Rainbow Rice and Bean Salad

My friend gave me this recipe. I love it! It makes a beautiful, healthy, quick, tasty dish.

Ingredients:
3 cups prepared brown rice
3 medium carrots, finely chopped or grated
2 cups cooked black beans, drained
1 cup cooked corn
1/2-1 cup minced fresh herbs packed (cilantro, parsley, dill, or basil)
1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped **I used dehydrated ones and soaked them**
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 Tbsp. fresh or frozen lemon juice or wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
**I also added lime juice to taste**

Direction:
Mix all ingredients together and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or thoroughly chilled.

I made this for Jay's lunch today and he had a great idea to put this mixture into a tortilla. Since we were short on tortillas he actually used it as a dip for his 'hint of lime tortilla chips'! It was delicious!

Strawberry-Spinach Salad with Lemon Dressing

I LOVE this salad, trust me it is delicious! (The best part are the sugared almonds!!! I leave out the mustard seed.)

Salad:
1 cup slivered almonds, sugared
1 bag (10 oz.) fresh spinach
1.5 apples, peeled and cut into wedges
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups sliced strawberries

Dressing:
2 TBSP lemon zest
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. mustard seed (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To candy almonds, wet them and roll in sugar. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

In a bowl, toss all salad ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss. Makes 6-8 servings.