Sweet & Spicy Stovetop Beans

I created this recipe when my husband requested a side dish of beans to go with his lunchtime serving of grilled chicken. We had recently purchased roasted Hatch green chiles from our local garden center and I thought they would go nicely with the beans.

Red Beans and Rice

With the weather getting cooler, my mind turns to soups and other comfort foods. This recipe for Red Beans and Rice is really delicious and it makes enough for leftovers or to freeze for future meals.

Quinoa-Bean Salad

You will really enjoy this versatile dish, which makes enough for lunches during the week and a dinner side dish too.

 

Escarole and Beans

For those of you who regularly peruse my blog, you know that many of my recipes are from my grandma - traditional, Italian cooking that not only tastes delicious, but is incredibly nourishing.

Seven Layer Dip

My husband loves this dip, which we make at least once a year for the Super Bowl. But, it is so easy and so good, I think I will start making it more often.

Ham and Beans

You can probably tell we have a ham to use up from New Year's Day. This ham and bean soup is delicious and would be especially yummy served with cornbread, like this pumpkin cornbread.

Baked Beans

For this recipe, baked beans is actually a misnomer because they are not baked at all. Although you could bake them, if you are so inclined, but I don't think it's necessary. However, the name "Barbeque" Beans doesn't really work either because barbeque sauce is not a dominant ingredient (and it's optional). So, baked beans it is, but even easier since there is no baking involved!

Quinoa & Lentil Salad

I made a bunch of quinoa and lentils the other day and this recipe uses up the last of my quinoa. It is really filling and great for a quick lunch, espeically since quinoa packs such a protein punch.

Ingredients:
2 cups soaked and cooked quinoa
1 cup soaked and cooked lentils
1 1/2 to 2 cups soaked and cooked black beans
1 cup frozen corn, rinsed and thawed
1 tomato finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

For dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil, try this one
3-4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
Sea salt & pepper to taste

How To:
Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Pour the dressing over the quinoa and lentil mixture and mix well.

Comments:
This actually takes a little bit of time, at least 20 minutes due to all the chopping. But, it makes a very large batch that you could store in the refrigerator and have lunches or dinners for a week.

Soaking--Quinoa, lentils, and the black beans should all be soaked to maximize the nutritional benefits. Soak quinoa 12 hours, lentils seven hours, and black beans for 24 hours -- all in warm water with whey, or buttermilk, or lemon juice or vinegar, etc. After soaking, cook and store for future use. 

 

This post was shared at Thank Your Body Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, and Thank Goodness It's Quinoa.

Black Bean & Pork/Chicken Enchilada Cassarole with Ranchero Sauce

Looking for an excellent comfort food recipe with nourishing ingredients? Look no further. Don't let the long ingredient list keep you from trying this one. Most are the spices included to season the dish. Also, you could make your ranchero sauce in advance and freeze and then this would be a super quick and super easy meal to make.

Ingredients:
About 1/2 pound cooked pork or chicken, diced -- use leftover if possible, and more or less than half a pound. You'll want enough for one layer
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 cups water
1 small to medium onion chopped and divided (about 1/4 cup to sprinkle)
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cups broth, low-sodium organic if possible (any flavor, I used vegetable)
1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste, no added salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about one lime juiced)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups "Mexican-style" cheese, grated (I used a chipotle cheddar I found, but use whatever you can find in your store)
10-12 corn tortillas, the small ones
Olive oil

How To:
1. Prep Chilis: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the ancho chiles and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Boil, reduce heat to low and simmer five minutes. Turn off heat and let sit another 5 minutes. Drain, but reserve 1 cup of the liquid. Set aside.

2. Make Ranchero Sauce: Add onion to olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until soft, add garlic and salt. Cook another five minutes until lightly browned. Add broth, oregano, paste, and cumin. Cook about 5-8 minutes until thickened, stirring occassionally. Then pour entire pot into a blender, add chiles and reserved liquid. Blend until smooth (remove center piece in lid to allow steam to escape, but cover with a towel so the hot liquid does not splatter). Stir in lime juice and cayenne pepper. This is your ranchero sauce.

