Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.   

I try to make as many recipes as beans as possible. They seem like a miracle food! Cheap, healthy, and filling. I order often from Rancho Gordo because I think their beans are high quality and I never know how long a pack of beans have been sitting around on a shelf at the store. It's not that they go bad or anything, but I find fresher beans more flavorful.

This recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili appealed to me not only for the use of beans, but also because I am a huge mushroom fan AND you get to use your slow cooker! You do end up with a really tasty dinner but it is nothing like traditional chili. The use of tomatillos and chipotle peppers gives it a really great flavor and I find those ingredients fun to play with.

The recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili is available on EatingWell.com.

Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Poblano White Chili

I've never been attracted to the concept of "white" chili. I guess I'm much of a purist and prefer chili to be red and with beans and meat. However, the photo for Poblano White Chili in the October, 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine looked so good that I knew I had to try it. I was really drawn to the use of poblanos, corn and roasted pumpkin seeds as well.

We roasted the poblanos on the grill one night when we were grilling our last brats of the season. They kept for several days before we made this chili. I was also able to use fresh corn kernels and I think they made a big difference. I should have tried to roast my own pumpkin seeds, but I bought them already roasted and salted.

This chili goes together very quickly. And the goat cheese sauce that you pair with the chili makes it really special. The sauce has a nice tang.

Poblano White Chili Serves 8 3 cups cooked white beans or 2 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinses and drained 1 recipe Rajas (see below) 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 2 tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish 1 Tbs. lime juice 1/4 cup low-fat milk 3 oz. fresh goat cheese 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

Bring beans, Rajas, broth, oregano, and cumin to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook 2 minutes more.

Warm milk in separate saucepan. Add goat cheese, and stir until smooth. Serve chili garnished with goat cheese sauce, pumpkin seeds, and cilantro.


Rajas
Makes 2 cups

6 poblano chiles (1 lb.)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. dried oregano

Roast and peel poblanos. Slice into 1/4-inch strips; set aside.
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook 5 to 9 minutes, or until onion is soft and golden brown. Add oregano and poblano strips, and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Nutritional information as printed in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 219 Cal; 12 G Prot; 6 G Total Fat (2 G Sat Fat); 31 G Carb; 5 MG Chol; 250 MG Sod; 6 G Fiber; 4 G Sugars




See more legume recipes in the My Legume Love Affair (MLLA) roundup hosted for October by Divya at Dil Se.

Beans Rancheros

What do I like to do with eggs? Top them on everything! I realized that when Caroline over at Serious Eats posed the question for this week's Weekend Cook and Tell: Egg-ventures.

Previously, I have topped them on asparagus (Roasted Asparagus and Eggs), baked feta (Poached Eggs with Baked Feta and Olives) and even pepper stew (Tomato-Pepper Stew with Poached Eggs and Harissa). So when I saw Mark Bittman's Beans Rancheros in his new book The Food Matters Cookbook, I knew I'd have to make it.

The presentation of this dish is really great! I love the way the cooked eggs are sitting on top of the beans. I found it relatively easy to divide into four and lift each section out onto a plate by itself (or tupperware for lunch leftovers). I was careful and none of the yolks broke (even when heating up the leftovers). But what is neat is that you just mush the egg up a bit and mix it around on the plate and then you can use it as a filling for tacos. I heated up some corn tortillas and put some of the beans rancheros in there and then topped with a bit of diced onion, shredded cheddar and salsa. Yum! And healthy too.

See other fun things to do with eggs as the Serious Eats Weekend Cook and Tell Roundup: Egg-ventures.

Beans Rancheros Makes 4 servings 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 cups cooked or canned pinto or black beans, drained 1 or 2 canned chipotle chiles, minced, with some of the adobo sauce 1 teaspoon cumin Salt and black pepper 2 or 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped 4 eggs 1/4 cup chopped scallions, for garnish Lime wedges, for serving

Heat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch square baking dish or oven proof skillet with oil. Add the beans, chipotles and adobo, cumin, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper and roughly mash the mixture with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the tomatoes and transfer the pan to the oven.

Bake until he mixture is hot, bubbly, and some of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. (The dish can be prepared ahead to this point and refrigerated for up to a day; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)

Make 4 indentations in the beans with the back of a spoon. Crack 1 egg into each hole, sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper, and return the pan to the oven. Bake until the yolks are still jiggly and the whites have turned opaque (or longer if you want the eggs cooked firm), 10 to 20 minutes. Garnish with the scallions and serve with lime wedges.

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans

Surprised at how fast this yummy, gooey, Italian gnocchi dinner came together! I did have a bit of a problem though... the recipe calls for "package shelf-stable gnocchi" and but I couldn't find any so I purchased a bag of frozen potato gnocchi from Whole Foods. I let it defrost before using because they were to go right into the skillet. Directions on package said to defrost and boil. So they ended up being pretty mushy. They didn't want to brown either. But I just cooked it all a bit longer and didn't care when the gnocchi all mushed together - the end taste is so satisfying and no one even noticed.

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans Serves 6 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup water 6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

Cod with Chickpeas and Artichokes

This is one of those restaurant recipes that Food & Wine re-does to make affordable. And I'm glad they did because it is really great! The mix of carrots and shiitake with chickpeas is really amazing and would be a good meal - or side - on its own.

There were a couple of things I don't like about this recipe: the heavy use of oil and butter and frying the fish in oil. I'm terrified of frying fish and chicken and things in a pan... I have never mastered it and there's always a bunch of oil popping up in my face when I'm trying to get the stuff in the pan. But I figured it out and it came out edible so I was happy.

Cod with Artichokes and Chickpeas Serves 4 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 small white onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick One 9-ounce box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and pressed dry 1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps quartered 2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons snipped chives Four 6-ounce skinless cod fillets Lemon wedges, for serving

In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion, artichoke hearts, shiitake caps, carrots and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 7 minutes. Add the chickpeas and stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is nearly evaporated, 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and chives and keep warm.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until almost smoking. Season the cod fillets with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook over high heat until well browned on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Carefully flip the fillets and cook until they’re white throughout, about 3 minutes longer.

Spoon the vegetables into shallow bowls and top with the seared cod fillets. Serve with lemon wedges.

Paprika Shrimp & Green Bean Saute

This recipe helped me re-discover green beans! I've never eaten too many fresh green beans because I thought it took too long to chop of the ends of the beans - but this really isn't true. All veggie preparation takes time and prepping the beans weren't that much more than some other slicing and dicing I've done lately...

I'm a huge shrimp fan so I will try almost any recipe featuring shrimp. This kind of reminded me of a spinach salad I've made in the past with shrimp and white beans. But it was different because of the flavoring of the paprika and vinegar. The green beans added a really nice freshness and crispiness.

Paprika Shrimp & Green Bean Saute Serves 6 4 cups green beans, trimmed (about 12 ounces) 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup minced garlic 2 teaspoons paprika 1 pound raw shrimp, (21-25 per pound; see Note), peeled and deveined 2 16-ounce cans large butter beans, or cannellini beans, rinsed 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, or red-wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put green beans in a steamer basket, place in the pan, cover and steam until tender-crisp, 4 to 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and paprika and cook, stirring constantly, until just fragrant but not browned, about 20 seconds. Add shrimp and cook until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes per side. Stir in beans, vinegar and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup parsley.

Divide the green beans among 6 plates. Top with the shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with pepper and the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.