Potato Patties with Black Bean Salsa

I hope you'll forgive us for taking a week off. Hillary has bought her first home and was preparing for the closing and the moving last week. She will be without internet for a little while. I will be trying to keep up for the next two weeks while she is getting settled and unpacked so I hope that you aren't disappointed. You can wish her congratulations if you'd like.... I know I do!

This recipe is amazingly tasty. I hadn't ever tried anything like this before but everyone loved it and it was so yummy! I hope you will love it too!

Potato Patties with Black Bean Salsa

1 bag (1 lb 4 oz) refrigerated Southwest-style shredded hash brown potatoes*

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)

½ cup Original Bisquick mix

3 eggs, beaten, or ¾ cup fat-free egg product

¼ cup canola or olive oil

1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed

¼ cup chunky-style salsa

In large bowl, mix potatoes, cheese, Bisquick mix and eggs until blended.

In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 T of the oil over medium heat. For each patty, spoon about ½ cup** potato mixture into oil in skillet. Flatten with back of spatula.

Cook patties about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm*** while cooking remaining patties. Add remaining 2 T oil as needed to prevent sticking.

In 2-quart saucepan, heat corn, beans and salsa over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot. Serve over patties

Makes about 6 servings.

* They didn’t have southwest-style at our grocery store so I just used about 2/3 a bottle (16 oz) of salsa to make up for it.

** I used about 1/3 cup so I could get more out of it and they were a great size.

*** I pulled out a piece of aluminum foil and folded it in half on top of a large plate. As the patties got done I put them on the foil, on the plate and then covered them with the other half of the foil. They were nice and toasty.