Tag: dining

Smoky Chipotle Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients

1 cup Rice
2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound Sausage (about 4 links), casings removed
1 medium Onion, diced
2 ribs Celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Chipotle Seasoning* (see below)
1/3 cup white wine
1 jar black bean chili starter
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Preparation

Serves 4-6

  • Heat a large, deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat.
  • Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
  • When the oil shimmers, add sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
  • Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
  1. In the same skillet, add onion, celery, garlic, and chipotle seasoning.
  2. Cook until translucent and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
  3. Remove the skillet from the heat and add white wine (optional) to the pan, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
  4. Return the skillet to the head and add the black bean chili Starter, black beans, and the reserved cooked sausage. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and serve over the prepared rice.

 

*Chipotle Seasoning Ingredients (makes about 8 measures for this recipe)

1 tablespoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika (smoked paprika if available)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano (Mexican Oregano if available)
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Big, Bold Bean Bowls

After dining at Chipotle Grill, we discovered bean bowls and found that we could make them at home. Not only could we make them at home, we could make them even fresher than what Chipotle Grill offers. These bean bowls are all you need for a meal and are healthy. There are 3 main things that go into one of our homemade bean bowls:

Ingredients

1. Meat

Grill your meat if you can; otherwise, broil in the oven. Spice with garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Once the meat is cooked, cube into small pieces. We’ve used chicken (preferred), lean pork, or steak. All are good. Once large chicken breat, one lean pork chop (butterfly cuts work well, or a small steak is all that you really need.

2. Fresh Salsa

  • Cubed, fresh tomatoes (2-3 medium sized)
  • Cilantro, minced to taste
  • Fresh, Hot peppers (jalapeno, serrano, chili, cayenne, tabasco) any of these work and use to your heat level
  • Lime Juice (a good squeeze of one half)
  • Tablespoon of Olive Oil
  • Minced, fresh celery (1/4 stalk)
  • Finely chopped, fresh onions
  • Shredded Lettuce (on the side)

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl
3. Beans

  • One can of pinto or black beans (we prefer pintos)

BOWL PREPARATION

  1. Place a single layer of beans in the bottom of the bowl
  2. Add a layer of meat over the layer of beans
  3. Add a layer of the fresh salsa on top of that
  4. Optionally, you can add small dollops of yogurt or sour cream on top of the fresh salsa
  5. Add a layer of lettuce on top (alternately, you may place a layer of lettuce on the bottom as Chipotle does)

NOTES: Vegetarians can obviously omit the meat. Adding some hot, commercial salsa or additional fresh hot peppers will kick it up an extra notch. We found that 2 serrano peppers will make it nice and heated; on the other hand, one will definitely suffice for those who have a low heat tolerance.