Black Bean and Corn Citrus Salad

Mommy Brain 101.  I swear I used to be able to remember things!  Let me tell you how this recipe began.  Weeelllll... I mixed up two different Black Bean Citrus Salad recipes I saw.  This ended up not being so bad because I made my own version that turned out pretty tasty.  But the funny part was that the recipe called for 1 grapefruit and 2 oranges.  Well, in the grocery store I picked up one big thing I thought was a grapefruit and two smaller ones.  I got home to find they were ALL THREE THE SAME type of orange.  No grapefruit to be had!  I mean really?  Those navel orange must have had different daddies if you know what I mean.  They sure didn't look related!  And I would have bet money that I had picked up a grapefruit because that was the largest orange I'd seen in a while!  Good thing I'm not a betting woman ... I always lose anyway! Haha! This ended up being a delicious treat on a hot night.  I made this light dinner for Father's Day so that DH could enjoy these less than healthy treats. Black Bean and Corn Citrus Salad 1 large navel orange (think grapefruit size! ;)), segmented, juice retained* 1/2 large red bell pepper, or to taste 1/3 bag frozen corn, thawed 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/3 onion, diced olive oil salt and pepper to taste lettuce and sliced avocado for serving Directions First, defrost your corn.  I put mine in the microwave, covered with a little water to steam, for 2-3 minutes since I forgot to set it out earlier.  While that is cooking, peel and segment your orange.  Cut the segments into bite size chunks.  This youtube video shows exactly how to segment the orange.  When you segment the orange you are left with the pulpy center - that's the juice that I used to make the vinaigrette with.  So once you are done segmenting the orange, juice it - just like in the video. This is what it looks like when you're done. Then, dice your red pepper and onion. I forgot to take a picture to show you how much it was that I diced before I tossed everything together, but this one shows what I had left over!  My red pepper was kind of large, but they usually run small so feel free to use what you like.  I also used about 1/3 of this rather large onion.  Again, feel free to adjust based on your tastes. Drain and rinse your can of beans.  In a bowl, combine your orange segments, red pepper, onion, black beans, and corn.  Toss to combine. Slowly drizzle olive oil into your reserved orange juice while whisking.  This will create a citrus vinaigrette for your salad.  I was totally going to skip this step, but it was worth it.  Some other recipes I read made this vinaigrette with lime juice, cumin, and olive oil for a more southwestern flair. Now is where you are able to adjust the recipe to meet your needs.  This salad would be delicious if you added in rice, quinoa, or even orzo.  I didn't have any of these on hand, so I decided to serve it over a bed of lettuce and top with 1/4 of an avocado sliced.  The avocado added a deliciously creamy texture to the otherwise crunchy salad. The VerdictI will definitely keep this recipe.  It filled us up without being too filling.  I like the versatility of the salad as well and the endless customizable options you have.  Add some chicken, beef or pork and make it a whole meal.  Top a tortilla with some cheese and this salad.  Enclose with another tortilla to make a tasty quesadilla.  Stuff it between crunchy taco shells to make a fresh take on the crunchy bits.  Endless I tell ya!  I didn't think I would like the orange in it, but it really added to the light and tasty feel of the salad and made it refreshingly southwest. I probably would have added a dash of cumin if I had it.  But alas, I didn't. And it was still yummy without it!  I have a tendency of making anything with black beans "Mexican"... and this had a familiar flavor, but was excitedly not leaning towards "taco night" flavor. Hope this helps pass the hot summer days!  Speaking of which... happy summer!