I tossed this one together based on several recipes I found, and eventually made it my own. Black beans and rice is a common side dish in many Latin American and Caribbean cuisines, and goes with just about any main dish remotely resembling something from those areas.
I’ve spent considerable time in Colombia and my partner and oldest went on a mission trip to Belize a few years ago. This dish combines the best of the variations found in those regions.
This dish is also excellent leftover, if your tribe doesn’t devour all of it. Sometimes we double it and have it available for lunches and dinners for days.
The cayenne pepper is definitely optional. As my household has two who love spice and two who can’t handle any, I just have this on the side to sprinkle over my portion.
Want to really mix this up? Add a can of Ro-Tel when you add the beans! We’ve tried a can of original, mild and fire roasted, and they all came out wonderful. But it’s just as wonderful without it.
Black Beans and Rice Recipe
| Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice 1.5 cups broth (vegetable, chicken, beef all work, see which one tastes the best for you!) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed Juice of 1/2 lime Directions 1. Pour oil into a medium sized pot and heat over medium 2. Sauté onion and garlic until soft, about 3-4 minutes 3. Add rice and stir to coat, about 1 minute 4. Add broth and bring to a boil 5. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes 6. Uncover with heat still on, and add cumin, salt and cayenne pepper (if using), and stir to mix into cooked rice 7. Add black beans and squeeze in the lime juice, stir to mix until beans are heated |
Green Smoothie Recipe
Four years ago, my parents gave me a Vitamix 5200 immersion blender for Christmas. Only problem was, I lived in a studio apartment by myself. I tried using it, but grew frustrated by an inability to scale down for one person. I cried inside every time I dumped excess down the drain, because my stomach could not handle ingesting every thing in the blender.
So, the Vitamix ended up in a storage unit when I left the studio for a group house, and then to another studio.
Fast-forward to this year, when I combined forces with my partner and her two kids, aged 15 and 11. The Vitamix emerged from storage to fulfill its destiny.
The issues we needed to solve: I needed to eat healthier after years of bachelor living; my partner needed to eat healthier after years of working in a hospital, which anyone who works in a hospital knows, is sadly lacking in employee wellness. And finally, the somewhat picky kids needed more fruits and vegetables in their lives.
After a few weeks of experimenting with the thing, we came up with this green smoothie that is a hit with three of the four of us. The youngest one is still hung up on texture, but we’re working on it. The rest of us can’t get enough of this.
The fun thing about this one is you can mix up the ingredients based on what you have on hand. The only constant is the ice and either spinach or kale. It always comes out delicious!
Our favorite version is the base recipe below, with variations and substitutions listed. In the case of the grapes, pineapple and greens, we don’t bother measuring…we definitely grab handfuls and eyeball it! But 1 cup is a good reference point.
Green Smoothie Recipe
| Ingredients 1 cup seedless grapes (green grapes give it a cool bright green color, red grapes an olive green color…flavor is the same) 1 orange, peeled and halved (or two tangerines, peeled and halved) 1 banana, peeled 1 carrot, peeled, cut in half 1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple (can also use any frozen fruit medley you have in the freezer, such as pineapple/mango/strawberry, etc.) 2 cups chopped fresh kale or spinach 1 apple, cored, cut in quarters Handful of ice cubes Directions 1. Place the ingredients in the Vitamix in order listed. 2. Cover, set to Variable, Speed 1. 3. Turn on, and slowly move speed up to 10, before switching to high to finish the blend. Once blended, serve immediately or refrigerate. |
Like kale? Check out our braised kale and breakfast kale recipes!
Breakfast Kale Recipe
By now you know that we love kale. While kale makes an excellent dinner vegetable, did you know you can also eat it for breakfast or brunch?
This is a slightly more decadent, yet protein packed version of our braised kale recipe. We “brunch it up” with the addition of bacon and eggs, and a reduction of the broth.
After cracking the eggs onto the kale portions, cook at least until the whites are solid. After that, it’s up to your tastes on how done you like them. For less runny yolk, just leave in for a few more minutes.
The below recipe is for two; simply double it for a family of four.
Breakfast Bacon, Eggs & Kale Recipe
| Ingredients 2 slices of bacon 10 cups of fresh chopped kale 1/4 tsp garlic salt 1/2 cup chicken, beef or vegetable broth 2 eggs Smoked paprika Optional: grated parmesan or crumbled feta cheese Directions 1. Cook the bacon in a large, deep sauté pan until crisp; set aside to drain and cool. 2. Toss the kale in the pan with the bacon grease over medium heat until lightly coated, about 2-3 minutes. 3. Add the garlic salt and broth; stir to mix/coat, and cover. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. 4. Carefully separate the kale into separate, equal servings portions in the pan, and make a “nest” in the middle of each. 5. Crack an egg into each nest, and cover, simmering for about 5 additional minutes, or until the eggs have set to desired consistency. 6. Carefully remove the portions into serving bowls; top with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and if desired, parmesan or feta cheese. |
How to Braise Kale
Kale is a bountiful, nutritious and cheap leafy green, which, with the right preparation, is also delicious.
