Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

Mike sent me the link to this recipe a few days ago. It looked pretty good so we decided to try it. The original recipe called for way too much time on the rice portion (simmer 1/3 cup of rice and 1 cup of broth for 45 minutes?! Not unless you want to burn the bottom of your pan...not to mention the rice), so I edited it a little bit. The finished product turned out really well!

Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

(Adapted from On My Menu's recipe )

1/3 cup brown rice

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium zucchini, chopped or thinly sliced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (canned chicken would work, as well)

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tsp cumin

Salt, to taste

Cayenne Pepper, to taste

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

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies

1/3 cup carrots, chopped small

2 cups shredded swiss cheese (we used TJ's light Mexican cheese blend)

Mix the rice and chicken broth in pot on stovetop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low,

cover and simmer for 15-ish minutes, or until rice is tender. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a medium-sized casserole dish (we used 9x9) with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, chicken, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned and chicken is heated through. In a large bowl, mix the rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, chilies, carrots, and half of the cheese. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover casserole dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Brunch Tostadas!

Yes, the exclamation point is a necessity here. We accidentally didn't have time to try out the Shredded Chicken Hard Tacos recipe we had planned this week, so in a pinch we decided to use all the ingredients and substituted eggs for the chicken. It was a very exciting way to start the day.

Brunch Tostadas!

5 eggs
1 -2 tbsp skim milk
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, diced & divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup salsa, divided
6 oz shredded light Mexican cheese blend
2 corn tortillas
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Sour Cream
Avocado
Lettuce, chopped
Tomato, diced


In a small saucepan, heat about 1/2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add 1/2 of the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and stir until the scent of garlic is released, about 1 minute. Add black beans and stir until combined. When the black beans are heated through, stir in 1/4 cup of salsa. Reduce heat to low and cover to retain liquid.
Roughly chop the avocado. Place in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a fork. It's okay if the avocado is still a little chunky - that's the best part.
Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Add milk and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Spray with olive oil spray to lubricate. Add eggs. Wait about 1 minute and then stir the eggs with a wooden spoon, gently scraping the bottom of the pan. Repeat this process until the eggs are scrambled and all the liquid has been cooked/evaporated, about 10-12 minutes.
While the eggs are cooking, heat a small pan over medium high heat. Spray quickly with olive oil spray. Add one corn tortilla and toast until both sides are brown and the tortilla is almost crispy.
Place the toasted tortilla on a plate. Spread 1/2 of the mashed avocado mixture on the tortilla. Add the black beans, sprinkle the cheese, then cover with eggs. The lettuce, tomato and sour cream will top off a deliciously complete brunch meal. Too bad we didn't have any guests to share this with! We'll be sure to make it again sometime.

Cuban Black Beans

This dish is one that Brit and I have made before and it was delicious. It's very simple to make, though takes several hours, and is full of flavor.

Cuban Black Beans

Serves 6

1 lb bag black beans, soaked and rinsed
Olive oil
2 onions, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced and divided in half (as usual, we doubled the amount of garlic)
1 bunch cilantro, minced
Salt

The beans can soak overnight or start first thing in the morning. Be sure to soak the beans in a lot of water. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, saute the onions until soft and then add half of the minced garlic. Add the beans and enough water to cover everything by an inch. Bring the pot to a boil, cover (though leaving a small crack), reduce the heat, and simmer for an hour.

Stir the beans and add the remaining garlic and cilantro. Keep the lid removed, return to a simmer and cook another hour (or longer if necessary) while occasionally stirring until the beans are fully tender and the mixture is thick.

I didn't think that the beans had fully cooked after simmering for the final hour, though all of the water had been absorbed/evaporated. For this meal, the beans had been cooked the night before, so while the rest of the meal was being prepared, I added several small amounts of chicken stock and allowed the beans to keep cooking for another 30 minutes until they were tender.
Once the beans are tender, season with salt to taste.

We paired this dish with some brown rice, topped it with some avacado slices and some chipotle cream that Brit made. The chipotle cream (made from milk, ricotta cheese, chipotle in adobo sauce, and minced garlic) had a weird consistency and texture which we didn't like, but when mixed with the black beans added a really nice spicy flavor.