Beans — Cooking During Stolen Moments

Tex Mex Pork & Beans

July 25, 2010 By Kate 1 Comment

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Even though we are all big fans of bean-based meals, they’ve kind of fallen out of our regular rotation. I think I have a tendency to really latch onto what we are all enjoying at the moment and make it so often that we all just get tired of it. It’s definitely not the smartest move and you’d think I’d pay attention to that repeating cycle a little more closely so that I could avoid it again. You’d think…but you’d be wrong! What can I say? Sometimes it’s just easy to get in a rut and stay there.

Anyhow, back to the beans. We’ve done without them as part of our main dish for long enough now that everyone was excited when I told them about the dinner I was planning. I do feel very fortunate to have a family that gets excited over such simple and frugal meals!

This Tex Mex Pork & Beans was just bursting with flavor. The spices were a good combination, but I think what threw it over the top was simmering the pork with beans and sauce all day. It definitely gave the whole dish a rich and developed flavor. Plus, since this dish needs to simmer all day, it’s perfectly stolen moments friendly and allowed me to spend the day outside with the kiddos.

Tex Mex Pork & Beans

1 T. oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1 1/2 c. fully cooked black beans (or 1 can, rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 c. fully cooked chick peas (or 1 can, rinsed and drained)
1 lb. pork, any cut will work (I used 2 large bone-in pork chops that I had leftover in the freezer)
1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. beef stock
1 T. chili powder
2 t. cumin
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
Cheese for garnish, optional

1. Heat oil in a stock pot or large sauce pan. Add onion and green pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook an additional 3 minutes. Pour beans into pan then add pork. Pour tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef stock on top. Carefully stir in the seasonings.

2. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer at least 4 hours (or really, as long as you want. Mine simmered about 7 hours.)

3. Shortly before serving, remove pork and let cool. Shred or cut into cubes and return to the pan. Stir over medium-high heat at a slow boil for about 10 minutes, until sauce thickens to desired consistency.

4. Serve over rice, in a tortilla or with tortilla chips. Garnish with cheese, if desired.

I think this could be made quite successfully in a crock pot also. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it works for you! Also, you could definitely swap out the beans for your favorites.

Stop by $5 Dinners for the $5 Dinner Challenge.

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Mexican Black Beans

May 16, 2010 By Kate 9 Comments

We don’t go out to eat very often, but when we do, a Mexican restaurant is always on our short list of places we really want to go. One of our favorite places serves a family-style bowl of black beans with all of our meals. We all really enjoy those, but they are a bit too bland for our tastes.

So tonight when tacos were on the menu at our house, I decided to try re-creating those black beans while adding some more flavor and texture. My husband and I were especially pleased with how they turned out. I think these beans will be on my very short list of what to serve with tacos for a long time to come.

Mexican Black Beans

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 c. black beans, fully cooked from dry beans)
1/2 c. frozen corn
1/4 c. diced red bell peppers
1/2 c. beef or chicken stock/broth
1 1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
Salt, to taste
2 T. minced cilantro

1. Combine black beans, corn and red bell peppers in a skillet. Add stock/broth, cumin, garlic powder and salt to taste.

2. Bring liquid to a boil and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat, adjust salt if needed and stir in cilantro.

One of my favorite things with this dish is that it tastes great warm, but it tastes equally as good cold. So, feel free to serve it however you’d like.

And since I’m always trying to come up the perfect side dish for tacos, I’d love to hear what you usually serve with them.

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5 Layer Chicken Enchiladas

March 19, 2010 By Kate 7 Comments

I love all the endless possibilities of enchiladas and burritos. There are so many options for fillings and overall, they all work great. I rarely make the exact same type more than once. It’s just too fun to play around with them.

I thought these 5 Layer Chicken Enchiladas turned out great. They were so filling and tasty. My husband and I loved them and our oldest asked for seconds. The three youngest thought they were a little too spicy, but they still ate a good portion. Actually, I thought the spiciness was very mild, but you can easily adjust the amount of green chilies to your family’s liking.

5 Layer Chicken Enchiladas

1/2 lb. chicken breasts (or any other type of chicken you prefer)
1 1/2 c. chicken stock or broth
1/2 t. cumin
3 T. flour
1 T. water
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
1 1/2 c. rice
1 1/2 c. or 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn
1 c. shredded cheese
6-8 tortillas
1 can green enchilada sauce

1. Place chicken in a large skillet. Add chicken broth and cumin. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer until chicken is fully cooked, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Shred once cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, stir flour and water together. Slowly whisk into the skillet. Bring chicken stock back to a boil and boil about 5 minutes, until thickened. Stir chilies into the liquid then stir the shredded back in. Cool.

3. Assemble the enchiladas assembly line style. Start with the rice slightly off center of each tortilla. Top rice with chicken mixture, then beans, then corn and finally some shredded cheese.