Month: February 2012

Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It - this black bean soup is the perfect blend of spices, lime, and garlic. Everyone will love it!
Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups

Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It

Sarah

So there are some black bean soups that are good. There are others that are bad. Really, really bad. Well, maybe “bad” is more a matter of opinion, but bad in terms of being so spicy, thick, or gloopy [or all of the above] that the soup, if you can even call it that, is basically an inedible paste of nastyness. Mmm. Appetizing to ponder on a Friday, huh? Yeahhh. Well good news here, folks!

Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It - this black bean soup is the perfect blend of spices, lime, and garlic. Everyone will love it!This isn’t just any old black bean soup. This is Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It.

And boy… do I mean it.

Thick–but not too pasty. Eww, pasty. Chunky–but with a good mix of broth and texture. Spicy–but not run gasping to the fridge for milk out of control spicy. Full of veggies like onion and tomatoes and even spinach [hello spinach… you hid from Ben until his bowl was gone and then when I told him about you he was unaware… like, completely]–but yes, not too full of veggies that you forget it’s black bean soup. The black beans are still there, and serve as the perfect backdrop to a rich, garlic-y flavor to contrast with the spice. Finish each bowl off with a squeeze of lime juice and you have yourself a wonderful winner of a soup that is absolutely perfect in every way.

Perfect. And not too perfect. Wait… is there even such a thing? If this is any indication, Ben and I polished off the entire pot of this in one night, during an episode of Mad Men. Normally we’re all about the leftovers here for lunches, but this time there was no chance of leftovers. Not a one. So I guess it’s imperfection is that there was not enough. Be forewarned–next time this is on our menu, it will be in double batch form. Cause this is slurp-worthy delicious!

Happy Friday!

Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It

  • Servings: 4
  • Print

from You Can Trust a Skinny Cook by Allison Fishman

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 3 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained [from scratch or from 2 – 15 1/2 ounce cans], divided
  • 2 cups chicken broth, divided
  • 2 cups baby spinach, tightly packed
  • 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilis
  • cilantro, for serving
  • lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

In a medium pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook for a minute more until fragrant. Stir in cumin and chili powder and cook for another 30 seconds. Meanwhile, stir in 2 1/2 cups of black beans and 1 cup chicken broth. In a food processor, puree remaining 1 cup black beans, 1 cup chicken broth, and spinach until smooth. Pour into the soup pot, then add tomatoes and stir well. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

 

10 Minute Lunches, Main Dishes, Recipes, Sandwiches and Wraps

10 Minute Lunch #2: Avocado Egg Salad

Sarah

Judging my the comments and messages I’ve received regarding my first 10 Minute Lunch post about Fried Eggs on Pesto Parmesan Toast, it seems that there are lots of us who want quick, tasty, non-boring lunches. Some need packable lunches, others, not so much. My latest take on egg salad [and I just realized as I typed ‘egg’ that this is the second 10 Minute Lunch that features eggs… totally unintentional] is packable but of course can also be enjoyed at home. I was inspired to try Avocado Egg Salad by a post on We Are Not Martha, but was a) too lazy and rushed to look up the recipe as I was making my lunch right before I needed to leave and b) had a slight recollection that their recipe called for many more eggs than I had hard boiled the night before. So, alas–I just took the idea and ran with it.

Avocado Egg Salad is like regular egg salad… but it’s not. It’s creamier and smoother thanks to the avocado [duh] but still has a bit of tang from the mayo. I want to try it with Greek yogurt instead of mayo, but I didn’t have any plain on hand at the time. Unlike other egg salads, this one doesn’t incorporate tons of herbs or spices, just a sprinkling of lemon pepper for a little kick. It was a delicious new take on egg salad that rocked my Monday lunch. Hope you love it too!

In the spirit of full disclaimer, I must admit that this is not truly a “10 Minute Lunch” because it takes longer than 10 minutes to hard boil the eggs. But… simply prepare them the night before, as you’re eating breakfast, or getting ready, then pop them in the fridge. When lunchtime comes around, you’ll be good to go!