3. Make Cassarole: Using about 1/2 cup of the ranchero sauce, cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan and line with half the tortillas. Sprinkle on beans, chicken or pork, onions, and half the cheese. Cover with sauce, about half what you have left. Top with the remaining tortillas, the rest of the sauce, and the rest of the cheese. Cook uncovered about 15-20 minutes.

Comments:
This is modified from a vegetarian dish in the October 2011 Cooking Light magazine. I added meat (for my husband) and we had this pork tenderloin to use up. I also eliminated the steps in the original recipe that made this actual enchiladas. The "cassarole-style" is much easier to make. We also served with sauteed poblano peppers on top and over short-grained brown rice and this was SO delicious.

This looks kind of complicated, and did take more time than I usually like to spend. The original recipe says 55 minutes hands on, but I think that is way over-stated and perhaps I save a lot of time with my version by not actually making enchiladas, but just layering the ingredients. I think it was 30 minutes hands on and then the 15 minutes of cooking. Also, the original recipe I followed says you can make the ranchero sauce a day or two ahead to save time (or even freeze), and that really is the part that takes up most of the time. I also keep a few containers of this ranchero sauce in my freezer for an easy dinner when we are short on time.

DELISH!

 

 

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Simple Brown Rice and Beans

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked brown rice, I used short grain
About 1 T olive oil
1 can beans of  your choice, I used red, rinsed and drained (about 15 ounce can)
1 can Ro-tel

How To:
Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add rice, beans, and Ro-tel (I drained most, but not all, of the juices from the Ro-Tel). Cook till heated through and serve.

Comments: I read a really fabulous article by Dr. Hyman about fiber that inspired me to try to incorporte more of it in our daily lives. I was surprised to read from various sources online that women should be getting about 25+ grams a day and men even more. However, we also had football practice tonight and my husband worked late, so I wanted to make something quick and easy. I came up with this very simple dish that was so good I did not even add any other seasonings. In the can of red beans, there was 17.5 grams of fiber and the Ro-tel added 2.5 grams for 20 grams total. In the brown rice, there was about 7 grams.

My husband said he would eat it every day for lunch he enjoyed it so much and our six-year old liked it as well. It is a little spicy from the Ro-tel, but not very much. ***If you don't have Ro-Tel or don't want to use the Ro-Tel, use a can of diced tomatoes and a small can of diced chiles--this was my original intent, but I did not have the diced tomatoes in my cupboard so used the Ro-Tel instead, which turned out very vell. Anyway, you may have to add a little seasonings with the diced tomato/green chilis combination and I recommend rinsing and draining the green chilis.

Black Bean & Corn Festive Salad

1 15-ounce can of beans, rinsed and drained (I prefer black beans, but have used kidney and any type would probably be fine)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, rinsed and drained
8 - 10 grape tomatoes cut in halves or thirds
1/4 cup onions or scallions
1/2 bell pepper any color, diced
2 T olive oil
Juice from 1/2 to 1 whole lime or lemon
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning or cumin and garlic powder to taste

Mix together and let marinate, covered, for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before serving.

This takes about 10 minutes to prepare.

Basic Bean Soup

This is one of my favorite fast meals. It is surprisingly delicious for how simple it is to make. It is also one of my husband's favorites.

 



Ingredients:
4 cups of soaked and cooked beans (any variety, although I personally prefer a white bean for this soup)
1 small onion, diced
Sea salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, I use this, or herbs du provence
Butter or ghee, enough to saute your onions
A little bacon fat (about 1-2 tsp) optional
Water or stock, about a cup, see Step 3 below

Optional: Garnish with cheese, tobasco sauce, green onions/chives, etc.

How To:
1. Soak your beans: 12-48 hours in advance, place beans in a non-reactive bowl with salted warm water and cover with a dish towel or screen. Let sit and sit and sit. Rinse beans a few times while you wait and switch out your soaking water when you do.

