Snacks

This weekend is a pretty busy one for me. My son has a regional swim meet - which means it's his last chance to qualify for the state meet. To qualify, he has to make a certain time. It was his one goal for the season.

So, both Saturday and Sunday mornings I have spend about 4 hours at the pool. His team is one of the largest in the area which means we host all the big meets. Hosting a meet means working it. Since he's swimming 2 days, I have to work 2 days. Whee! 'Forced' volunteering. But I digress...

My point is that I spent this evening working, will "volunteer" at the pool tomorrow, work tomorrow evening and then work at the pool again on Sunday morning. Phew! Yeah, that's a weekend alright. What I need this weekend is quick, good, healthy food. Here's a few ideas I have already made for the weekend.

Black Bean & Corn Salsa 

I used the basic idea from Rachael Ray. The only changes I made was instead of a red pepper, I used a hot pepper ( I don't remember which one, I got it a little while ago.... I think it was an Anahiem) and left out the hot sauce as a result. I also used about 16oz of frozen organic corn from Trader Joes. I had intended to get the roasted corn, but grabbed the wrong bag. I also upped the black beans and went with 2 cans of organic black beans from Trader Joes.

It turned out GREAT! Love love love it. And for about $5 I get a ton of salsa. People pay $5 for an 8 oz jar -- this made like 5 times that amount.

Fresh Dill Dip

This didn't come from any specific recipe -- just using a basic creamy dip foundation.  As I mentioned, I got the Aerogarden for Christmas and I am quickly being overwhelmed with herbs. I didn't like dill much because I always thought of dill pickles, which I HATE. Fresh dill however is pretty good.  So here's my recipe.

1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 cup light sour cream
~ 1/4 cup chopped dill
1 tsp garlic powder

Stir it all together and enjoy! Great with veggies or crackers - or both.

Chicken Salad

Last, but not least. Something else I have mentioned before is good old Costco. I went there today to pick up some Izze juice/soda. While there, I decided to grab one of their rotisserie chickens. They are very very good and cost just $5 (actually... $4.99). I take it home, chop it up, throw in in a bowl, add about 3 stalks of celery, about 1/2 cup mayo some salt & pepper and I have chicken salad! Costco makes and sells salad from their chicken, but charge about $10 for a lb. Yikes! In their defense, I suppose, Costco does pay a living wage unlike some other warehouse club, so I guess it's worth it if you can't make it yourself.

I usually eat it on a bread, a bagel or alone.

So, now you know what I am eating this weekend.