Black Bean Margarita hummus

I threw this together for a snack today, to hold us over until the late dinner we have planned with a friend. My hubby gave it his highest praise possible ("this is f***ing awesome," said with mouth full).

• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• ~1 Tablespoon oil (we used olive)
• ~2 Tablespoons margarita mix (or lime juice with a pinch of sugar dissolved in in it)
• 3 shakes of cumin
• 2 shakes of chili powder
• ~1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• A bunch of fresh ground black pepper
• A fair amount of salt

Mash it all up with a fork or potato masher until smooth or whirl it in a food processor. We had ours with tortilla chips. And I'm betting that some diced hot peppers and cilantro would make a nice addition.

Lazy layered dip

The meal that my husband and I have the most often (especially in the hot summer when we don't really want to turn on the oven) consists of organic tortilla chips with some sort of combination of the following (although never all of them), organized into a layered dip:

• Beans (black, pinto, kidney, or leftover lentils if we have them)- just open the can, rinse and dump into your bowl.
• Guacamole- buy Wholey Guacamole or other non-dip guacamoles (otherwise there will likely be sour cream mixed in) in the deli section of most grocery stores.
• Salsa- buy in deli section (usually right next to the guac) for fresher (and much tastier) salsa.
• Rice- brown or black, cooked in a steamer for added lazy bonus points.
• Taco filling (TVP) mix- fantastic foods has a pretty great mix that can be found in many conventional grocery stores, usually in the natural foods section.
• Sour soy-cream- Either bought ready made, or mixed in a flash by adding a splash of apple cider vinegar to soy yogurt.
• Spinach or Lettuce- shredded and sprinkled on top