2. Cook your beans: When done soaking, rinse, and then add beans to clean water with a little salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the beans are soft. ***Do way more than your four cups because you will store all the excess in little 1 1/2 or 2 cup containers for your convenience the next time. Read this about storing soaked and cooked beans and what to do to keep them from splitting.

3. Make bean soup: ***If you have pre-soaked and pre-cooked beans, you will start here. Saute onions in butter or ghee over medium heat. Add bacon fat now, if using. When the onions are soft, add beans and just enough water (or stock) to almost cover the beans. See photo below. Start with 1/2 cup and go from there. Add seasonings. Simmer about 5-10 minutes until the beans are softened and then do one of the following in the next step.

In this batch, I actually added a little more water at the end

to thin it a little bit more. Keep in mind you can always thin it easily, so

start with the least amount of water you think you'll need and add

more from that point as necessary.

4. Mash the beans: Either:

A - transfer all to a blender or food processor and blend until creamy, return to pan.
B - using a potato masher, in the same pan mash beans until mostly all mashed.

5. Finish: Return to pot, re-season if necessary. Add more liquid if necessary to reach desired consistency. When serving, garnish with the optional ingredients above, if desired.

Comments:
When I lived alone, I made this often and I did not use the food processor/ blender. I liked the soup with some remaining un-mashed beans in it. It also seemed easier to me because I did not have a dirty blender to clean up. However, when mashing by hand, some beans do not mash nicely (like pintos) whose casings were a little thick and resulted in a bit of a chewy soup - so keep that in mind. You may prefer to "blend".

Using the food processor adds to the ease of making this in that you don't have to chop the onions very small or worry about the casings around the beans. And, the resulting soup is a very nice creamy consistency.

I encourage you to experiment with beans and ingredients. My grandma shared this basic bean soup "recipe" with me, but modifies frequently and has said her version using black beans and diced tomatoes was the best, although I like this version so much I have never tried any others.

One final thought - even though this doesn't sound like some kind of amazing soup recipe since it is so simple, this soup is delicious. It will surprise you! My husband loves it (with tobasco) and our six-year old loves it as well (with freshly grated cheese on top). I do too and cannot urge you strongly enough to try adding this quick, easy, and delicious recipe into your diet. If you have soaked and pre-cooked your beans, this is very fast to make, probably 10 to 20 minutes tops. Or make lots and freeze or refrigerate for lunches or dinners all week.

Version using Kidney and Northern beans without the

food processor - notice it's chunkier

 

Version using Great Northern and Navy beans

with food processor

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This post was shared at Frugal Ways, Sustainable Days, Real Food Wednesday, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Tasty Traditions, Natural Living Link-Up, Simple Meals Friday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Freaky Friday.

 

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Bean Burritos

Burritos area  great, quick meal and we will go through phases where we have them once a week. I love to serve them alongside avocados and/ or sliced tomatoes and/ or Easy Mexican Rice and/ or Avocado-Tomato Salad.

Ingredients:
2 14.5 ounce can of refried beans (ensure there are no weird additives in the brand you purchase) or make your own
1/2 cup (approx) salsa to your preference (ensure this has no added sugar or other weird ingredients)
1/2 to 3/4 cup cheese, shredded
1/4 small onion, diced
Sea salt & pepper
6 to 8 tortillas
A little olive oil, butter, or ghee
Optional garnishes (avocodo, tomato, onion, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, etc.)

How To:
1. Beans: In a medium saucepan, saute onion until soft in olive oil, butter, or ghee. Add beans and salsa and cook over medium heat until warm. Season with salt & pepper.

2. Tortillas and combine: Warm tortillas and then fill with beans sprinkle with cheese, and add any garnishes. Wrap and eat.

About 15 minutes total time and this will make about 6 to 8 burritos depending on the size.

Comments:
This is a favorite meal in our household. It is very easy and relatively easy clean-up as well. 

Pre-roll picture, corn tortilla