Spanish White Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

This was a new recipe for me.  I found it on Epicurious.com.  It looked easy and healthy and made my mouth water when I ready the ingredients, so I decided to give it a try.  

I LOVE Epicurious, by the way.  Whenever I want to try something fun and new I know I can find it there!

I'm not really sure if this is supposed to be a side dish or main course.  I'm thinking probably side dish. It would make a beautiful side dish.  But this time we used it as a weeknight main course.  We ladled it into some huge soup bowls like you would chili, and then we scarfed it right down.  And licked our lips.  

Really, really good.

There is a lot of spinach in this recipe but it doesn't have a heavy spinach flavor.  Most of the jazz (there is a lot of jazz in this dish) comes from the sun-dried tomatoes.  I'm in love!

Spanish White Beans 

with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
  
• 2 (19-ounces cans) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup water
• 2 (10-ounces) bags spinach, tough stems removed

Cook onion and sun-dried tomatoes in 1/4 cup oil with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a 5- to 6-qt pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute. 

Stir in beans, water, spinach, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with pepper and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoon oil. 

Crispy Black Bean & Feta Tacos with Cabbage Confetti

Epicurious calls this Crispy Black Bean & Feta Tacos with Cabbage Slaw but who wants to eat cabbage slaw?  It sounds gross.  The cabbage topping to these tacos is actually light and fresh and delicious.  I don't even usually like cabbage but I do love it with this.  The secret is the cilantro and fresh lime juice added.

It deserves a WAY more exciting name than slaw, so from now on it's confetti.  

I didn't plan on having two food posts in a row highlighting black beans...it just happened.  I guess I'm sort of on a black bean kick right now.

This is one of our staple dinner recipes.  We are meat lovers but we don't miss it at all in these tacos.  The cumin with the beans makes them pop...then add the feta, confetti and green Tabasco and...shazam!

Party in my mouth. :) 

  

Crispy Black Bean & Feta Tacos 

with Cabbage Confetti

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch of salt 
• A few shakes of red pepper flakes
• 4-5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 cups coleslaw mix
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 corn or flour tortillas
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce (we recommend green Tabasco)

Place beans, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat.

Heat 2 teaspoons* olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture and sprinkle some feta onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Top tacos with cabbage confetti.  Pass hot sauce alongside.

*The original recipe said 3 teaspoons, we like it better with two.  Three makes the tacos a little more crispy, but also a little more greasy.  Either way, briefly set finished tacos on paper towel to remove any excess grease.

Serves 2.

Countdown to SAN DIEGO: 4 days!

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Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash

Happy Friday! 

It's lunch time...and the perfect time for some (leftover) black bean & butternut squash chili! 

We made it earlier this week and it was a hit.  We kept going back to the stove to spoon "just a little more" into our bowls.  It's addicting. The squash makes this chili different and also a little sweet, yum!  We'll definitely be making it again. Just don't wait till the last minute to put it together because it needs to simmer for several hours.

I found the recipe on my friend Kim's blog, check it out here! 

 

 

  Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash

• 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 14.5-ounce cans fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 pound dried black beans, rinsed
• 2 chipotle chiles from canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced*
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• Coarse kosher salt
• 1 2 1/4-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking bulgur**

Top with:

• Sour cream
• Coarsely grated hot pepper
• Monterey jack cheese
• Diced red onion chopped
• Fresh cilantro
• Pickled jalapeño rings

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft and beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Sprinkle chili powder and coriander over; stir 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes with juice, beans, chipotles, and oregano. Add 10 cups water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer until beans are tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (time will vary depending on freshness of beans). Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

Stir squash and bulgur into chili. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until squash and bulgur are tender, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide chili among bowls. Serve with sour cream, cheese, red onion, cilantro, and pickled jalapeño rings.

*I just used canned green chiles
**Or any grain...baby barley cereal works great! :)

Don't forget Mom's cornbread to serve with it!

