Guest Author - Jill Valente

I love this dish alongside some yummy fish tacos or even as a barbeque side as it tastes great room temperature. It’s fabulous to make during the summer months because it produces a lot in one shot keeping you out of the kitchen and is good leftover. You can even use it as the filling for a healthy burrito!

Rice and Beans
Black beans are a great source of cholesterol-lowering fiber and when combined with a whole grain like brown rice, they provide an almost fat-free high-quality protein. They are also loaded with antioxidants and can help lower your risk of heart disease.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• 2 cup brown rice
• 4 cups reduced fat chicken broth

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat and add minced garlic, diced onion and diced green and red bell peppers. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes until softened and browned. Add diced tomatoes, black beans, Tabasco sauce, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, salt and black pepper. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Throw in the rice and stir to combine with black bean mixture and then add chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. After it reaches a boil, simmer with the lid on for 50-60 minutes until the rice is cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed. Makes 10 servings. 4 points per serving.

Notes

Although I like to consider myself a fairly good cook, the one thing I am horrible at is making rice. I think it may be a combination of not being allowed to touch the rice once it’s cooking along with my proactive personality in the kitchen. How can it cook properly without me knowing what’s going on?? This recipe requires some added patience but I do feel like you can start checking on it after 45 minutes in order to ensure that it doesn’t burn.