Black Beans and Rice

I tend to be kind of obsessive when it comes to the things I like. Meaning that I’m the kind of person who, after Regina Spektor’s new album came out a couple of summers ago, listened to this song so many times on a road trip that Mike threatened to drop me off on the side of the freeway and leave me to the wolves if I pressed “repeat” one more time. It also means that I can eat the same thing for lunch day after day without getting sick of it.

I’ve never been much for the traditional packed lunch: a sandwich or frozen entree surrounded by odds and ends like yogurt, chips, fruit, etc. I like it best when my lunches consist of leftovers from last night’s dinner or some other form of “real food.” Not that this happens very often. Usually my mid-day meal is comprised of random stuff that I grab out of the fridge while running out the door to work. Lately I’ve been on quite the edamame kick (you can buy frozen individual bags at Costco), and for a while there when tomatoes were in season I would cut one into wedges, sprinkle with some sea salt, and call it lunch. Delicious, but not exactly filling.

Sometimes, though, I actually take initiative and plan my lunches in advance. For example, when I made this tzatziki, I kept it--along with some pita bread, grilled chicken, cucumbers, and tomatoes--in my fridge at work and ate it for lunch every day for a week. The beans and rice dish posted below was actually made with the intention of having it for dinner, but somehow we didn’t end up eating it that night* so it also turned into my week-long lunch. And boy has it been a good one. You wouldn’t think that something as simple as rice and beans would create a satisfying meal, but these beans are packed with flavor and, when you pair them with some cooked brown rice, you’re eating a complete protein that is cheap, filling, nutritious, and made with mostly pantry ingredients. Plus it ages well, actually getting more flavorful as I reheated it day after day. I will definitely be making this again. Or--more likely given my personality--again and again and again.

*By “somehow didn’t end up eating it”, I mean that our dinner that night consisted of pumpkin cinnamon rolls (recipe to be posted shortly). Don’t judge me.

Black Beans and Rice (adapted slightly from melskitchencafe.com)



1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 white or yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4-5 cups hot, cooked brown rice

1) In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
2) Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and tender.
3) Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano and water; bring to a boil. 4) Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency.
5) Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers

So I’m going to get a little opinionated here for a second: I think most people eat way too much meat. I’m not saying that we all need to be vegetarians and embrace tofu, but I think the notion that meat should make up the bulk of most meals is downright ridiculous. What’s more, this idea has led to a system of producing cheap meat that is entirely unsustainable and bad for our bodies, the environment, etc.

I am by no means ahead of the curve on this issue, and have really only thought about where my meat comes from in the past year or two, after reading this book and watching this film. Since then I have made an effort to only buy properly raised meat* and adopt Michael Pollan’s philosophy when incorporating it into meals: “eating a little meat isn’t going to kill you, though it might be better approached as a side dish than a main.”

The recipe that follows is perfect for a dinner made following that principle. These peppers are hearty and filling enough to be a meal in themselves, so any meat you serve with them would be a dinner footnote, not the main event. I’m not particularly fond of meat so I’m fine eating these peppers on their own with a salad on the side, but for people like my carnivorous husband a small piece of grilled steak or chicken would serve as a great accompaniment.

I got this recipe from my friend Stefanie, and the original version can be found on her blog here. I modified it both to make it meatless and use the ingredients I had on hand. I served these with some sliced avocado and salsa on top, as well as a little additional sour cream, but they are flavorful enough not to need that kind of embellishment. I guess I just like to gild the lily sometimes.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers
(Sorry, no picture this time. But seeing as the photos I post on here are usually quite ghetto I don't think you're missing much)

1 cup brown rice
½ small yellow or white onion, diced
Olive oil (about a tablespoon)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed
1 Tbs. Chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup sour cream (I only used a few tablespoons- just enough to bind the filling)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large bell peppers (preferably red, orange, or yellow)**, trimmed, seeded and cut in half, lengthwise
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese.

1) Cook rice according to package directions
2) Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until transluscent, about 3 minutes.
3) Add dry seasonings, corn, beans, rice, and sour cream to the onions (I sprinkled a little of the cheese in, too). Heat through.
4) Remove pan from heat and add cilantro.
5) Stuff filling into pepper halves and arrange in a greased pan.
6) Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with foil.
7) Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until peppers are soft and cheese is melted. Remove foil for last ten minutes of baking.

*A cost-effective way to buy quality meat is through local farms, like this one. They only sell in bulk though, so I am always looking for people to split these shares with. Let me know if you’re interested.
**Green peppers are actually just red bell peppers that have been picked earlier, so they are less sweet and more tough. I don’t really care for them in this recipe, but that might just be a matter of personal preference.

Mexican Rice

I wouldn’t consider myself an overly enthusiastic lover of Mexican food, but the number of times that lonestar taqueria appears on my bank statement each month and the many combinations of beans, cheese, tortillas, and vegetables that regularly grace my dinner table would prove me wrong.

This rice is one of the staples in my Mexican food repertoire. I always make it to serve with enchiladas, since all that sauce is just begging to be sopped up by something. You could also serve it alongside tacos or inside one of those huge southwestern burritos. Possibilities are endless here, people.

