black bean dip

ok
so i am trying to be better with my snacking
ban the doritos
make some lighter, healthier and more nutrition-rich dips
i've been feeling sluggish, and still have the demands of nursing a toddler wearing on my poor ol' body

so in an effort to clean it up...black bean dip (snacking on it with cucumber slices and rice cakes right now

1 can drained/rinsed black beans (mine said 19oz - 598ml
1/2c salsa (only had mild on hand so had to add some spice
1/2c fat free sour cream
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cumin
1 - 1.5 tsp mexican chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup loose cilantro
1 spring onion chopped
- took the hand blender and blended it down

yum - yes, very descriptive. i love love love cilantro, so i love having it fill up the flavour of this. could use a bit less
love black beans too - so versatile (have "hid" them in brownies and other treats to make them more nutritious

tasty enough to be ok with my ban on doritos and ketchup chips...but addictive in its own way too.

meatballs!

i don't know why i don't make these more often. this is a recipe based on one my mom showed me before i went away to university when i was 18. stunningly, this means it's decades old

i like how easy these are to make, and i sometimes make dipping sauces, sometimes just break out a jar of bbq sauce or whatever else i may feel like having.

ingredients (i had to write down the amounts, years later i still do these from memory)
makes between 40 and 50 meatballs - 46 this time around
1lb lean ground beef
1lb ground pork
1 pack onion soup mix
3 tbsp chicken soup base
1 tbsp garlic powder
dash of pepper
2 or 3 eggs (i used 3 as they weren't huge brown eggs)
1c bread crumbs (any kind, gluten free works here too, multigrain, any)

you basically just mix everything together in a bowl. i use my hands for this recipe - it's therapeutic - squishing the ingredients, rolling them into balls (have included a pic with my hand and the meatballs to give an idea of the size.
please bear in mind i have very small hands (my niece had bigger hands at age 12) - looking at the pic you will see why the blog name makes sense.

into a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes. i love these. i ate a few right off the baking sheet. these served as apps for thanksgiving and snacks/lunch after.