Okie Caviar

This is one of my favorite, FAVORITE things to throw together! Great to take to a party, use it as a condiment for Tex-Mex dishes, or just keep it in the fridge when your vegetarian friend comes to visit...it keeps people quiet when they're whining about being hungry and bitching because you're taking too long to get ready to go out for dinner (partly because they treat your house like a vacation resort and you are exhausted from the combination of preparing for them, entertaining them, feeding them, and then getting up early on their schedule to feed them again). 

You can make all sorts of variations of it, call it whatever kind of caviar you want, and do whatever the hell you want with it. I've never made it the same way twice, and it's always fabulous!

This time, I used:

2 cans black-eyed peas, 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained.
2 green bell peppers, 1 orange bell pepper, diced.
1/2 red onion, diced.
3 diced tomatoes or 2 C. halved grape tomatoes
1 can of corn, drained. I wanted to fire-roast some, but actually had to use cream-style corn b/c that's what I had!
1/2 bunch of washed, dried, cilantro leaves
Italian dressing. I made my own w/ EVOO & spices on hand.
S&P, minced garlic, jalapeño seasoning

Mix gently, cover & refrigerate :)

If I were making this for a home crowd, I'd put fresh avocados in it, but this was for an outdoor thing...in August...in Texas...nuff said?