Steak and Black Bean Crock Pot Chili

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe.  Life has become hectic between the kids, work, the husband and my new little  play dough business (Love Bubs Scented Play Dough- check it out!).  So, trying out new recipes have taken a bit of a back seat.

I do apologize.

A big change that has happened in our house is that Abe got braces today.  He had bite issues that was causing some issues, so after a lot of thought and consultation, poor Abe had to get braces at the young age of 45.  Brought me back to, um, middle school.

Since he can't eat and we had a defrosted steak that needed to be used up, I searched for a way to cook the steak down enough that Mr. Brace Face (don't worry, he lets me use that term) could eat.

And yes, it's the first day of July and I'm making chili.  Crazy lady.  But it was a cold and rainy July 1st, so I think I got away with it.

The chili was a hit with both Abe and the kids.  Ava actually licked her bowl and she's been hard to get any food in her belly lately.  So, that's a good sign.    The meat sort of shreds and blends into the chili and Abe said there was a good balance of spices.  

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and jalapeno, if you like it spicy.  Corn muffins and a green salad would be a yummy addition, too.

I got the recipe from Food.com.

Steak and Black Bean Crock Pot Chili
Serves 6

2 lbs boneless beef cubes, for stew
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chili-style chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
salt and pepper, to taste
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the beef into 1-inch cubes.

1. Place beef in slow cooker and turn it on low.

2. Sprinkle the chili powder, garlic powder and cumin over the meat.

3. Add onion and green pepper.

4. Drain and rinse the cans of beans and add them to the slow cooker.Add tomatoes and sugar.

5. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

6. Uncover and sir in the tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Garnish with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

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Yummy Black Bean Soup

Image via Google

I love a good black bean soup.  Warm, hearty, tasty and I don't feel guilty if I go back for a second bowl (and then another one in the evening). 

Abe's been watching his waistline again, so after indulging in some less-than-healthy food the day before, he requested a healthy dinner the next morning.  And I happily agreed.  Until it was about 30 minutes before he was to come home and I had forgotten about dinner.  Oops.

A bit panicked, I remembered I had a bunch of black beans in the freezer.  So, black bean soup it was.  I looked around for a recipe that would be a bit different than the sometimes bland ones I've made in the past.  I hit the jackpot with this one! I think it's the best black bean soup I've made in a while.

So easy and so yummy.  The celery seed and cumin add a bit of a twist and you can spice it up or keep is on the mild side for the kids by reducing the pepper flakes, like I did.  A bottle of hot sauce at the table will let the braver ones add more heat.

Full of fiber and protein, this will stick to your ribs during a cold night.  It freezes well, too, so double up and you'll have dinner waiting for you the next time you're like me and forget to cook. 

I served with a leafy green salad.

Recipe from Melissa D'Arabian.

Yummy Black Bean Soup 
Serves 4-6

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked black beans
1 tablespoon vegetarian (or chicken bouillon base)
1 bay leaf
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Cook the celery, carrots and onions in the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, celery seeds and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the black beans, bouillon, bay leaf and tomatoes, and enough water to cover by an inch or two (about 3 cups). Simmer for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours, adding water if needed. Season and serve.

White Bean Soup with Pasta and Rosemary Oil

Yes, I'm realizing as I sit to write this that I've been adding a lot of soup recipes.  But they are so easy to make, homey and usually made with things I have in the pantry already. 

So, bear with me.  I promise to have something different next time.  And once lent is over, the chicken thigh recipes will resume.

The rosemary oil can me made ahead of time, strained and kept in a air-tight container.  It adds an herbal essence to the soup and adds a silky finish.  
 The original recipe called for using dried beans, but I didn't have the time.  So I used canned, which I think is fine for a soup.  If you want to use dried, they suggested covering the beans in boiling water while prepping the other ingredients. Then simmering them for about an hour.  Add 2 teaspoons of salt and continue cooking for about 30 more minutes until tender.

Adam loved it so much that he ate 3 bowls of it.  I think I might try freezing it in batches for a quick dinner for him.  He kept calling it "chicken" despite my attempts to tell him they were beans. 

I realized after I made the recipe that I forgot to add all of the liquid (originally it called for 3 quarts of water).  I like the thickness of the soup, so I'm keeping it the way I made it.

