Black Bean Soup

As much as I love Thanksgiving, and all of the food that comes with it, it’s nice to change things up a little the week after.  After all of the rich food and dessert last week, something simple is just right this week. 

This also seems to be the time of year when things just keep getting busier, so easy meals are very welcome.  A Crock Pot meal that’s ready and waiting when I get home is perfect. 

I love this recipe for so many reasons.  First of all, it’s delicious.  It’s also very simple to put together in the morning before work, especially if you do the chopping the night before.  The beans don’t have to soak, so that’s one less step.  I think it’s reasonably healthy since it’s vegetarian, and doesn’t have packaged ingredients. 

Black Bean Soup:

16 oz. (1 pound) dried black beans
2 onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
½ cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp salt
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 ½ tsp cumin
½ tsp pepper
4 cloves garlic, pressed
10 cups water

Rinse beans, and place all ingredients in a large slow cooker.  Cover and cook on Low 9 - 10 hours. 

The soup is great on it’s own, but it’s also really good topped with diced onion, avocado, or salsa.  And it pairs well with cornbread. 

Chicken & Black Bean Tacos

Tacos are one of the go to foods in our house.  We both love them, they’re relatively inexpensive, we can each customize them to our liking (I’m all about the toppings, while Nick is more of a purist), and they’re kind of a no-brainer to make most of the time.

Don’t get me wrong, I like trying new recipes, and I definitely enjoy challenging myself in the kitchen.  Sometimes, though, between work schedules that are sometimes opposite, pets who seem to go to the vet a lot, and all of the random things that come up in life, I just want something easy.  Or better yet, something that’s easy, and pretty much ready to eat when we get home.  These chicken and black bean tacos fit the bill.

You’ll need two separate slow cookers for this recipe.  It may seem a bit odd to own two, but I promise it’s worth it.  You just can’t beat the convenience of having dinner cooked when you come home.  If you’re busy, or deal with conflicting schedules, it can make the difference between a home cooked meal and fast food.  We bought our second small Crock Pot about seven years ago, and it has been well worth the cabinet space.

Any color bell pepper is great in this.  I like to use one color in the beans, and a different color in the chicken.

The chicken and black beans freeze and re-heat well, so depending on how many people you’re cooking for, you can easily freeze part of this and have a night of not having to cook later on. They’re also great as nachos.  


Chicken & Black Bean Tacos:

Black Beans:
1 bag (16 oz.) black beans, rinsed
1 onion, very finely diced
1 bell pepper, very finely diced
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1/3 to ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
4 ½ cups water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker; stir; cover, and cook on Low for 6 – 7 hours.


Chicken:
2 - 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp pepper
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 ½ cups water

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker; place onion and pepper over chicken. Add taco seasoning and spices; add water, and stir together. Cover and cook on Low for 5 – 6 hours. Shred with fork and stir together in sauce.

Spoon chicken and beans into taco shells; top as desired with lettuce, cheese, onion, avocado, etc.

Enjoy!

Italian Black Bean Wraps

It seems that most wraps are kind of southwestern/Mexican style, which is great.  We eat a lot of that kind of food, and really enjoy it.  However, we also love Italian food, so I thought it would be nice to come up with a recipe for some Italian themed wraps. 

These are really, really good.  They’re vegetarian, fairly inexpensive to make, and re-heat very well.  The recipe seems a little time consuming, but the slow cooker does the cooking while you’re away.  You also end up with enough beans leftover to make it a couple more times (which you’ll definitely want to do).

For the beans:

1 pound dry black beans, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

7 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped

1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

¼ tsp pepper

2 tsp salt

6.5 cups water

Combine all ingredients and place in a large slow cooker, cover, and cook on Low for seven hours.

For the wraps:

8 burrito size wraps/tortillas (I used the Xtreme WellnessTomato Basil Wraps. They’re really good, and they don’t have soy.  They do seem to be a little sticky, so your wraps will be a little harder to roll up if you use this kind.  You can use any kind, but I’d suggest a flavored wrap.)

1 cup orzo, cooked according to package instructions

2 oz cream cheese

1 cup spaghetti/tomato sauce

2 cups baby spinach, torn into small pieces

2 cups black beans (don’t drain them)

¾ cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Place cream cheese in a large glass bowl, and melt in the microwave.  Combine tomato sauce with melted cream cheese.  Stir in spinach and orzo.  Stir in black beans.  Divide mixture among tortillas, roll them up, place in two 9x13 baking dishes, and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

You will have four cups of black beans left.  Divide them into two freezer bags (2 cups each) and freeze for later.  Black beans freeze and defrost really well, so you’ll be able to make two more batches of this recipe.