Cornbread Salad

It is my dream to be a Southerner. I imagine their lives are composed of 3 main activities: leisurely sipping sweet tea, tracing family lineage somehow to Paula Deen, and frying chicken in ruffled, pastel hoop skirts.

I'm guessing these are horrendously untrue stereotypes. But what can I say? I'm used to the Midwest. It's features are now plain vanilla to me, while the South seems to be more of a butter pecan flavor. 

But this salad helps fulfill my Southern dreams. Using cornbread as a salad base instead of, y'know--lettuce, seems to encompass all that's right in Southern food culture. Plus, a box of Jiffy cornbread mix is a college budget winner at 59 cents. 

Now if you'll be so kind as to excuse the little lady, I've got some sweet tea to sip, y'all. 

Cornbread Salad   Serves: 2 as a Main Dish
3 cornbread muffins, torn into bite-sized pieces (stale is good)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 green onions, sliced
1 T. bacon bits
Sour cream
1.) Add the olive oil and lime juice into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Dump in the beans, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and bacon bits. Mix well.
2.) Carefully fold in the cornbread muffins just before serving. Season with salt and pepper. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

Adapted from: Ezra Pound Cake-- seriously an awesome website.