As Weeders may note, I’ve been in the process of using up freezer and pantry items this past week. This in preparation for–well, I don’t know persactly, but a girl needs her space. And so does her food supply…..
To that end, a friend delivered two gallons of freshly picked blueberries the other day and they are in the process of being frozen, slowly, one cookie sheet at a time and then double packaged in zip-locks for the oncoming winter. Of course, we’ll be eating some of them, but two gallons is, well, a gazillion blueberries for two people to consume all at once. The extra freezer space has already come in handy.
The Royal Red is not interested in blueberries. Kong, on the other hand, stuffed with a Greenie and peanut butter can keep her entertained for hours.
Which is why I have a moment to actually write this post, you see. There is method to my madness. Then again, sometimes I just feel nerdy wordy.
So, here we go–another leftovers meal:
Black beans and rice
I am NOT, I repeat NOT, a fan of either rice or beans as a generalization. Nope, not my kind of meat and potatoes meal at all. However, once in a while it is necessary to have some variety in one’s menu and this was one of those “one-ces”.
“Why?” Jabber suddenly appeared at the mention of food–of any sort–….
Because I said so, Jabber. Go away.
So, there I was, 5 p.m. and no dinner ready. And no idea what to fix. VOILA! thought I….sometimes I do think “Voila!” but not too often–anyway, I had some packages of andouille sausage in the freezer and they really should be used up.
Hmmm, beans and rice usually go well with andouille sausage! So, I did what any normal person would do (not saying I’m exactly ‘normal’ here, but you know…) anyway, sure enough, I had both black beans and rice. As well as a can of corn! Yea! And, as a bonus, the black bean can had a recipe on it, so I read through it.
I can do that, I thought, and began….I mean, this isn’t rocket science and frankly, one doesn’t need a recipe for this! And, of course, I didn’t do it exactly as the recipe dictated. I had to make up my own…..
Chop up 1 cup of onion and 1/2 cup green pepper more or less and put in a pan with olive oil–heat them up and cook about 5 minutes–medium to low heat. Stir around now and again.
Throw in some garlic–I have some in the jar already minced–maybe a tablespoon or so. Your kitchen is going to smell delicious! Now, add about 1 teaspoon of Oregano.
Add the black beans. Stir.
Now is the time to add maybe 3/4 cups of water or chicken broth or vegetable broth–whatever you have. Now add chopped andouille sausage (I cut into 1 inch chunks) and sauté all of this for a while.
Set all this aside while you cook up about 2 to 3 cups of white rice. (Or, if you’re smart, you had this rice going while you were chopping and sautéing. I was not, sadly, that smart.)
I put the rice in a large bowl along with a can of corn
and the already cooked vegetables and sausage. Taste it. Decide if you want more salt or seasoning. Maybe throw in a can of Rotel for a bit more spice (I wish that I had). Add whatever you’d like for a bit more zip or zing if you think it’s warranted. Oh. Yes. I forgot to say I added about 1 pound of rotisserie chicken to the mix–just decided that was a good use for it.
Frankly, I wish I’d added the Rotel, too, but I didn’t. Ours was a bit dry and a bit of zip would have been an added plus. Before baking, I could have added a bit more chicken stock as well.
Okay, now bake what you’re going to have for supper–maybe 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until it’s good and hot. Make up some corn muffins and bake those to go with the black beans and rice. Add a salad. There is supper.
You will have a HUGE batch on your hands. Call your friends, there is going to be plenty of food.
Wrap up what you’re not going to eat in foil, then place in plastic freezer bags and….well so much for saving the freezer space, eh?, freeze for another night’s supper. Or, you know, you could add a container of this to soup base–and you’d have a delicious and filling soup.
(The Royal Red is STILL chewing her Kong toy! Yea!)
harpethview 