Avocado Egg Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices wheat bread, or crackers for serving
  • 2 hard boiled eggs
  • 1/6 of an avocado
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt
  • lemon pepper
  • romaine lettuce

Non-directions:

  • Toast bread lightly in toaster, if desired.
  • Peel eggs and place them in a small bowl, then roughly chop them.
  • Add avocado and mayonnaise, then mash well with a fork.
  • Add a pinch of lemon pepper and stir to combine.
  • Top one slice of bread with lettuce, and load the other slice with egg salad, put together and enjoy!

Time: 10 minutes or less, not including time to hard boil eggs.

Yield: 1 delicious lunch.

Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups

Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew

Sarah

Sometimes Ben has gets to eat tofu. [Dinner tonight!! Yum.] I am very fortunate that he is such a willing eater. Ben will try just about anything once. But of course, being the good wife that I am, I don’t want to take [too much] advantage of his easygoing nature. And in order to reward him, sometimes I make man meals. You know what I’m talking about… the kind of dinners most ladies would never request but will eat once in awhile to make a special someone happy. Those sort of meals. Mhmmm. Not exactly a special Valentine’s dinner, but definitely a “love your guy” kind of dinner.

One of the latest in our world is this hearty, meaty, thick stew. Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew has tons of meatyness thanks to hot Italian sausage and flavorful chicken thighs [use boneless, skinless chicken thighs to make it easier and to cut down on the fat], but still plenty of healthy stuff like celery, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes to make me happy, as well as a plethora of herbs to add depth of flavor. Though I made this dish with Ben in mind, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it too. Don’t worry about the spicy factor either–this is one dish that did not “spice me out!” If you want a spicier stew, I would up the cayenne pepper or add a little hot sauce. This stew makes a ton so be prepared for a few days of leftovers. It also freezes well!

Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew [adapted from Rachael Ray’s just in time!]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces ground hot Italian sausage
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 celery ribs, diced
  • 3 medium white potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
  • 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and shredded
  • 1/2 large red onion, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 15 ounces chicken broth
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 15 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Heat a large stockpot over medium heat, add Italian sausage and begin to cook, crumbling into large pieces. When fat starts to render, after about 2 minutes, add chicken and stir to incorporate. Season to taste with black pepper. Cook the chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes until it starts to brown. When chicken is fully cooked, add celery, potatoes, carrots, onion and bay leaf. Cook for another 7-8 minutes to soften the veggies. Then pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Lastly, stir in broth, tomatoes, beans, thyme, sage, parsley, and cayenne pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, then cook for 10-15 minutes, remove bay leaf and serve.

Time: 40 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Week of February 13
Monday: tofu bowls
Tuesday: [surprise] Valentine’s Day meal for Ben 🙂 every year we swap anniversary & Valentine’s celebrations…this year is my turn for Valentine’s Day and I have a great theme dinner in the works!
Wednesday: at class… Ben fends for himself.
Thursday: tortellini soup
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Lime-Soy Chicken

~~~
I got to hang out with two of my good friends from college yesterday, and had the best time! It was so fun to catch up on each other’s lives. One of the girls mentioned that she likes seeing my menu plans but always wonders how things turn out if I don’t blog about it or link to the recipe. So, I thought I’d start updating my old menu plans with links and also recap new recipes from the week before. Hope that’s helpful! 🙂

In Review: Week of February 6

  • Potato Rosemary Soup–definitely will make again. Recipe to come.
  • Cincinnati Turkey Chili–pretty spicy, but Ben loved it. Recipe to come.
  • Both soups made a ton of leftovers so we ate these all week long along with other semi-random meals like chili nachos and eggs. Since we had colds this week, neither of us was very hungry. It was a strange week.
Guest Post Links

Green Monsters

Sarah

Come over to Today’s Housewife to check out my take on Green Monster smoothies [my favorite summer breakfast] and their cold-weather replacement, Green Monster Muffins… that even my spinach-fearing husband loved.

Here’s the link. 🙂 Have a great Thursday!