Easy Black Bean Salsa

One of our favorite summertime snacks is salsa- mmmmm! On a hot day, a cold bowl of salsa and some tortilla chips make a perfect treat. We used to buy different varieties of salsa from the grocery store, which were enjoyable but always slightly lacking, and who knows what's in some of the popular brands (some of them have fairly basic ingredients, but personally I'd rather know exactly what the "Natural Flavor" is in my salsa rather than just hoping it's something good, ya know what I mean?). Plus, you can easily pay $4 (or more) for a jar of salsa, especially if you're buying organic. So I decided to attempt to come up with my own easy, fresh, healthy recipe and we ended up loving it!

The Black Bean Salsa Caper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp capers with liquid
dash red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add diced green pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion and cook until both peppers and onion are slightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Meanwhile, pour tomatoes with liquid into a bowl. Add capers, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add cooked peppers and onion. Add black beans. Stir just until combined.

Serve with tortilla chips or mix with cheese in a tortilla and heat in a skillet for fresh, easy, delicious quesadillas!