I keep bags of dried beans in the cabinet, and have been meaning to use some, so the other night, I soaked about a third of a bag of navy beans. If you are using dried beans, the first thing you do is sort through them, because sometimes there are small stones or pieces of dirt. Then, rinse them under cold water and put them in a container, fill with twice the amount of water to beans, and leave them to soak overnight, or for a few hours. Then, drain them, put them in a pot with fresh water, maybe a bay leaf or bouquet garni (look it up, lol) and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a low boil and cook until the beans are soft, but not mushy. Drain and cool.
Next, I had some corn, still from the farm. I cooked it lightly, then stripped the kernels from the cob. There are still good tomatoes around, so I happened to have some grape tomatoes, which I cut in half lengthwise. Some peeled and diced cucumber, some chopped romaine lettuce, and now it's starting to look like a salad. (Yes, I know that totally wasn't a sentence, but I'm tired, so get over it)
I had bought a couple boneless chicken breasts, and I marinated them in Italian dressing. Don't be too proud to use Italian dressing from the bottle, just watch the sodium in the really cheapo brands. I would have grilled the chicken, but it was pouring right at dinnertime, so I seared them in a pan instead. I let them cool a little and then diced them and put everything in a big mixing bowl and added some more Italian dressing, a little fresh ground pepper, and some red pepper flakes, because Nicole is on a hot pepper kick. Nicole, by the way, is my daughter. Did you not know that? Shame on you. Here's Nicole:
No, seriously, she is my beautiful daughter and I love her like crazy, even though she is a terrible sloppy mess.
Ok, time to give the dog a bath. My life is one nonstop party.
Bye now..
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