Mexican Rice (from allrecipes.com)



½ small white or yellow onion, finely diced
About 1 tsp. oil (one turn of the pan)
3 oz. canned diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 ½ cups water
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt

1) In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and saute until translucent.

2) Pour the rice into the pan and stir to coat grains with oil. Mix in cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, salt and water.

3) Cover, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cook at a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until rice is done and liquid is absorbed.

Cafe Rio-ish Recipes

If someone were to write a book about Utah’s culinary history, I’m guessing there would be a whole chapter devoted to Café Rio. I can’t think of another restaurant that caused quite as big of a stir in the Salt Lake valley as this Southwestern eatery. And, judging from the array of knock-off recipes for Rio’s famous creamy tomatillo dressing or shredded chicken filling the pages of recipe blogs and local cookbooks, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery.

Below is my take on homemade Cafe Rio. This meal is perfect for serving at a large gathering or party because everything is simple to make and can be prepared in advance, plus you lay out the components and let guests assemble everything themselves so that you don’t have to deal with catering to the needs of picky eaters and the like.

I serve the following recipes with these accompaniments:

Tortillas (preferably the cook-and-serve kind)
Salsa or pico de gallo
Shredded romaine lettuce
Grated cheddar cheese
Sliced avocado or fresh guacamole
Black beans
Sour cream

Café Rio-style Pork

This pork doesn’t have the syrupy texture of Café Rio’s, but the flavor is really similar. I’ve had other recipes made with soda and all kinds of random ingredients, but I still like this simple one the best.

2 pound pork roast (I use tenderloin)
1 cup pace picante sauce or similar salsa (something runny, tomato based, and relatively free of chunks)
1 cup brown sugar

1) Mix brown sugar and salsa together and pour over roast.
2) Cook meat in a well-greased crockpot on low for ~5 hours, or until pork shreds easily*
3) Shred meat with two forks and mix with the rest of the sauce.

*The original recipe I was given says to cover the roast and bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours, but I’ve never tried this method so I can’t vouch for it.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

My approach to this recipe is pretty loose. Sometimes I use a whole bunch of cilantro, sometimes 3 tomatillos, etc. I just taste as I go and adjust to my liking- I suggest you do the same.

1 pkg Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch dressing mix*
1 cup Buttermilk
~3/4 cilantro bunch, chopped (I use the leaves only)
½-1 small jalapeno, seeds removed
1 cup mayonnaise (I use this homemade version)
1 tsp. lime juice
2 tomatillos
¼ tsp. minced garlic**

1) Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor
2) Refrigerate for at least one hour

*This stuff is expensive and contains MSG and other nasty chemicals, so I’ve been meaning to replace it with the dried herbs from this homemade ranch (minus the dill). If you try it, let me know how it goes.
** Most of these imitation dressings go way too heavy on the garlic. I’ve had a few where all I could taste was the garlic flavor and not the tomatillos. The original recipe I had called for one whole clove, and it was absolutely disgusting the first time I made it. So if I have one word of advice it’s this: go easy on the garlic! You can always add some more later if you feel it needs it, but remember that garlic gets more pungent as it sits so give the dressing some time in the fridge before you add more.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

If you want to make this closer to Cafe Rio's, try adding a small can of diced green chiles.

4 T butter
2 ½ cups white rice
4 ½ cups chicken broth (I sometimes use half broth, half water)
1 ½ tsp. salt
4 T lime juice
4 T chopped cilantro (I usually add more- I heart cilantro)
½ tsp. cumin

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook on normal setting OR
Combine all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer until rice is done.

Chicken Taco Soup

I was once looking through a cookbook by Ina Garten in which there was a recipe for chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and fresh basil. She described this dish as her “easy dinner”- what she makes on those nights that she doesn’t feel like cooking.

Can I even tell you how much I would like to live in a world where my “easy dinner” consisted of chicken with goat cheese and basil? Pretty sure if I ever made that for dinner Mike would run to the police reporting spousal abuse. And, as much as I like cooking, stuffing and baking chicken just doesn’t sound that appealing on nights when I feel like being lazy.

In this age of modern technology, my definition of an easy dinner is one that is ready right when you walk in the door from work, creates minimal dirty dishes, and is a complete meal in itself. The soup recipe below meets all those requirements, plus it is relatively healthy and uses simple ingredients. It requires some assembly in the morning, but all you have to do before eating is shred the chicken and grate some cheddar cheese. Perfect for those chilly nights you would rather spend curled up on the couch than standing over a hot stove.

Chicken Taco Soup
(Adapted from the original listing at allrecipes.com)

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans*, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 1/2 cups sweet frozen corn
8 ounces (1 cup) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I use the mild version of Rotel brand, but use the regular if you like a little more heat).
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I only use 2)
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

1) Place chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.
2) Cover and cook in slow cooker on low heat for 5 hours.
3) Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. (Since I work all day, I just put frozen chicken in the crock pot for about 8 hours, then shred it and let the soup cook for only as long as it takes to get the table set- I don’t think it makes a huge difference either way).

Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

*You want pinto beans in a spicy sauce, not a can of chili with ground beef in it. I only include this note because Mike has called me from the grocery store before to clarify this distinction.