Experimental Cooking: Black Beans and Veggies

Finally, a cooking post with a picture! This is a pot full of the start of black beans and veggies, which is a great meal that cooks up a large amount, and works perfectly as leftovers. This is what I make for lunch pretty much every week for the hubbie and I, cooking it in a large batch on Sunday afternoon (sometimes for Sunday dinner too), and then portioning it out for our lunches to take with us to work.

Black Beans and Veggies (8-10 servings)

• 3 cans black beans, rinsed thoroughly
  
• 2 Roma tomatoes, cut into bite sized chunks or smaller
  
• 3-5 mini bell peppers OR 1-2 regular sized bell peppers, cut into bite sized chunks or smaller
  
• 1 cup frozen corn
  
• 1/4 onion, diced (usually a Vidalia onion)
  
• 2 cups water
  
• 2 tbsp Taco Seasoning

Mix all of the ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Serve with rice. Add salsa and shredded "Mexican" cheese if you like.

Commentary: This stuff smells AMAZING while it cooks, and it tastes great too. Rinsing the black beans helps cut down the sodium content that canned beans tend to have.

Variations: I have a lot of suggestions for this one:

• If you aren't opposed to raw veggies, just put the onion and corn in while the beans are cooking, and save the tomatoes and peppers to be tossed on the top. My hubbie doesn't like raw tomatoes or peppers, so I cook them with the rest.
  
• If you're a meat eater, you could add some taco meat or spicy sausage to this. Cook the meat separately, and then add it when you serve up the finished meal. We found a nice spicy chicken sausage at Trader Joe's that is delicious with this recipe.
  
• The recipe itself is vegan and super low fat, but then we toss cheese on it, which changes both of those factors. I suspect it would taste just fine without the cheese, or with a vegan or low-fat cheese.
  
• If you don't have my version of Taco Seasoning on hand, you can definitely substitute store-bought taco seasoning. You'll have to experiment with how much to add, but I'd guess about half a packet would do.
  

Experimental Cooking: Taco Seasoning

Taco seasoning is great for dishes other than tacos. It's an essential part of the lunches that I make for us just about every week. But I don't like buying pre-packaged taco seasoning, because it's filled with sodium and preservatives. Instead, I've started making my own taco seasoning. I mix up a decently large batch of it and store it in a plastic container in the cupboard, so it's always easy to scoop out a couple of tablespoons when I need it. I even have measurements for this one (though they are approximate).

Taco Seasoning

• 1 Tbsp chili powder
  
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  
• 1/2 Tbsp dried onion
  
• 1/4 Tbsp cilantro (optional)
  
• sprinkle of garlic powder
  
• sprinkle of cayenne pepper
  
• sprinkle of ground sea salt

Mix all ingredients in a plastic container with a snugly fitting lid. Keep in a dry cupboard. Use a couple of tablespoons to season main dishes.

Commentary: Yup, it really is that easy. It doesn't taste quite the same as packaged taco seasoning, but all of the essential elements are there. You can, of course, increase the quantity that you're making (I normally do). Just use the recipe to get the proportions: 4 parts chili powder and cumin, to 2 parts dried onion, to 1 part cilantro.

Variations: The cilantro is optional because I know a number of people who think cilantro tastes like soap. The hubbie and I do not, so we use it. :) I have also been known to put a dash of cinnamon in the mix, because we regularly use this with black beans (recipe coming soon), and black beans with cinnamon is surprisingly good!

Om nom nom...

One of my favorite dishes in the world is Shepherd's Pie. Unfortunately, Jeremy isn't fond of cream of mushroom soup, but I have managed to replace it with cream of celery soup successfully. (He grew up eating cream of mushroom soup on EVERYTHING, thanks to his grandmother. He just can't take it any more! :) )

The best part about Shepherd's Pie, though, isn't eating it fresh out of the oven. It's always way too hot, and it falls apart. The best part is letting it cool, completely, before you even try to cut it. Then it holds together in an appropriate pie shape (okay, more like a loaf shape, because I make mine in a Pyrex loaf pan), and it is wonderful reheated.

So that's what I did last night. Broke out all of the pots and pans it takes to make this meal, cooked it, let it cool for a bit out of the oven, and then plopped it into the fridge, not to be cut till this morning. And now I've got lunch for the rest of the week, and dinner for tomorrow night (when we need something quick and easy). Hurrah! :)

My recipe is:

1 lb ground beef
2 packages (the entire box) of instant mashed potatoes (or approximately 8 servings, if you have a big box of potato flakes)
1 can of cream of SOMETHING soup (the original was with mushroom, now it's celery, though I was tempted to try cream of chicken this time)
1/2 to 3/4 of a can of mixed peas and carrots (if you can find the short can, that's the right amount, otherwise just guess)
shredded cheese (I use something cheddar-y, but any cheese will do, really)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Don't drain the grease from it.
Cook the potatoes as directed on the box. You want thicker potatoes, so let them stand if you have to.
Mix the can of soup and veggies together, and DO NOT add the milk to the soup. You want it good and thick.

Then layer in a loaf pan (from bottom to top):
potatoes
meat
soup
potatoes
meat
soup
potatoes
cheese

Put the loaf pan in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the grease is bubbling, and the cheese on the top starts to brown. Yeah, the grease bubbling part is kind of gross, but it helps to hold this meal together.

This makes about 6 servings for me, but I cut my slices pretty thick, so you could probably get 8 servings out of it if you are more moderate with your slicing.

This meal is extra tasty when it's cold outside, but I like it year round! :)

Pyrex Crazy Daisy Bread Loaf Baking Ovenware from Good Pickins