Cooking Challenge: Black Beans

Black Bean Tostadas

1 can low-sodium black beans, rinsed (or equivalent if home cooked)
Garlic salt to taste
Crispy Tostada shells
Cheddar Cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Diced Tomatoes
Black Olives
Salsa
(other condiments as desired: jalapenos, sour cream, etc)

Place black beans in food processor and season with garlic salt. Add a little water and process to a "refried" bean consistency.
Top tostada shells with black beans and cheese. Microwave or heat in oven until warm and cheese melts. Top with desired toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, olives, salsa, sour cream, jalapenos, etc).

Here is my favorite black bean recipe. It is a great soup. So yummy. The calories are of course based on my specific ingredients and may vary just a bit by what you are using. You can also redude the olive oil from 1 tablespoon down to 1/2 teaspoon if desired. I have attempted to include a photo, but I do not know if it will work.




Cuban Black Bean Soup

1 pound dried black beans, sorted and rinsed
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
1/4 cup dark rum
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 large tomato, chopped

1. Soak beans overnight in enough water to cover. The next day, drain the beans and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add and saute the onion until slightly tender. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. Stir in the broth, water, rum, cumin, oregano, chipotle chili powder and salt. Cover and simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally until beans are tender.
4,Stir in the tomato and simmer uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.

Serves 8, 1 cup servings. 163 calories, 2 grams of fat and 24 grams for fiber

This recips originally appeared on my blog, My Veggie Table. http://www.myveggietable.com/2010/02/cuban-black-bean-soup.html.

We had black bean burritos tonight:

1/2 cup onion
1/2 green pepper
1 can Bush's Best black beans
*Bill echols Taco seasoning (see below)

La Tortilla factory tortilla
Yogurt or Light Sour cream
Avocado
Diced tomatoes
Shredded cheese
Salsa Verde
Alfalfa sprouts

Sautee the onions and peppers, add in 1 can of beans and mix in taco seasoning. Warm the tortillas, spread with a thin layer of sour cream. Add a bed of sprouts, then 1/4 cup bean mixture, sprinkle with cheese, top with avocado and tomato, drizzle with salsa. Fold and VOILA.

**Recipe for Bill Echols taco seasoning:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Note: Do not use ALL of the flavoring or it will probably be WAY too hot. We doubled the bean/onion/green pepper mixture, still didn't use it all and it was SPICY.

Yam and Black Bean Burritos (found this on the Tasty Kitchen part of thepioneerwoman.com)

2 whole med. yams, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp cumin (can be upped. I used about 1 tsp)
6 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 c. sour cream
bunch cilantro (about 1 tbsp fresh per burrito)

Preheat oven to 375. Toss yam chunks with 1 tbsp. oil on baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes. (I also wrapped my tortillas in foil and threw them in the oven so they would be nice and warm when the filling was ready)

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil over med-hi heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Add beans and cumin and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in yams

Spoon 1/2 c. mixture into warm tortilla. Top with sour cream and fresh cilantro. Take a bite. Die from bliss.

290 cal per burrito
11.7g fat
42.4g carbs
6.9g protein

Serves 6 with one burrito each. Trust me, one is plenty.

We LOVED this. My husband ate three (and this from a man who told me he HATED yams when I wanted to make this recipe), and I was full for the night with one. Even the kids liked it and ate every last bean and piece of yam.

Yummy!

Yam and Black Bean Burritos (found this on the Tasty Kitchen part of thepioneerwoman.com)

2 whole med. yams, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp cumin (can be upped. I used about 1 tsp)
6 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 c. sour cream
bunch cilantro (about 1 tbsp fresh per burrito)

Preheat oven to 375. Toss yam chunks with 1 tbsp. oil on baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes. (I also wrapped my tortillas in foil and threw them in the oven so they would be nice and warm when the filling was ready)

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil over med-hi heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Add beans and cumin and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in yams

Spoon 1/2 c. mixture into warm tortilla. Top with sour cream and fresh cilantro. Take a bite. Die from bliss.

