Unusual Arizona Bean Dip....

A few weekends ago, I was here....



It's called Maple Memories. It's a craft house "retreat" type place.

Some of the girls who were there have already blogged about it. I haven't yet done so, and this post isn't going to be that post either.

But, in the meantime, I will share something from that weekend.

Each of us brought a snack to share. I chose to make my snack.

I'll share the recipe....It's actually from a cookbook that a Dairy Queen owner gave me a few years ago -- remember, I worked for 10 whopping years for International Dairy Queen. She thought I'd enjoy it, and I do appreciate the thoughtfulness.

It's called "Unusual Arizona Bean Dip."

Here goes....

2 (7 oz.) cans Mexicorn, drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 C. Italian creamy-style dressing
1/4 C. Ranch salad dressing
1/2 sm. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1/4 tsp. Cumin
1 sm. avocado
1 tsp. chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper

It sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Here are a few photos...

First, all of the ingredients....



Starting to get them all mixed together....



I scooped out the avocado last....It's so nice when the avocadoes are nice and ripe as it's much easier to scoop.



And, Voila -- the finished product....



It's really quite tasty with tortilla chips. Since New Year's Eve is coming up soon, give it a try. I promise it won't let you down!

*****

And, for the usual dose of thankfulness, today it's #339 -- the distant cry of a train whistle.

For those of you who do not live in the same town as us, let me explain something to you.

The railroad is HUGE here in town. The school's mascot is named after the railroad. The railroad employees quite a few people here in town. It truly is a very efficient way of transporting goods that we need....etc., etc.

But, it sometimes can be an inconvenience. Trains in this town have taught us all patience as you cannot cross the town without crossing the tracks. I don't think I've ever met somebody in this town who isn't occasionally annoyed by the trains.

Probably a month ago or so, I made a Facebook status post about trains. I mentioned in this post that I USED to get annoyed a bit with trains.

But, Luke has taken a real liking to trains. He knows from several blocks away when we're approaching the tracks. He immediately looks to the side of this carseat to see if there is a train.

Now, when it's sooooo utterly cute to watch Luke and his trains, it seems as if we never see one.

I actually wish we'd see one more often.

So, there's my thankfulness -- I'm thankful for the distant cry of a train whistle. It gives me sooooo much joy to see Luke watch his trains and get excited when he knows one is coming.

Here's a photo of Luke...This was taken a little over a month ago (it mustn't have been real cold that day since he doesn't have a coat on). This photo was taken when we were actually stopped for at rain. He just watched it very intently from his carseat.