Black Beans and Rice

So we’ve been experimenting, because it’s gotten tiring eating chicken one night, beef the next, chicken, beef, chicken, beef, chicken...oh, hell, you get the picture.  It suddenly occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that beans are wicked healthy and stupid cheap, so I decided to start there.  I did this for supper last week and it was more than edible, if a bit on the simple side.

1 cup black beans, dried
1/2 medium onion (Vidalia, in this case), diced
1/2 medium green pepper, diced
1 good size clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil

After picking over and washing the beans, I quick-soaked them (beans+ 4 or 5 times their volume in water, bring to a boil and let boil a couple of minutes, then cover ‘em and let ‘em soak for an hour before pouring the soaking liquid off...this worked wonders as far as cutting down the unfortunate bean-y side effects), then added three cups of water and put them on high heat to boil.  Meanwhile, in a skillet, the garlic, onion, and green pepper met with the hot oil and sauteed for a few minutes, then they went in the pot, too.  Covered and set to simmer, the beans took almost precisely an hour to be perfectly done.  We ate these with brown rice and corn, with a bit of cheese and sour cream on top.  Yum.

I loved ‘em just the way they came out.  Jay thought they were a bit “bean-y” and has lobbied for doubling the pepper and onion and garlic next time around, so I think we’ll try that soon.

Having real garlic in the house has been a boon, too, in that it’s encouraging us to throw it into just about everything.  I made chicken and broccoli alfredo last night and cooked the chicken with some of it, and made garlic bread with some more.  Very good.  Very, very good.

1. I’m too lazy to work with dried beans, but I love to make black beans and rice.

   I use Goya black bean soup, heat it up in a saucepan, add another can of drained black beans, and a little garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder (also salt & pepper) until it tastes right to me. I let it simmer while the rice cooks. When the rice is ready, I dump the rice into the pot with the beans.

   I used to make a ton of the stuff and I’d take tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and salsa to make a concoction in a bowl. Other times I’d put it with cheese, sour cream, and salsa in a flour tortilla like fajitas or burritos.

   I’ve also added cooked, cubed chicken to it for when I’ve served it to people who have to have some kind of meat in their meals. All have loved it.

   Very tasty.

   Posted by jen  on  08/25  at  01:51 PM

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