Rice and Beans Sundaes

I've only really gotten into cooking over the last few years.  Something about having kids did it to me.  I mean, I've made jam for a long time, but until the girls were born, I really only had a few staples in the house with which to make a few simple dinner recipes.  Joe brought this one into the relationship, and we love it to this day. 

Rice and Beans Sundae (I'm pretty sure Holly named this after Joe and I shared the recipe with her). 

Layer 1:
-Make your favorite kind of rice.  We love the brown kind, but it takes a lot longer to cook than white.  If you're going for healthy, take the extra time to cook the good stuff. 

Layer 2:
-Heat up some black beans, right out of a can.  Spoon some on top of the cooked rice.

Layer 3:
-Add your favorite kind of shredded cheese on top of the beans.

Layer 4:  SALSA.  I prefer the stuff we make and can with fresh tomatoes during the summer, but I've been known to more often use Newman's or even Pace. 

-Layer 5:  Specifically, Joe says sour cream is not to be replaced by anything else as the perfect topping.  However, on Friday night when I made it, we didn't have any sour cream (ha!), so I used cottage cheese (of the non-fat variety), always Cabot-- it's the result of having lived in Vermont so long).  Surprisingly, it was wonderful, and it has to be healthier.

Now, we normally just eat it the way the recipe reads above; however, whenever we've gotten together with my brothers to have it for dinner, they scowl at the no-meat factor.  So, feel free to add cooked chicken or ground beef or turkey.  It is yummy either way.