Kale is versatile, and can be consumed as a salad, in smoothies, soups and braised into tender, savory goodness.
We eat this year-round, but braised kale is especially hearty on a cool evening in the fall or winter. It pairs well with chicken and pork chops, and a glass of dry white wine. Personally, we’ve found it pairs especially well with this Moroccan Chicken dish, finding ourselves taking bites of the chicken, quinoa and kale at the same time for an indescribable explosion of flavor.
Braised Kale: Cooking Notes
The key to a good mess of braised kale for a family of four is starting with the a large, wide and deep sauté pan that has a lid. This is because kale, like most greens, wilts and shrinks as it cooks, so you want to make sure you have room to start with a full pan.
The recipe calls for 12 cups of chopped kale, but this is an estimation. We generally start by packing and filling the sauté pan to the brim. We usually end up using about 2/3 to 3/4 of a package of pre-chopped kale.
If you like your greens with a bit of vinegar flavor, feel free to toss a couple of quick splashes of red wine vinegar in at the end.
Braised Kale Recipe
| Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil At least 12 cups fresh chopped kale 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1 cup chicken or beef broth OR 1 bouillon cube in 1 cup water Splash of red wine vinegar (optional) Directions 1. Place olive oil in pan and heat over medium high heat 2. Once oil is heated, add kale and stir for about 2-3 minutes until lightly coated with olive oil 3. Add garlic powder, smoked paprika and broth, stirring to combine and coat the kale, about 2-3 minutes 4. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Braise for 10-12 minutes or until broth is mostly evaporated and absorbed, stirring occasionally. 5. If desired, splash a few drops of red wine vinegar over the cooked kale and stir. Serve immediately. |
While this is a great side vegetable for dinner, it can also make a nice hearty breakfast or brunch dish.
Speaking of breakfast, if you like kale, you’ll love this breakfast kale dish!
How to Stock Your Pantry With the Essentials
When my partner and I moved in together, we combined kitchens that were in disarray. I lived alone and was used to cooking for one, if I cooked at all. She had been in recovery from some medical issues, and relied on pre-packaged and frozen meals to hold over her tribe.
When I moved in, things changed. Not only was I another mouth to feed, but we decided that it was time to break the unhealthy habits of dining out and eating pre-packaged and frozen items. We also decided to make and stick to a budget with a goal of paying down debts that we both brought to the table.
So how do you combine eating healthier with a budget? Well, that’s what this site is all about! And for us, it started with stocking up on the essentials.
What are Pantry Essentials?
At first, we found ourselves running to the grocery store…a lot. We’d try to make something for ourselves and a hungry teenager and pre-teenager. But we often found we lacked something essential, such as flour, sugar, a vinegar, a spice. Eventually, we built up a collection.
After building a collection, we wanted to start planning meals around what we already had in order to save on grocery bills. But what were we still missing?
As we learned, a well-stocked pantry is a project with some up-front cost against your grocery budget, but with long-term benefits. Once your pantry is stocked with staples, your grocery budget goes down.
We used a list created by the folks over at Budget Bytes. Obviously, tailor this for your own needs. For example, we don’t bake, so we left off things like baking and cocoa powder, as well as any item that hit our allergy list.
Once stocked, the grocery bill went down because we were now buying mostly perishable and one-time use items. In addition, we could build our meal plans around the staples we already have, and plan to pick up staples when they are on sale.
Related: How to Build an Emergency Savings Account
How to Organize Your Pantry
- Pull everything out, and group any duplicates together
- Toss anything long-expired
- Donate anything not expired that you aren’t going to consume
- Where possible, combine any duplicates into either one original container or into larger containers.
- If possible, group your spice cabinet into categories so you can better find and take stock of what you need. We grouped together: dried herbs, ground savory spices (turmeric, cumin, etc.), ground sweet spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), salt-based seasonings (seasoned salt, Old Bay, etc.), salts, peppers, etc.
Speaking of turmeric and cumin, have you tried this Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken dish?
A good cabinet audit, update and organization will help prevent purchasing things you already have, and help you build meal plans around what you already have, thus saving in your grocery budget!