Black Beans and Rice

A complete one dish dinner with black beans, rice, meat, and vegetables.  All cooked in one pot.

I made this black beans and rice so that I could have a complete and balanced meal in one dish, and it only required one pot for cooking.  With a little prep work this dinner is very simple to prepare and relatively inexpensive for a tasty and complete dinner.  It also made a big pot's worth that I was happy to eat all week.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1/2 pound  Mexican chorizo
1-2 jalapenos, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 bunches of spinach or other dark green leafy, roughly chopped
2 cups (cooked) black beans
1 cup rice
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 6oz can tomato paste
salt and pepper

In a large pot, cook the chorizo, over medium heat, until thoroughly cooked. Keep the grease, or at least some of it (for flavor).

Add the onion and peppers (and some salt and pepper) sauteing, with the chorizo, until tender (you can remove the jalapeno seeds if you don't want the spiciness, or omit the jalapenos all together).

Add the spinach (I used choy sum, which is always prevalent in Chinatown) and cover the pot so that it will steam and cook down (you shouldn't need to add any extra liquid because the onion and peppers release plenty when cooking).

When spinach is soft and wilted add the beans (I used beans I had cooked earlier, but you could use canned just drain and rinse) and rice.  Then add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste.

Allow the liquid to boil then reduce the temperature to low, cover, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the rice is soft and fluffy (add some water if it's too dry).  I did not drain the diced tomatoes when I cooked this and it ended up a little soupy, so I let it simmer with the top off for a while until it was thicker.

Remove from heat and serve topped with cilantro and cheese if you desire.  It is great with tortilla chips on the side too.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy.

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