Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Santa Fe Rice and Beans...

Lean Cuisine makes a frozen dinner by this name, very tasty I might add. Its one of Mark's favorites but we rarely get frozen dinners due to cost and the unhealthy sodium in them. Tonight I believe I've perfected the taste, quite by accident. It was a pantry surfing night and this was what came out of it!

Molly's Santa Fe Rice and Beans

1 onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
1 cup brown rice

Brown onion and pepper in small amount of olive oil. Add rice and stir around for a minute or two.

1 can each, pinto beans and canneli beans, rinsed well and drained
1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 reduced sodium chicken broth cube
2 cans of water

1-1.5 teaspoons each of: (yall know I'm notorious for NOT measuring, if you want to start with smaller amounts that would be fine)

garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
oregano
cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder(this is key to the smokey flavor, don't leave it out!)

About 2/3 cup steel cut oats

Mix everything together in skillet, cover tightly and simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Add water if needed but try not to make it too runny. Test the rice for tenderness and serve when its soft. I let it sit, off the heat, for about 10 minutes to cool and thicken.

We had ours in bowls with grated cheese(75% lower fat Cabot's Light), light sour cream, and sliced olives. YUM!

4 comments:

Keetha Broyles said...

Picture - - - I need a PICTURE!!!

:-)

A Slice of the Pie said...

Ooh, this sounds yummy. My kids are funny about brown rice, and they complain sometimes. In this recipe they might not notice it with all the yummy additions.

Anonymous said...

We're gonna have to try this one too!

groovyoldlady said...

Greetings! It sounds wonderful except for the beans. This groovyoldlady ain't so groovy to be around if she eats beans! Not even Beano can save me...