Carrie: ICBC Black Beans

I'm several weeks behind in ICBC, and it's been a combination of laziness and cheapness. But a few weeks ago, I chose black beans as my ingredient. It's a pantry staple for me, and I thought it'd be interesting to see what people came up with. Sarah Michelle made Black Bean Brownies and Becky made a Turkey Chili with Black Beans. Michele also prepared a chili recipe.

So for black beans, I decided to make a black bean and corn salsa. I was hosting a smaller dinner on Friday night, and I thought a salsa would help tide us over until dinnertime. Measurements of spices are inaccurate since it's all been by taste. In the end, I think it was a pretty good salsa. I would definitely make it again.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
one can of black beans
about 3/4 of a package of frozen corn, thawed
three tomatoes
two small cloves of garlic
jalapeno, to taste
1/4 of a red onion
1/4 of a bunch of cilantro
juice from half of a lime
salt
cumin

Combine ingredients and stir together. Add salt, cumin, jalapeno, cilantro and lime to taste.

Becky: ICBC Black Beans

Swanson Turkey, Black Bean and Corn Chili

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
1 cup Pace® Thick & Chunky Salsa
1 tablespoon sugar
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions
Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook until the turkey is well browned, stirring often.
Stir the broth, salsa, sugar, beans and corn in the saucepot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

This was a recipe that I came across online on allrecipes.com. Ironically though, even though this was a Swanson chicken broth recipe, I did not use Swanson chicken broth. Instead, I used some chicken bouillon granules that I had on hand and dissolved them in water to make my own broth, since I'm cheap and didn't want to spend extra money lol. I also used this hot habanero salsa I had in my fridge instead of the Pace kind. Also, since I've been trying to lose some excess weight, I used Stevia instead of the sugar, which is an artificial sweetener that is supposed to actually be good for you, unlike aspartame or any of the other unhealthy artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas.

This recipe turned out to be really good! Even my husband liked it, which really surprised me since he typically doesn't like turkey. The only thing was that I could tell that it had artificial sugar in it. Stevia is really sweet, and I could definitely taste the sweetness in the chili. Regular sugar you probably wouldn't notice as much, so unless you're watching your diet, I say use regular sugar instead. I also liked the hot habanero salsa because it gave the chili a nice kick :) Plus, this was really easy to make, and quick too!

Sarah: ICBC Black Beans

Black Bean Brownies

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 
  
• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
• 
  
• 2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
• 
  
• 3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

---REVIEW---

Now, I know what you're thinking.

"Sarah Michelle, get out of my face with your hippy-dippy California ways. Black beans go in tacos, not brownies."

But I'm telling you. Try it. You get to make it in a BLENDER! COME ON! How fun is that!

So this recipe subs black beans for flour, which I think is a pretty cool idea (as a most of the time pescatarian, I'll take all of the protein I can get), and changes the texture of these brownies completely. They're really smooth, kind of like fudge, which was interesting. I wasn't crazy about them (but I don't like brownies anyway), but my brownie loving friends loved them.

Found here.

Rice and Black Bean Tacos

1 box mexican style rice (and ingredients as per package)

1 can black beans

1 can corn and peppers

1 package flour tortillas

Additional fixings as you like (we use lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa)

1. Cook rice as per package.

2. Warm beans and corn.

3. Warm tortillas in microwave just before serving.

4. Taco up.

---Review---

This is a pretty simple dinner. You don't really need a recipe, but it has become a staple here at my house (with rotations of usually once a week). It's easy, good and fun.

It also reminds me of Carrie.

Wednesday Night Dinner: Turkey and Black Bean Chili

It got cold this week in Tucson, for a few days anyway, and this meal ended up being the perfect way to usher in lower temperatures. Just a simple turkey and black bean chili topped with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili
ground turkey
two cans of black beans, drained
two cans of diced tomatoes
three tablespoons of tomato paste
one medium diced yellow onion
chicken broth
salt and pepper
ground cumin
chili powder

Saute the onions till translucent, then add ground turkey and brown. Add diced tomatoes, black beans and tomato paste. Season with a few teaspoons of spices and let simmer. If it looks too thick, add a little chicken broth, maybe about half a cup. Taste and add more spice if necessary. Allow chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Wednesday Night Dinner: Southwest Salad and Baked Flautas

Despite its lack of prettiness, it was a pretty delicious and easy dinner. I picked up some fresh tortillas at the farmer's market so it guided my decision to go with a Mexican dinner. I love Southwest salads and then I found a recipe for Black Bean and Green Chile Baked Flautas from For the love of cooking. We also made homemade guacamole.

Here's my Southwest salad recipe and you can find the baked flautas recipe at the link above. The flautas are a great vegetarian recipe too.

Southwest Salad
romaine
spinach
tomatoes
red onions
avocados
corn kernels
black beans
grilled chicken

Toss together and serve with a spicy ranch dressing.