Black Bean Dip

I'm also a fan of anything that involves very simple ingredients, especially those you find in your cabinet all the time (those staple items). My friend, Hope, makes a particularly delicious bean dip. I attempted to make something along the lines of what I remembered. I failed miserably at the making it something close to Hope's recipe part. However, what I did create was surprisingly yummy (and not just according to me!) Here's my Black Bean Dip recipe:

Black Bean Dip
1 small handful of diced onion
A pat of butter (maybe a tablespoon?)
1 can of black beans, drained but not rinsed
1 can Rotel, drained but not rinsed
1 small teaspoon of garlic
A little onion powder
Red chili pepper flakes to taste
About 2 cups (a lot) of cheese (your choice - I have used Cheddar/Jack cheese mixtures for a milder touch, and Pepper Jack if you want something a little spicier)

Put the butter in a pan and melt. Sauté the onions in the butter, until very lightly sautéed (not changing color too much – if you want to cut down on spiciness, sauté them longer; if you like spice, add more onions or don’t sauté them at all). After you drain the beans and Rotel, add them to pan on medium heat. Bring to a light boil (just some bubbles in the liquid). Add the garlic, onion powder, and red chili pepper flakes. Turn down to medium low. At this point you want the mixture hot enough to melt the cheese you are about to add, but not hot enough to be bubbling, otherwise it will be messy.
(I used an immersion blender for this next part - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_blender. However, you could probably puree the mixture in a blender or food processor and then add it back to the pan, bring the heat level back up, and slowly stir in the cheese.)
Using an immersion blender, begin to puree the black bean mixture, while the pot is still on the stove on medium-low. As you puree the mixture, add a shredded cheese of your choice, one handful at a time. I used a Cheddar/Monterrey Jack mixture, but if you want extra kick, try some pepper jack. It is really important to add the cheese in handfuls and completely blend in each handful before adding the next one; if you don’t, or if your heat is too low, you will end up with a black bean mixture that has a cheesy glob in the center. Add cheese until it has reached your personally desired level of cheesiness (I used about 2 cups). Once it is thoroughly blended, transfer to a bowl and serve hot with chips.

Enjoy!