Black Bean Tacos

I must be in a Mexican-inspired mood lately. In the last couple weeks, I've made pumpkin brie quesadillas and chicken nugget tacos. And now a black bean taco. I can not even begin to tell you how much I love this black bean taco. My husband was on the phone and I made him take a moment to try one--they were that good. He's not a huge bean fan, but even he liked these.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can blackbeans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup salsa
1 ounce cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mozarella cheese, shredded
8 6-inch tortillas
Cooking Spray

Directions:
In a bowl, coarsely mash together beans, garlic powder, cumin, salsa, mozzarella, and cream cheese.

Heat of skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Place one tortilla in the skillet, spread 1/8 of the bean mixture on half of the tortilla and fold the tortilla in half. Cook until tortilla is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for about 2 minutes.

Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Mexican Recipes:
Snowflake Tortilla Chips 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chile and Tomato Shredded Chicken with Cheese Sauce
Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken 
Margarita Chicken and Steak Fajitas 

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Last month I made chickpea veggie burgers, this months it's the same recipe made with black beans.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained, rinsed, and dried
1 cup herbed stuffing mix (I used Stouffers)
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice (or water)
salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Coarsely mash the beans with a potato masher so you have a paste with some bean chunks in it. Stir in stuffing mix and onions. Add lemon juice a tablespoon at a time until the mixture holds together. Salt and pepper to taste. Shape into patties (I made five).

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, flip burgers, and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes.

Dress your veggie burger up however you'd like--cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, bun (I had mine with cheese and caramelized onions).

 

 

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Burger Recipe:
Chicken Patties
Spicy Cheese-Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Tuna Burgers
Turkey Burger with Avocado Sauce

Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken

I've been in a baking mood lately, not a cooking mood, which means that dinners around here have been pretty boring. Leftovers, boxed, or frozen. The other night I still didn't feel like cooking, but I craved real food. This is a nice quick recipe for those kinds of nights. It's got lots of flavor, it cooks in one pan, and fills you up.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of black pepper
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned sweet corn, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with chiles, drained

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Sprinkle the mixture on both sides of each chicken breast.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 5 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Add the black beans, corn, and tomatoes to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the veggies are hot.

Serve over rice, pasta, tortillas, or as is!

To be honest, I didn't think Eric would love this meal. He's generally not a fan of black beans. But he devoured it! I definitely will be making this again.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken with a Honey Mustard Sauce
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Lime Mustard Chicken
Orange Chicken in a Slow Cooker
Parmesan-Seared Chicken
Provincial Chicken
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage

Source

October is my favorite month. It has Halloween in it. To start this month out right, I'm going to share this hearty, spicy pumpkin stew. The original recipes comes from here. I made a number of changes though. Next time, I may make even more changes, like adding more vegetables--potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and so on. But as is, this soup is quite filling. One little bowl and I'm stuffed. Eric wasn't a big fan, but considering he prefers pumpkin in his desserts, not his entree, and doesn't like black beans, I wasn't expecting him to get excited about this dish. However, everyone else loved it!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 cups chicken broth
1 package Echrich Jalapeno and Cheddar sausages
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 15-ounce can corn, drained
29-ounce can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 tablespoon thyme
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
sugar, to taste

Directions:
In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high and saute the onions until they're translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and brown. Pour in chicken broth, black beans, tomatoes, corn, and pumpkin. Stir and bring to a boil. Add milk, curry, cumin, sage, and thyme. Stir. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Season to taste with cayenne, salt, black pepper, and sugar.

P.S. It's even better the next day!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also Check These Fall Recipes:  
Acorn Donuts
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Caramels
Pumpkin Penn Casserole
Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Brownies

Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole

I spent Memorial Weekend in northern Michigan with my parents at their river-side cabin. Sadly, Eric had to work and couldn't come. My mom doesn't really like to cook, so I told her I'd do all the cooking for the weekend because as you all know, I love it. I introduced my parents to some of my favorite recipes such as my tomato and artichoke chicken (my mom's favorite), turkey burgers with avocado sauce, zucchini chips, and roasted chickpeas. I tested out some new recipes on them too: baked parmesan tomatoes, Alfredo green bean casserole, orange chocolate chip cookies, and this black bean and sausage.

I would like to thank Martha Stewart for this recipe. I only changed a few minor things. It was simple yet full of flavor and incredibly filling.

Parents didn't have a large skillet at the cabin so I used a stock pot.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 ½ cup carrots, diced small (I used baby carrots)

2/3 cups yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 pound sausage (I used bratwursts but next time I think I'll use something spicier) 

2 cups chicken broth

2 can black beans (15.5 ounce each), rinsed and drained

Pepper

Directions:

Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil over a medium-high in a large skillet and add the sausage. Cook until all sides are brown. Remove from pan and transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Add the carrots and onions to the oil and cook until the vegetables soften. Season with pepper. Add garlic and cook until golden brown.

Pour in black beans and broth; bring to a boil. Add the sausage back into the pan, reduce heat to a rapid simmer, and cook until the carrots become tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and serve.

I think this was my dad's favorite recipe. After dinner he kept picking at the pot, first eating all the sausage, then the carrots, and finally the beans.

Enjoy!

~Krissy