290 cal per burrito
11.7g fat
42.4g carbs
6.9g protein

Serves 6 with one burrito each. Trust me, one is plenty.

We LOVED this. My husband ate three (and this from a man who told me he HATED yams when I wanted to make this recipe), and I was full for the night with one. Even the kids liked it and ate every last bean and piece of yam.

Sounds really good. I could see substituting a kabocha squash (japanese pumpkin) for the yam. Yum! Thanks!

New to this thread, but I had to contribute my friend's chili recipe. It's fabulous! For those of you that are vegetarian/vegan, it's a great source of protein! For the canned beans & tomatoes, I use low sodium versions, as I am carefully watching my sodium intake. The nutrition values below are using these low sodium ingredients.

Q’s Black-Bean Chili Adapted from the Beyond the Horn of the Moon Cookbook
25 January 2004 “8 hearty servings” (whatever that means)

1/4 cup olive oil
A couple of fist-sized onions, chopped (either red or white works)
1 t dried oregano
½ t unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t cumin
¼ t cinnamon
A sprinkling of dried red-pepper flakes, to taste (I start with 1 tsp then work up)
1 medium-large jalapeno, minced whole including seeds and ribs (if not available, up the red-pepper flakes)
Cayenne to taste
1 large sweet pepper, chopped (red, yellow, and orange all work)
4 large garlic cloves, pressed (I up this to taste)
2 cans black beans, undrained, (low sodium)
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juice, undrained (low sodium)
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (low sodium)
1 c fresh or frozen corn kernels
½ c chopped fresh cilantro (more to taste)
¼ c fresh lime juice (@ 1 ½–2 limes)
Salt to taste)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté, stirring, until onion is translucent and has begun to caramelize. Add herbs and spices and stir to release the power of the aromatics. Turn the heat way down, cover the pot, and continue to sauté until onion is thoroughly caramelized and soft (but not burned). Uncover the pot, add jalapeno and red pepper, and sauté until tender, covering the saucepan and steaming a bit if necessary. Stir the garlic into the hot vegetable mixture and sauté for 30 seconds or so (garlic burns fast, so you’re just trying to heat it up here). Add beans, diced tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes and bring the mixture to a bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for as much time as you can spare (overnight on v. low heat is ideal; several hours is acceptable; one hour is minimal). Add the corn, the cilantro, the lime juice, and the salt and simmer for as much more time as you can spare, working backwards from when you want either to eat this or to cool it down and refrigerate it.


Optional toppings:
Diced avocado
Shredded sharp cheese
Plain Greek yogurt

If you want to up the protein quotient, hydrate a cup of TVP for 5 minutes, then add to the mixture while cooking.

Nutritional values for base recipe:

Per serving:
225 cals
Fiber: 9g
Fat: 9g
Protein: 8g
Carbs: 30g
Sodium: 118 mg

Note: I've done variations on this theme, using garbanzo beans instead of black beans, upping the garlic, etc. This is also great to cook in a slow cooker - after sauteeing the veg & such, pour everything into your slow cooker, stir and cook on low for at least 6 hours.

Cheers!

I love black beans. I'm making the Chili con Turkey recipe this weekend and waiting patiently for the black bean burger recipe!

Chili Con Turkey

1 pound ground turkey
1 can (14 oz) Rotel original
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can corn drained
1 packet Chili seasoning
1 tbls. ground flaxseed
1 cup cooked brown rice

Brown turkey. Add everything else except the rice and cook for 10 minutes. Serve over the brown rice.

Serves 4: Calories; 407; protein 30 g; fat 11 g; fiber 9


(I've added this recipe to the foods list. Also I like to make this in the crock pot so it simmers longer and the flavors meld together better. My family really likes this recipe.)

Enjoy,

Cindy

I made this last night for DH and I and it was DELISH! We are having the leftovers again tonight and I bet they will be even better. I did have to add about a cup of water. Thanks for sharing!

Heather, the black bean salad looks really good and I will make it soon!