tangy dressing, or more honey for a more tame dressing.

If you’ll be serving all of the salad at once, go ahead and drizzle enough dressing in to lightly coat the salad and toss to combine. I prefer to store the salad and dressing separately so I can enjoy salad for a few days. Whisk the dressing again before drizzling (if the olive oil solidifies a bit in the refrigerator, don’t worry, that’s normal—just let it warm up for about 5 minutes at room temperature or microwave for 10 to 20 seconds).

https://cookieandkate.com/2018/chopped-greek-salad-recipe/