I feel like I'm going to become the bean girl.

I know I've posted a lot about black beans lately, but in the spirit of the Superbowl I decided to post the bean dip recipe that I took to yesterday's Superbowl Party:

Black Bean Dip -- this is great its a black bean and cheese dip!

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans drained
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Emeril's Essence
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Cheese Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk (any kind will do)
1/2 to 1 cup of cheese (any kind will do)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. In a large dutch oven heat the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes and cook. Add the beans and reduce heat. Cover and let cook for a bit while you are preparing the cheese sauce.

In a small saucepan melt the butter. Add the flour and allow to cook for about a minute. Add the milk and mix well with a wisk. Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Take a potato masher and mash up the bean mixture a bit. Stir and mash again. Add the cheese sauce. Turn the heat down to low and allow to cook for a minute or two.

At this point I like to transfer the bean and cheese mixture to a baking dish (because it looks nicer when you serve it). Top with some additional cheese and bake for 10-20 minutes (really you just want the cheese melted).

Allow to sit for a minute and serve with tortilla chips.

As a side note you can substitute kidney beans for the black beans, omit the cheese sauce and substitute the chili powder for curry powder and add 1 tablespoon of seasme oil for an Asian style bean dip thats really good with warm pita bread or pita chips!

Enjoy!