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Southwest Rice Salad

 According to Asian Avenue Magazine, President G.W. Bush signed the proclamation making September National Rice Month in 1991. A joint effort by the President and the USA Rice Federation, the holiday was established to encourage more people to consume rice. According to the site, 500 million metric tons of rice are harvested annually.  That's a lot of rice!




A group of wonderful bloggers organized by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla created dishes using this incredible grain. You can see their ideas below, and a great way to celebrate Rice month in September.

Yes, that last entry is me!  I am making a take on a southwestern rice dish that my husband and I make that we turned into a salad. It is such a delicious way to get more greens into your meals and of course, rice!  This has all the traditional flavors of the southwest: beans, tomatoes, peppers, and delicious rice.  To make this a fast meal, we use the rice we get from Aldi that is ready to go, all we have to do is microwave it.  





The best part of this dish?  It's so versatile.  No corn?  No worries.  White onion instead of red?  That's ok!  Kidney beans instead of black?  Well, sure, if that's what you have.  It's easy to add some leftover grilled chicken or steak, too.  




Southwest Rice Salad
Yield
4
Author
Terri Steffes
Prep time
25 Min
Cook time
2 Min
Total time
27 Min

Southwest Rice Salad

Fantastic side dish, or add some shredded chicken or grilled shrimp for a complete meal.

Ingredients

  • 2 packages of heat and serve wild rice
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1/2 cup sweet corn
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup diced green, red or orange pepper
  • 1/4 c sliced ripe (black) olives
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 cup Italian dressing
  • 4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce

Instructions

  1. Combine the rice, beans, olives, corn, pepper, onion, and cheese.
  2. Combine the salsa, Italian dressing and cumin into a glass jar and shake until thoroughly mixed. 
  3. Place 1 cup of the chopped lettuce on 4 plates.
  4. Top with rice mixture and pour 1/4 of the dressing mixture on top. 
  5. Serve.
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  1. This looks like a delicious salad! I will have to make this for lunch one day.

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  2. This looks so good! Delicious, filling & nutritious, just perfect!

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  3. Now this sounds like an absolutely delicious take on a rice salad, nothing better for the summer either.

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  4. This salad would be great for my husbands lunch. It would be so easy to pack in his lunch bag.

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  5. This looks really yummy. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try.

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  6. Richelle Escat10:23 PM

    Thanks for the recipe, I might use white onion for this, instead.

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  7. Being Asian myself, I love rice. I haven't had it in a salad though so this is the perfect recipe to try it.

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  8. This rice salad is so hearty with a lot of delicious ingredients that I like! Yum!

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  9. This looks really good. I would love to make this for my family. I bet they would love it.

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  10. What a delicious looking rice salad and you are right can go with whatever protein there is available. Interesting fact about rice, thanks for sharing that tidbit!

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  11. Wow! I love the combination of all these flavors. Thanks for sharing this today.

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  12. I've been needing some heartier salads for lunches. This one look so good!

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  13. I love meals like this where you can mix and match whatever you have on hand.

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  14. This sounds delicous. It's so versatile too!

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  15. Yum! Such a fun and flavor-packed rice salad! I love how easily everything comes together in less than 30 minutes.

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  16. This looks delicious! Kind of looks like the inside of a burrito, the way we prepare it. Great idea for a meal!

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  17. This looks tasty! A perfect side for tacos. Yum!

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  18. Yum! This sounds delicious. I love salads and this is interesting and comforting one!

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