wow, it's SO january right now, isn't it? so far, i'm doing okay, but i imagine the tantrums will begin soon. today there is a tiny bit of brightness that i am choosing to call sun peaking out. that will help.
anyway, i thought i would blog about beans today. not sure how most of you feel about beans! when i was a kid, nothing could make me gag more than thinking about having to eat a lima bean. or a red bean in chili. i used to fish them out and push them to the side of the bowl, because they were just gritty and weird. i did eat navy bean soup, probably because my mom cooked the daylights out of the beans, which made them not quite discernible.
these days, i still don't eat alot of beans. i like refried beans on occasion, with lots and lots of cheese, which probably cancels out their health benefits.
the one, ONE bean that wins my vote, though, is black beans. black beans are yummy. in the summer, i make a lovely bean/corn salad that i have blogged about before, i think.
last night, i made this recipe for black bean chowder. i got home, and did not feel like making dinner. however, this took about 5 minutes to throw together, and about 30 minutes to simmer. EASY!
i actually did not have chicken on hand, but i had some frozen shrimp. so i threw that in at the end. it was fabulous. but i'm sure if you skipped the shrimp and added chicken, that would be good, too. oh. and i put some cumin in. because black beans and cumin are yum-o together. oh. and i added some chopped green/red peppers instead of the jalapeno, because that is what i had.
so, feel free to adjust it a bit to your family. i swear, it is the kind of thing that can make you change your mind about beans :)
Black Bean Chowder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic, mashed
2 14-oz. cans black beans
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 pound cooked shrimp, cut into bite-size pieces
In a large soup pot, saute the jalapeno pepper, onion, and carrot in the oil for ten minutes or so until soft. Add dried spices and garlic and saute for another minute. Add black beans and chicken stock and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add chicken and corn and heat through, then add shrimp and heat that through, too. Season with salt and lots of pepper and serve.
8 comments:
That looks wonderful! I think it would be a great vegetarian soup, too. We're having Moroccan lentil stew over here tonight.
ps Lima beans are nasty, right up (down) there with black-eyed peas. Gag.
omygosh! i have never had a black-eyed pea ;)) he he. good to know that i don't want one.
Oh, black eyed peas are good if marinated and mixed with all sorts of other raw veggies in a "can't really decide if this is a salad or chunky salsa" sort of thing.
I'll give you the recipe if you want to try...
That recipe looks good, I think I'll put it on my menu for next week!
I love black beans. Give me black, pinto, or red beans (NOT kidney beans because Mike detests them) and I can cook up a whole slew of recipes. Last summer I found a really good recipe for black bean/zucchini quesadillas.
rea, it is very flavorful!!! i will probably cook the black beans from dried next time, but the canned ones were FAST.
i will ask for the quesadilla recipe when it's zucchini season :)
kristi! send the recipe! i'm up for trying something ONCE.
AAAACCCCKKKKK. I swear my mother would boil BEPs and then just scoop them onto my plate. No butter, no nothin'. Yuck.
The Moroccan lentils were outstanding, even the teenagers had seconds. They had theirs over rice, but I just dished up a bowl and went to town.
i hate it when you guys talk about cooking. ho-hum.
new post, buddy.
My feelings exactly. I hated beans and dug them out too. I LOVE black beans A LOT, houever, I am not a fan of progresso soup. It is bland and tasteless. Yours sounds MUCH MUCH better! K~
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