Spicy Rice and Bean Dip (plus a Riceland giveaway!)

Here in the South we love our chip and dip. Tuesday night I made a spicy rice and bean dip for book club. It was my turn to host, and we just happened to be discussing my book, The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee. For a new author like me, this is an exciting thing. It can also feel a little intimidating because, when you think about it, you’ve asked people to take a gander at your  innermost thoughts and give feedback.

While they drink wine.

No biggie.

But back to my spicy rice and bean dip. I used Riceland’s new boil-in-bag brown rice which was perfect for this recipe. It comes in one cup servings which is exactly the measurement I needed for this dip. (Also, I’m required to tell you I received Riceland rice products at a blogger conference last weekend. Riceland is one of our regular annual conference sponsors—thank you Riceland! Other than product, I was not compensated for this post. Opinions are my own.)

My recipe was inspired by Santiago Salsa. I changed out a few of the ingredients as follows: I used brown rice instead of white; chickpeas rather than navy beans; a mix of four cheeses; and fresh garlic and jalapeños rather than garlic powder and pickled jalapeños.

Everything was going great right up until I had a small kitchen disaster. (Seriously, why do these sort of things happen at the worst times?)

So I improvised as we do.

Here’s the recipe.

And the rest of the story…

My kitchen is one of my favorite things about our house. It has incredible windows into the back yard, a huge island, and a deep sink for hiding messes. What you can’t tell by looking at this picture is that thirty minutes before book club started, my oven wouldn’t start. The entire touch screen died. So I cooked my rice and bean dip on the stovetop which wasn’t ideal, but it worked. I constantly stirred and stirred and stirred to warm it all the way through and keep it from sticking.

When it was all said and done, the dip was tasty, book club was a success, and we stuffed ourselves with yummy desserts including Gracie Lee’s favorite strawberry cupcakes. Thanks Lynette!

Are you still reading?

Good.

GIVEAWAY!!!

I love Riceland not only because it’s an Arkansas company, but because the farmers are the owners. I took home lots of Riceland goodies from the conference, so I thought I’d share the bounty with you.  Enter my giveaway below for several chances to win these Riceland products:

Rice Bran Oil (25.36 fl oz bottle)—You will love this oil that’s new on the market! Rice bran oil has a high smoke point, a neutral flavor, is gluten free, rich in Vitamin E, and cholesterol free with zero grams of trans fat per serving.
Premium Boil-in-Bag White Rice (4 bags, 14 oz)—an innovative technique gives the taste and texture of longer cooked rice in only ten minutes!
Rice ‘n Easy Chicken Flavored Rice Mix (4.7 oz)—makes 2.5 servings of enriched long grain parboiled rice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks a bunch! And p.s. y’all, this spicy rice and bean dip will be great at your tailgate party this weekend. Yay for college football.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

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