Easy Pantry Meal: Black Bean Stew

Hey There! I am slowly trying to get back into my blogging grove! Thanks for hanging in there with me and welcome to all the newcomers who found me by way of Stacy Makes Cents!

Today I wanted to share a SUPER EASY recipe that is pretty much a pantry meal. It is so filling though and makes great leftovers. And, it is SO GOOD! It comes from a recipe I found via Rachel Ray but I went on to make my own adjustments according to what I have in my pantry. The recipe is so versatile, you can change it up however you like.

Black Bean Stew

Ingredients
4 strips bacon, diced (or coconut oil if you are out of bacon)
24ish ounces of black beans, cooked (if you don't presoak/cook your beans and store in the freezer, which I highly recommend!, two cans of black beans works fine!)
1 Onion
2 stalks Celery
4 Garlic Cloves
1 heaping tsp, Cumin
1 tbs Coriander
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 tbs worchester sauce
1.5 tsp hot sauce
1 can diced tomatos - I like fire roasted for this stew
1 jar tomato sauce
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup rice (not the quick cooking kind)

Directions
Cook your diced bacon in your dutch oven pot (or heat your coconut oil if you have no bacon).

When bacon is done, remove and leave grease to sautee the onion/celery/garlic in. Sautee until veggies start to soften. Then add in your beans. (If you do not have an immersion blender, take 1/4-1/2 of the beans and mash them before adding to make the soup more of a stew consistency)

Add your spices, Worchester & Hot Sauce. Stir in to combine.

Add your tomato ingredients and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add rice, take to a nice simmer and cook 15 minutes or so until rice is done.

When rice is done, if you have an immersion blender, go ahead and give the soup a few whizzes now to make it more of a stew consistency. Salt and Pepper to taste.


This 'stew' is seriously SO GOOD. We like it with a dollop of sour cream and a side of tortilla chips on the side for some dipping :) Hubby likes to add some cheese to his as well. Try it soon on a chilly night. It sticks to your ribs and makes great lunch leftovers Day 2. My toddler loves it too. Don't worry - it isn't too spicy!

Simple Shrimp Eggrolls...with Sauerkraut!

This recipe happened kinda by accident.

I needed to make something for lunch on Sunday. A few thoughts I had didn't work because I was missing ingredients. I had some mini frozen shrimp still in the freezer from when I made Fishmarket Salads. I had some frozen eggroll wrappers leftover from a previous eggroll adventure. And I had some Sauerkraut fermenting on the counter in my Ferment-O! Duh, Shrimp Eggrolls, right?

Don't expect precise measurements here. For one, I rarely follow measurements to the 'T' ...drives my sister nuts :) For two, I threw these together with what I had on hand.

Ingredients

1/2 bag of frozen shrimp

egg roll wrappers

sauerkraut

soy sauce

Defrost the shrimp and then let it sit in a bowl of soy sauce for a little bit in the fridge.

Chop up your sauerkraut fine enough to be stuffed into egg rolls.

Make sure your wrappers are thawed.

Preheat your oven to 400* F

Mix your Shrimp and Sauerkraut together, place a dab onto each wrapper, roll them up and place them seam side down on a baking sheet lined with foil or a silpat. Brush the tops with some olive oil and bake for 10-12 minutes.

When they are done, give them a few minutes to cool and dip in soy sauce!

Other ideas for filling - some shredded carrot. I was going to add bean sprouts but I figured the kraut was enough!

Other dipping sauce ideas: add some sriracha to your soy, or some wasabi!

Weekly Meal Plan, Memorial Day Week

Thank you to all who have served our country!

Happy Memorial Day.

Sunday: Grilled Quesadilla's

This was the first time we made Quesadilla's on the grill - they were awesome! And we had some fresh Cilantro in the herb garden to add! Topped with sour cream and lettuce from the garden.

Monday: Hamburgers on the grill, Sweet potato fries, salad with lettuce from the garden

I made a homemade 'Caper Dressing', for which I found the recipe in a old McCall's Cookbook that was a wedding present to my grandma :) Hubby & I love capers and this dressing doesn't disappoint! I will share the recipe soon.

Tuesday: Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli and carrots

Wednesday: Scrambled Egg Burritos with Chard & Spinach from the garden and Breakfast Sausage

Yes, we have breakfast for dinner at least once a week...usually Monday's! It is too easy which is great!

Thursday: Bone-in Chicken Breast on the grill, Roasted Cauliflower, Salad with lettuce from the garden

Friday: Homemade Pizza on the grill :-)

Saturday: London Broil on the grill with baked potato's and salad with lettuce from the garden

The weather here is crazy hot and our AC is broke! Yes, I live with an HVAC man -- which also means if I want him to fix it for pennies on the dollar, I have to wait until the holiday weekend is over and he has access to the parts he needs from the supplier. *sigh* And then, it is supposed to go down to the 60's mid-week this week...what?! I hope my tomato and pepper plants can hang!

Weekly Meal Plan: a little bit of everything!

Sunday: Roast Beef and Mashed Potatos & Pan Gravy

Leftovers were lunch the next day! I also mixed some horseradish in with sour cream for dipping sauce.

Monday: Fritatta and Bacon

We stuffed the fritatta with spinach from the garden, onions and some cheese. Mondays are quickly becoming our 'Breakfast for Dinner' day of the week!

Tuesday: Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Wednesday: London Broil on the grill with Roasted Cauliflower

Thursday: Soy marinated Pork Chops on the grill

Friday: Brats & Sauerkraut on the grill

I am sure these brats were loaded with MSG among other things - ugh - since we are working our diets away from all that 'garbage', I am excited to get sausages through a local buying club were are starting this week with a local farmer! There is no msg or any other nastys added in them! More on that later!!

Saturday: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Beef & Cheese Burritos!