Mexican Street Corn Salad with Yogurt-Lime Dressing

4 cobs of sweet corn
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and pepper
1 medium red bell pepper
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup crumbled Mexican cheese (such as cotija or queso fresco), divided

Dressing
5 oz zero fat Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp Hellman's mayonnaise
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp smokey paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees and place corn in oven with husks on. Roast about 20 minutes or until corn is soft, but still firm. Cool corn while you chop the ingredients for the rest of the salad. Cut corn off husks and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lime juice and salt and pepper. Add the red bell pepper, onion, black beans, cilantro and 3/4 cup of the Mexican cheese.

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Taste to adjust seasoning. If you want it more spicy, add additional cayenne pepper - if less spicy is your thing, don't add it at all.

Gently toss all of the salad ingredients together, pouring the dressing on top to incorporate. Top with 1/4 cup of additional cheese and refrigerate until ready to serve. This salad gets better as it blends and I like it cold, but it can be served at room temperature right away.

Eat as a side dish with enchiladas or tacos or just dig in and eat it as a "dip" with tortilla chips. This stuff is addicting!

NOTE: You can grill the corn, slightly charring it instead of roasting it in the oven. This will give the corn a smokey flavor and it will be a bit crispy.

NOTE: If you can't find Mexican cheese, you can substitute Feta cheese instead. Mexican cheese is much milder and has less salty flavor.

Fire-roasted tomato, black bean, sweet potato and chicken stew

The smokey flavor of the paprika and the heat from the cayenne pepper and green chilies makes this meal a perfect balance to the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. I highly recommend you use the deep orange sweet potatoes as they are much sweeter. I think you could leave the skins on the potatoes if you use organic ones. This meal comes together so quickly and is great for those times when you need to make something early in the day and reheat it for dinner. This is comfort food at its best!

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 heaping Tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
16-24 oz low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles (Trader Joe's brand is great)
4 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes, about 1/2 inch dice - about 2 medium (use Garnet if available as they are sweeter)
3 cups shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken) or about 2 cooked chicken breasts shredded
1 large handful of chopped parsley
2 cups of cooked rice or quinoa

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven and brown onion until soft and caramelized. Add paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and stir well allowing the scent of the spice to come out. It's important to use smoked paprika for this recipe as it gives the entire dish a smokey flavor.

Add the broth, beans, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Then add your sweet potatoes and simmer until tender, but not mushy. If stew is too thin, mash a few of the sweet potatoes and simmer longer. If it's too thick, add more chicken broth. Add the shredded chicken and parsley and heat until chicken is hot and stew is boiling.

Meanwhile cook quinoa or rice. You can serve stew without the grain, but it tastes great over quinoa. You can add the cooked rice to the stew if you'd like, but don't cook the grains in the stew as it will become too thick.

This stew takes about 30 minutes to make from start to finish. It's an excellent meal to make for the entire family and can be reheated later or a day later. It's a quick and easy meal for those colder nights when you want something hearty and tasty. This recipe is 100% gluten-free and tastes amazing.