White Bean Soup with Pasta and Rosemary Oil
Serves 4

The Rosemary Oil

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary or 2 tablespoons dried
2 garlic cloves, sliced

The Soup

2 cups cannellini, navy, garbanzo beans or a mixture
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
1 onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned, with their juices
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 cup dried small pasta- shells, lumache or other favorite shape (I used fusilli)
Grated parmesan cheese

Slowly warm the extra virgin olive oil with 2 tablespoon rosemary and 2 garlic cloves until the garlic begins to color, about 3 minutes.  Turn off the heat and set aside until needed.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil (not the rosemary oil) with 1 tablespoon rosemary (2 teaspoon dried) in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook until the onion is softened and starting to turn color in places, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and parsley and cook for a few minutes more.  Add beans to the pot along with the tomatoes and stock.  Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Cook the pasta in boiling salt water, then drain.  Strain the rosemary oil.  Ladle the soup into bowls and add some pasta to each.  Drizzle some of the oil over each bowl and add pepper to taste.  Cover with shaves of parmesan. 
 

Hearty Bean and Barley Soup

Abe's trying to go more vegetarian for Lent.  I originally thought he had wanted to go ALL veggie for Lent and was so excited to finally have main dishes that I could eat on a regular basis.  But, alas, he decided that he wouldn't be able to do it full-time and would only do it "as best he could".  Meh.  Well, I'm still doing my veggie recipes.  So there.

Today was one of those unplanned-oh-no-what's-for-dinner? kind of days.  I had plenty of stuff in the fridge, but no idea what to make.  So I threw a few ingredients into the search engine of Cookinglight.com and voila!  I came up with yet another soup recipe.  

It is delicious!  And very filling.  Not to mention healthy.  So, pretty much a trifecta of win for soups.

I made the mistake of not having the quick-cook barely, so I had to cook mine for a lot longer.  If you have it and like a softer barely, soak the barely in a bowl of water overnight.

I got the recipe from Cookinglight.com.

Hearty Bean and Barley Soup
Serves 8 (serving size: 1 cup with 1 tablespoon cheese)

7  cups  fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
6  garlic cloves, crushed
2  (4-inch) rosemary sprigs
1  (19-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2  teaspoons  olive oil
1  cup  chopped onion
1  cup  finely chopped carrot
1/4  cup  chopped celery
1  (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1  cup  uncooked quick-cooking barley
10  cup  torn spinach leaves (about 4 ounces)
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1/2  cup  (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 minutes. Drain through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.

Measure 1 cup beans, and mash with a fork in a small bowl. Reserve the remaining whole beans.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery; cook 4 minutes. Add broth mixture, mashed beans, whole beans, tomatoes, and barley; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in spinach and black pepper; cook 5 minutes or until barley is tender. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Poblano, Mango and Black Bean Quesadillas

I was looking for a way to use up the leftover poblano peppers from the kebob recipe.  This one called my name because it has a lot of the things I like- black beans, avocado and mangoes.  Plus, you can't really mess up a quesadilla.

I got this from CookingLight.com (along with the photo) and made a few tweaks.  If you don't like a spicier dish, skip the hot sauce and replace it with a tiny bit of cumin.

Enjoy!

Poblano, Mango and Black Bean Quesadillas
Serves 4 (or 2 hungry people)

1  teaspoon  olive oil
1 1/2  cups sliced onion
1/2  teaspoon  dried oregano
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
1-2  poblano chile, seeded and chopped
1  (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1  cup  jarred sliced peeled mango (if using one in heavy syrup, rinse)
1/3  cup  cubed peeled avocado
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
1-2 shakes of hot sauce
4  (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, oregano, salt, pepper, and poblano, and sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add beans; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in mango, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce.  Squirt lime juice over mixture.

3. Place flour tortillas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Arrange about 3/4 cup bean mixture on half of each tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese over bean mixture, and fold tortilla in half. Lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until cheddar cheese melts.

Chipotle-Black Bean Chili

Cool Fall weather just begs for warm comfort food, like chili.  This recipe is new for us, but it was a hit from first bite.  It's a spicy chili, so if you're a wimp... I mean, don't like spice.... maybe cut it down to 1 jalapeno.

I served it with jalapeno corn bread muffins.  Yum!

I got this from my The Big Book of Vegetarian. 

Chipotle-Black Bean Chili

Serve 4 to 6

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, diced
2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
One 14- ounce can Mexican-style diced or stewed tomatoes
Two 16-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fresh or frozen corn (no need to defrost if frozen)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large pot over medium heat, warm the oil.  Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables being to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the spices, tomatoes and beans and simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in the corn and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in cilantro and serve.