Black Beans & Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa

This is another recipe from Our Best Bites that we have fallen in love with.  [By the way, have you noticed a theme lately? We eat tons of Mexican and like-Mexican food in our house :) ]  On the first day, we eat it as specified in the recipe.  The second day, it's tasty like that, but we also really like to mix all the leftovers up in a big bowl, scoop it out onto a tortilla, squeeze some lime on top, and eat it like a burrito.  Very tasty and healthy, too!  


By the way - the apple salsa? Trust me.  DE-licious.


Yield: A lot. Around 6 servings.

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
2 limes
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons coriander (**I've never included this before.)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 13.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice (**We've found it's tastier with brown.)
1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 grilled chicken breasts (**We use less than this - about half as much chicken as if we were each just eating a chicken breast - and usually have extra.)
1 lime wedge per person

Combine apple, cilantro, 2 tablespoons onion, and the juice from half a lime.  Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and black pepper.  Set aside.

Combine remaining onion, bell pepper, and oil in a large skillet.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until completely softened, 6-7 minutes.  Add garlic and next 3 ingredients; stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; simmer briskly, mashing some of hte beans with the back of a spoon and stirring often, until sauce is thickened, 8-10 minutes (or longer if needed).  Season with salt and pepper to taste and a big squeeze of lime juice.  Divide rice and beans among plates.  Top with some chicken and apple salsa.  Garnish with additional cilantro and lime wedges. 

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Black Bean Soup

I do not claim this recipe as my own, but I will call it a "family" recipe - We love it so much it's a regular in our house.  We like it best with a little bit of sour cream on top and tortillas to dip in it.  And just so you know, it tastes about a million times better than it looks. :)


(from Our Best Bites)

1 T olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)

3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 3.5oz can green chilies

2 cans low-sodium beef broth

1 t kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dry oregano leaves

1 bay leaf

Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, tortillas, etc.

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat.  When pan is warm, add olive oil.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

2. Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

3. Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

4. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup. 

5. Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step.) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters. 

6. Puree soup until completely smooth.  Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.

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Lime Chicken Burritos of Deliciousness and Love

(named by Joel)

These tacos are so yummy!  Joel asks for it days in a row, even.  I made it up as I went, so the measurements aren't exact.  I did make it with you all in mind, though, so I tried hard to pay attention to how much of everything I added :)

(inspiration from tasteofhome.com)
Makes about 5 servings

4 chicken tenders
1 packet TrueLime (equal to the juice of about one lime wedge)
1/2 T chili powder
3-4 soup spoons full of canned corn
3 soup spoons full of black beans
3/4 cup chunky salsa
tortillas, warmed on the stove fire
Sour cream, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and shredded lettuce, optional
Extra lime wedges, optional

Boil chicken tenders in water until cooked.  Drain all but 1-2 T of the boiling water.  Shred chicken.  Add chili powder, TrueLime or lime juice, beans, corn, and salsa.  Boil until some of the moisture evaporates so it's not too liquidy in the tortilla.  Warm tortillas on the stove fire.  Put cheese on a tortilla and top with chicken mixture and sour cream/lettuce/tomatoes/your favorite toppings.  Yum!

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Tortillas warmed on the stove fire

When Joel and I eat burritos, we like to warm our tortillas in the microwave.  However, when I was in Mexico and would eat tortillas with every single meal, I learned a new trick from my mamita.  For those of you with gas stoves, lay your tortilla on the stove and then turn it on.  Flip every 10 seconds or so and continue until each side is as warm and toasty as you like it.

I love this way of warming tortillas because they don't get all limp and soggy like occasionally happens in the microwave.  Also, if you like a little blackness like I do, it adds a very tasty smokey flavor to the tortilla.  Enjoy!

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Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops

I have no idea where I found this recipe, but I first tried it because it was advertised as a 30-minute meal.  It really does only take about 30 minutes! so it stuck in the rotation and has become a favorite at our house.  It's definitely one of Joel's favorite things to have for dinner.  Best served with rice.  This is the original recipe - look at the end to see my personal notes.

Prep/Total time: 25-30 minutes

4 boneless pork chops (**can use ribs)
2 T butter, divided
3 T brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg  (**can be replaced by a dash or two of allspice)
1/4 t salt
4 medium Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
optional: 2 T chopped pecans

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook pork chops in 1 T butter for 4-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.  You may be tempted to check the pork more often than this - don't do it! If you leave them for this amount of time on each side, they will develop a tasty golden brown crunchiness.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Remove pork chops and keep warm.  Add the apples, pecans, brown sugar mixture and remaining butter to the pan; cook and stir until apples are tender.  Serve with chops.

Notes:
- I usually take the pork chops out of the pan and put them on a plate (not paper or it will absorb the juices!) until the apple mixture is almost ready.  I then add them and their juices back to the pan to reheat and absorb some of the apple flavor until the apples are done.
- We love the sauce so we often double it for the four apples.  The sauce gets sticky so I often use a tablespoon or two of water to get it the texture we like it.
- If you're using ribs and think it'd be a good idea to cook them in the crockpot to get them nice and tender, don't do it!  The tastes of the pork and the sauce do not meld well together at all if you do.  If you decide to remedy that by adding applesauce to the crockpot with the ribs, especially don't do it!  Trust me.

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Pumpkin Waffles

I have had people ask for several recipes lately, so I thought it'd be easier to post them now and add pictures when I make them.  Enjoy!




2 c flour

3 T brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c milk

1 c canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 T oil

2 T vinegar

Add all ingredients together.  Cook in a waffle iron.  I usually cook waffles until around the time steam stops coming out the sides of my waffle iron.  However, since these waffles have pumpkin and are so moist, I've found they cook a little longer and let out more steam than regular waffles.  

Notes: 

1. This recipe can also be cooked as pancakes and is delicious.  It actually was originally a pancake recipe.

2. Depending on how sweet you like your waffles/pancakes, these would also be tasty with chocolate chips!

3. My all-time favorite way to eat these waffles is topped with the Absolute Tastiest Syrup Of All Time.  It gives a deliciousness you would not believe! and isn't unbearably sweet, either.  

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