Black Bean, Corn & Chipotle Dip

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Heat a large saute pan on medium heat. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
2. Add one can of drained black beans and can of refried black beans. Add in chopped chipotle peppers, corn, cumin and chili powder; combine with a wooden spoon.
3. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook for additional 5 minutes, until corn defrosts and mixture is warm. Transfer mixture to a small to medium sized baking dish (a 9 inch pyrex pie dish would be great). Top with cheddar cheese.
4. Bake on a foil lined baking sheet (in case of spills) at 375 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes, top with tomatoes, cilantro, black olives and lettuce (optional) .

Serve with tortilla chips. Yields: 8-10 servings.

NOTES: You could make this ahead of time (without the veggie toppings) then just pull it out of the fridge about 10 minutes before baking, bake it an extra 10 minutes or so and proceed with recipe. I used the pre-shredded iceburg lettuce which is found along with the salad bags at the grocery store. One less thing to chop!