Pepper and Black Bean Filling

All the peppers and Onions

This is my go-to meal when I am by myself or don't feel like doing a lot of cooking. Mexican is probably my favorite cuisine and this is a mexican-ish tasting filling that works for pretty much anything. I use them as a filling for a quick burrito, sprinkle them on top of nachos along with other toppings, in quesadillas...you see where I am going with this.

Nachos!

I can make this in about 20 minutes and have enough to use for several days (if it is just me eating it). I never get tired of eating it either, yesterday I had a burritos filled with these beans and today I had nachos.

Enjoy!

Pepper and Black Bean Filling
2 15 oz cans Black Beans
1 Onion chopped
1 Orange Bell Pepper diced
1 Poblano Pepper diced
1 Red Chili Pepper diced
3/4 cup Frozen Corn
Oil
To taste:
Salt
Pepper
Chili Powder
Cumin
Coriander
Cheese
Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and saute onions, bell pepper, poblano pepper, and chili pepper until browning then add in the corn, black beans and spices and cook on medium low for about 10 minutes; sprinkle with cheese and continue to heat until melted then take off of heat. Wrap these beans in a tortilla, sprinkle over nachos, or whatever you want to do.

Balti Mixed Vegetables

Tasty healthiness!

These mixed vegetables are based on a recipe from my trusty Indian cookbook, Complete Indian Cooking, and they are the best. If you add in a can of chick peas this could easily be made into a main dish. This is not a spicy recipe, the flavors are actually pretty mild, more on the savory and slightly sour side from the lemon.

I like to make these when I have some veggies I need to use up and am short on time. Also, if I am running low on cash this is a pretty cheap meal and works quite well using frozen vegetables or fresh ones. And this is a very healthy recipe, that, with the addition of chick peas, is filling as well.

Spices all blended together

Enjoy!

Balti Mixed Vegetables
1 Onion diced
1 tablespoon minced Garlic
1 1/2 inch long piece Ginger chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Coriander
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
2 teaspoons Curry Powder
1 1/2 lb (approx) Vegetables (I used Zucchini, Squash, Potatoes, Carrots, and Green Peas) chopped in small pieces 
2-3 Tomatoes diced
4 tablespoons Lemon Juice
Oil
Heat large frying pan with a little oil on medium heat; once pan has heated put in onions and saute for a few minutes then add in the garlic, ginger, spices, and chopped up vegetables; saute for about 2 minutes then add in the tomatoes and lemon juice and cook covered on medium-low for about 15 more minutes until vegetables are tender but not mushy. (I had to transfer everything into a pot once I had sauteed it for a few minutes because my skillet wasn't big enough). Serves 4-6 depending on whether you make it a main dish or not.

Simple Moong Dal with Plantains

My partner is a huge fan of dal but until today I hadn't actually made it before; however, I had a bag of dal on hand and the bf decided today was the day to make some dal. (Our plans to bike 40 miles never materialized because it rained all day, so cooking seemed like a good substitute). He found this recipe from Group Recipes for dal and we decided to make that (with a few modifications). This dal is absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making it again. Also, it is quite healthy and sure to please everyone, even vegans. :)

Enjoy!

Simple Moong Dal with Plantains
5 cups Moong Dal rinsed and drained (or other type of dal, whatever you have on hand)
12 cups or more Water
5-8 Tomatoes diced (can used canned if you want)
3 Onions chopped fine
3-4 tablespoons minced Garlic
4 teaspoons Coriander
3-4 teaspoons Turmeric
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons Cayenne
3-4 teaspoons Cumin
4 teaspoons Salt (at least)
Olive oil
2 Plantains optional
Put dal and water into a very large pot with the diced tomatoes and salt and cook (covered) on high until boiling then reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered. Meanwhile in a frying pan heat olive oil and add in the onions and garlic, cook until the onions are beginning to get translucent then add in all of the spices, continue to fry for a few more minutes then add the onion mixture to the dal. If desired slice up 2 plantains into half inch pieces and fry on medium-high heat until browned on both sides and add to the dal. Continue cooking dal on medium stirring about every 5-10 minutes until dal has started to break up and form a thick soup. Once the dal has reached the desired thickness turn off heat and serve. FYI, it takes about 40-60 minutes for the dal to cook down. This makes a huge pot of dal, probably at least 15 servings. Calorie count for the entire pot approx: 5446 (about 360 calories per serving)

Beans are Awesome

So, I would just like to write a quick interlude about beans. I make them all the time but I never seem to get a picture of them or the random recipes I make using them, hence putting off a post on beans, but I figure "what the hell," I will write about them anyway. I pretty much stick to making black beans because they go in almost anything (I think). I soak them all night because in my experience they still take a good 6 or more hours to cook completely, which means I have to be home or make them in a crock pot and I don't currently have a crock pot. Buying and cooking dried beans make sense to me because it is a lot cheaper and more efficient than canned beans. Anyway, while I am simmering the beans (never boil them too harshly because you end up having to add too much water, for no real reason) I usually add in a generous amount of chopped garlic as well as cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and pepper - also, sometimes a splash of olive oil. The last batch of bean I made I used coriander for the first time because I read this article in the Washington Post about how well coriander and cumin go together - the author was correct, together they add a wonderful savory flavor to foods.

Black Bean Soup

Once the black beans are done (they should be soft and the bean broth should be viscus), I usually made an assortment of casseroles and nacho like dishes with them. The casseroles are usually layers of beans and sautéed onions/peppers/garlic and sometimes tomatoes and/or corn layered with cheese and corn tortillas or chips, depending on what I have on hand. This time around I made a bean soup with carrots and turkey sausage that came out quite good and I served it with corn bread and sour cream. Here is a picture of it on the right.

Also, here is a basic recipe for the casserole I was talking about along with more info on how I make the beans.

Southwestern Black Bean and Rice Casserole

3 cups (approx) Seasoned Black Beans*

1-2 cups cooked rice (I used leftover rice from another meal)

1 Onion diced

½ lb. Turkey Sausage (optional)

1-2 teas. Coriander

Salt to taste

4 oz Habanera Cheddar Cheese grated

4 oz Pepper Jack Cheese grated

10-12 Corn Tortillas

Sauté diced onion and sausage in a frying pan on medium high until onion is browned and sausage is cooked through. Then add in the rice and coriander and sauté until rice has absorbed some flavor and has softened up (about 5 minutes). Mix rice mixture and beans together. Lay about 4 corn tortillas down into a lightly greased 13x9 inch pan and spoon on a layer of the bean and rice mixture and top with cheese. Repeat twice. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350°. Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

*I made a pot of seasoned black beans the day before to use for this. I soaked the beans overnight and then the next afternoon (when I got home from work) I drained them and started them cooking on medium heat. I put about 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic in them and about 2-3 teaspoons of cumin, a little cayenne pepper and salt and cooked them for about 4-8 hours until the beans were soft and there was a thick sauce from the beans cooking down.