Spicy Cowboy Caviar Salad

It has been a great summer so far, and although we have had some realy scorcher days, and some super humid ones, like wet warm towel humid, we have had some spot on perfect days too.  Magical days where you just don't want to go inside, We've had lots of projects this summer that have kept us busy, but we've also been making an effort to eat at home and eat home cooked food too.  On busy workdays,  a salad like this, that can be paired up with a sandwich or something grilled can turn a potential boring meal into a complete meal. 

You could definitely add tomatoes to this salad if you want, we are coming into that time of year, however, if you are planning on eating this over a couple of days I would leave them out as the vinegar in the dressing tends to break them down and make them a little mushy.  

Cowboy Caviar Bean Salad

What You’ll Need:

For the Dressing: 

½ Cup Vinegar

½ Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

For the Salad:

1-Bell Pepper Diced

1-Small Red Onion Diced

1-2 Jalapenos (Optional-and seeds and ribs removed if you don’t want too much heat)

1 15 oz can Black Eyed Peas, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz Can Chick Peas

1 15 oz Can Kidney Beans

1 15 oz Can White and Yellow Corn (or about 1 cup of frozen or fresh sweet corn)

½ Cup Chopped Cilantro

½ Cup Chopped Green Onions

To make the dressing: 

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Boil for a minute and then remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.

To make the salad:

Combine all the remaining ngredients in a large bowl except for the cilantro.  Add the cooled dressing and stir well to mix.  Refrigerate the salad for at least an hour before serving, add cilantro and mix before serving.  

Serve alongside your main course of choice, or eat with tortilla chips.