And...just a word to the wise...be careful chopping the squash, especially if your knives are as dull as ours.  I won't post the photo of my poor sliced little thumb on this food blog post (yes I did take a photo).  Just take my word for it, it wasn't pretty!

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes & Paprika

We just had a gorgeous weekend in Dallas.  70 degrees, sunny...  Those ice days we had a couple of weeks ago?  They're just a distant memory. 

We've moved on, people.  It's time to GRILL.

Or rather, it would be time to grill, if our courtyard didn't presently look like this:

Our apartment building has been under some heavy duty construction for almost a year.  

When we brought Knox home from the hospital in August it was to a serene, peaceful apartment where the only sounds outside our windows were those of crickets chirping, drills screeching, bricks and concrete falling, cranes lifting, hammers pounding, and workmen shouting.  This kid ought to be able to sleep through anything.

The workers are almost done now (thankfully!), but not quite.  The courtyard and pool area (where the grills used to be) is still "out of order."

Since we wanted to grill this weekend, and couldn't, I pulled out this flavorful chicken recipe instead.  I discovered it about a year ago at Epicurious.com.  It satisfied our hankering for some good meat and helped us forget (for one night at least) our present no-grill status.  

This chicken recipe is easy enough for a weeknight meal but tasty (and pretty!) enough for a dinner party. 

 

  Roasted Chicken Breasts with 

Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes & Paprika

1/4 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1 Tbl. paprika

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

1/3 cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt (I have also used sour cream)

4 chicken breast halves 

1 (15-oz.) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

1 (12-oz.) container cherry tomatoes

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Preheat oven to 450.  Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl.  Pour 1 tsp. spiced oil mixture into small bowl; whisk in yogurt and set aside for sauce.  Place chicken on large rimmed baking sheet.  Rub 2 Tbl. spiced oil mixture over chicken.  Add beans, tomatoes and 1/2 cup cilantro to remaining spiced oil mixture; toss to coat.  Pour bean mixture around chicken.  Sprinkle everything generously with salt and pepper.

Roast until chicken is cooked through, 20-30 minutes.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cilantro.  Transfer chicken to plates.  Spoon bean mixture over top.  Serve with yogurt sauce.

J&L's Favorite Chili

The greatest thing about this recipe (besides the fact that it is the tastiest chili we've ever made) is that the hardest part of making it is opening all these cans!

 There are two secret ingredients that make this chili so good...and so easy.  Ssshhh!

 J&L's Favorite Chili

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans pinto beans (with juice)

1 can kidney beans (with juice)

3 cans diced tomatoes (with juice)

1 can whole kernel corn (with juice)

1 to 2 cans green chiles, to taste

1/3-1/2 cup green olives, drained and chopped (sometimes we add a few black olives, as well)

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 pkg dry Ranch dressing mix

1 (or more) bunch chopped green onions 

Salt (and/or garlic salt), to taste

Combine beef, onions and garlic in a large pot and sautee until beef is fully cooked.  Dump in everything else!

ATTENTION ALL OLIVE HATERS:

Please don't leave them out!!  Just chop them small!  I promise...you won't even notice they're there but they'll add great flavor you don't want to miss.

We like it HOT.  We usually add two full cans of green chiles.  Unfortunately, Knox does not appreciate it when I eat spicy foods :( so at this particular stage of life we have to settle for a measly 1-2 tablespoons.

Does anyone else like to "snip" their green onions?

Or make a heart out of their chopped onions?  Okay maybe this is taking the chili photo shoot a little too far.

Don't forget to top this with your favorite chili toppings...sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado slices, more green onions, shredded cheese...

May we recommend Vermont white cheddar?

Enjoy!

P.S. Certain husbands might want you to add hominy to this chili, and run to the store at the last minute to pick some up.  And beware...they might come home with a can that is almost as big as the soup pot!  In our refrigerator we now have enough hominy to last a lifetime.  If anyone has any great hominy recipes please let me know. :)