Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Lime Rice

I got this recipe from one of my new favorite food blogs: Iowa Girl Eats.
This recipe was so easy and everyone loved it!  

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, minced2 garlic cloves (I probably did 4 cloves)salt and pepper2 teaspoons chili powder1/4 teaspoon cumin2 cans seasoned black beans, drained but not rinsed (She used Trader Joe’s Cuban-style beans, but I just used regular)1-1/2 cups water1 cup chicken broth4-5 dashes green Tabasco sauce (I omitted for the kids)
Toppers: sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream (avocado is key!)

For the rice:
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 lime
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (I just used 3 t dried)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, then saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds, stirring constantly. Add chili powder and cumin then saute for 30 more seconds.

Add drained beans, water, and chicken broth, bring soup to a boil, then lower heat slightly and simmer for 15 minutes. Scoop 2 ladle-fulls of soup into a blender or food processor then blend until almost smooth. Alternatively use a hand-held immersion blender to process 1/3 of the beans in the soup pot. Add blended soup back into the pot then add hot sauce and stir to combine

For the Cilantro-Lime Rice: While soup is simmering, bring water, oil, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice, place a lid on top, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir to fluff then add lime juice and chopped cilantro.

To serve, scoop cooked rice into bottom of bowls then top with hot soup. Top with sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc.

Zesty Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

I just discovered this linked from someone's blog to someone else's blog. I love that you can put the chicken in still frozen and there's only a few ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
12oz bottle barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

Shred chicken and eat on buns or baked potato.

Note: this can be frozen in ziplock baggies and later thawed in the fridge over night. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet.

Super Quick Black Bean Soup

I found this recipe on another blog a long time ago and HAD to try it because it just sounded too quick and too easy. It really is good though and with chips and cheese, it's surprisingly filling.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans black beans, undrained (i’d like to dry draining and rinsing sometime to get rid of 40% of the salt.)
1/2 c salsa
1 T Chili powder
1 c broth (I used chicken)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dump everything into a pot and bring to boil
2. When it has simmered a little (not much), blend it with your stick blender, or pour into a blender to puree.
3. Serve with avocado slices, cheese and tortilla chips!

Rigatoni with Sausage & Fontina Sauce

This recipe was introduced to the family by The Mom. Not sure where she got it (probably a magazine) but she can edit that in later if she wants. This is an immediate hit with everyone and I love it because it's so quick! It does dirty a lot of pans, though, which can be annoying, so sometimes I saute the mushrooms with the sausage, once it's about half way done. Tastes just as good, just doesn't look as pretty :) I've been meaning to try substituting Mozzarella for Fontina, to see if it tastes as good and I plan to update once I have tried it. I have tried using half and half instead of cream and it tastes good, but the sauce doesn't stick to the pasta as well. Perhaps I should have let it simmer longer to thicken it. Finally, I usually just use dried herbs in place of fresh ones, but having the fresh basil on top really really really improves the dish and I highly recommend it if you can!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb italian sausage
2 T olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
1-28 oz can Italian crushed tomatoes
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 T dried basil
1 c heavy cream
1/2 lb Fontina cheese, grated
1/4 c grated Romano cheese (I use Parmesan)
2 T chopped fresh basil leaves
1 lb Rigatoni, cooked "al dente", drained
Fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter (2 or 3 oz package)

DIRECTIONS

In a heavy skillet, saute the sausage in olive oil until no longer pink, crumbling as it cooks. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and basil. Cover, cook for 10 minutes. Add heavy cream and grated Fontina cheese. Stir on low until cheese is melted. Place cooked pasta on serving platter. Top with sauce, grated Romano cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and fresh basil.