Tag Archives: beans

Grilled Corn, Poblano, and Black Bean Salad

July 31, 2012
Shannon
1 comment
avocado, beans, food, peppers, salad, vegetarian

I’ve been noticing how few vegetables have been making their way into my kitchen lately so when I went to the store early on Saturday morning, I spent a lot of time in the produce section, picking up zucchini, squash, peppers, oranges, corn, avocado, and tomato amongst others. I’m trying to make a deal with myself that I won’t eat anything unless it has a fruit or veggie in it or with it. Not a bad way to live, I assume. This means that if I splurge on an egg sandwich in the morning, I have to be prepared to bring in a baggie of spinach to put on it or at least pick up a piece of fruit to eat with it. It doesn’t help that I can’t stop watching the Olympics and seeing all of these physically fit athletes are really sending me into a self-loathing spiral. First up is Grilled Corn, Poblano, and Black Bean Salad which is perfect on a summer day.

Fresh Jersey corn, red pepper, poblano pepper, avocado and scallions are all grilled until brown and soft before being tossed with cilantro and black beans. A light coating of freshly squeezed lime juice, olive oil, ground cumin, salt and pepper, round out this light summer salad which truly tastes like summer in a bowl. Don’t have a grill or a grill pan? Just use your broiler instead (a great way to make this recipe year-round). The red peppers and corn are perfectly sweet while the grilled poblano (my latest obsession) gives a subtle kick of heat. The avocado, true to form, provides a slightly creamy element and the ground cumin adds a hint of smoky flavor. I can’t think of another word to describe this vibrant salad other than lovely. Eat this plain or with your favorite grilled burger for a true summertime moment.

The ingredients:

Place green onions, avocado, bell pepper, and poblano on a grill rack coated with cooking spray and preheated on high heat. Grill onions and avocado 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Grill bell pepper 6 minutes on each side or until blackened and peel (put peppers in a plastic storage bag for a few minutes to loosen skin, in necessary). Grill poblano 9 minutes on each side or until blackened and peel.

Brush corn with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and grill corn 12 minutes or until beginning to brown on all sides, turning occasionally.

Cut kernels from ears of corn and place in a large bowl.

Chop onion, bell pepper, and poblano and add to the bowl with corn.

Add remaining olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, ground cumin, salt, black pepper, and black beans to bowl. Toss well.

Cut avocado into thin slices and place on top of salad.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Smoky Three-Bean Bake

I don’t know about you but baked beans and burgers just seem to go hand-in-hand. I not only like to eat them with each other but I like to smother each bite of my burger with a forkful of messy baked beans before shoving it into my mouth. Yes, insert quirky eating habits here. The problem with baked beans is that although they are a perfect accompaniment to burgers cooked on the grill, which is perfect to do in the summer, they are cooked in the OVEN which is not what you want to turn on when it’s hot outside! But oh well, it’s so worth it in the end. The sweet, spicy, creamy and oh-so smoky flavors in Smoky Three-Bean Bake will have you hooked after the first bite.

Black beans, chickpeas and Great Northern beans are mixed with peppers, onions and garlic before being mixed with a magical concoction of tomato sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, honey and cider vinegar. Vibrant flavors of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika (my two favorites) spice up the dish, giving it all the personality in the world. The whole dish is topped with chopped bacon (of course, I used turkey bacon) just to give it yet another burst of flavor but leave it out to easily make this vegetarian. I accidentally forgot to put in the honey but I think it was sweet enough as it was so leave it out if you like. Although it may take a little bit of time to make this, it’s so much better than what comes in a can. Take this to a cook-out, potluck, picnic or any summertime party and revel in how much people are impressed by what you made. Canned baked beans don’t stand a chance against this.

Tomorrow…turkey burgers!

The ingredients:

If using regular bacon, prepare the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and set aside, saving the drippings. Add onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic to drippings in pan, and sauté for 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. (Since I used precooked turkey bacon, I used olive oil in place of drippings.)

Combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, honey, Dijon, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Add onion/pepper mixture and all of the beans to the sauce mixture.

Spoon bean mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, and top with reserved bacon.

Cover and bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 30 minutes.

Additions: None

Omissions:

Honey

Substitutions:

Turkey bacon

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Vegetarian Tex-Mex Quinoa Bowl

Have you jumped on the quinoa bandwagon yet? Well, I have. And considering my love for rice, using quinoa in place of rice is something I never thought I would agree to. But these days, I have quinoa on hand and rice is nowhere to be found in my cabinet. I still love my rice but quinoa is just so darn good for you that I can’t let myself not eat it. Mixing quinoa with bold flavors, like in this Vegetarian Tex-Mex Quinoa Bowl, is a great way to eat it.

Quinoa takes on the spicy flavors of the taco seasoning very well so even if you aren’t sure if you like quinoa, this is a good way to try it. Mixed with soy crumbles, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and jalapeño, this quinoa bowl is fresh, spicy, and filling. I love the texture and flavor of the soy crumbles in this dish. I started eating soy crumbles when I was a vegetarian but still eat it now in place of meat all the time. Sometimes I even prefer it in certain dishes over meat (like taco salad and Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper – seriously!). It’s full of protein and lower in fat, making it a great pairing with quinoa. But if you don’t want to venture into soyland, feel free to use ground turkey, chicken, or beef in place of the soy crumbles. Also, if you keep a fully stocked spice cabinet like I do, consider making your own taco seasoning which allows you to control the salt and spiciness of this dish.

Vegetarian Tex-Mex Quinoa Bowl (makes 4 servings)

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine‘s Tex-Mex Rice Bowl

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water or vegetable broth
non-stick spray
1 12-ounce package soy crumbles (such as MorningStar Farms® Meal Starters® Grillers® Recipe Crumbles™)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons packaged taco seasoning (see note)
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 plum tomatoes, seeded
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
4 teaspoons chopped cilantro

Note: To make your own taco seasoning, mix together 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon sea salt (optional), and 1 teaspoon black pepper.

In a medium sauce pan, add 2 cups water or broth and quinoa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-22 minutes. Spray non-stick spray into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add soy crumbles and cook 3 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup water and taco seasoning and stir for 1 minute. Stir in corn and black beans, cook for 1 minute or until heated. Stir in quinoa, chopped tomato and jalapeño. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon cilantro.