I batch cook black beans in the crock pot and freeze them in baggies so we always have them on hand. If you aren't there yet in your meal planning, canned beans work just fine! I get about 6lb of cooked beans from 2lb of dried beans, so it saves money and we have the freezer room to store them. I'll add my crock recipe for beans at the bottom if you want to give it a try! UPDATE!!! Now I cook my beans in the Instant Pot. Recipe added below!
This has been a family favorite for years! My middle child begs for it and brings a huge thermos full of it for lunch to school whenever I make it. The recipe was first given to me years ago by my brother and I've made many variations of it over the years, based on what ingredients we have in the house. Any tomatoes will work just fine, I used grape tomatoes this time. If we have leftover corn on the cob from another meal, I shave them and use that instead of frozen. Adding cucumbers or avocado changes the flavor a bit, or even a bit of diced bell pepper. You can really make this your own!
I batch cook black beans in the crock pot and freeze them in baggies so we always have them on hand. If you aren't there yet in your meal planning, canned beans work just fine! I get about 6lb of cooked beans from 2lb of dried beans, so it saves money and we have the freezer room to store them. I'll add my crock recipe for beans at the bottom if you want to give it a try! UPDATE!!! Now I cook my beans in the Instant Pot. Recipe added below!
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This recipe was inspired by a complicated recipe I saved years ago and never tried. You know why, because it was complicated and I don't have time for that! I threw this together right in the middle of my crazy holiday prep and it was simple and delicious. I'm totally lacking in pictures this time because I was too distracted with the craziness, but you don't need pictures to make this.
The bonus here is my homemade chicken rub recipe that you can make and store for future use! It's preservative free and absolutely fantastic. I use it by itself or as a base for BBQ, and in this case to season a chicken before I covered it with delicious fresh Florida citrus. You know I'm always looking for new orange recipes to try when we get our lake oranges every year around Christmas. Plus a good friend has the most amazing lemon tree that just produces and produces, so we always look forward to her lemons around the same time! This chicken dish looks fancy and tastes like you put in a lot of effort, without taking too much time. I prepped it ahead and refrigerated until I was ready to bake it. It doesn't need to marinate, but at least 30 min in the fridge allows a little time for the flavors to really enhance. It can be prepped the night before or moments before baking. Topping it with dried herbs adds great flavor, but if you have fresh herbs on hand (hint, hint Tower Garden) WOWZA! You really can't go wrong!
This week I thawed black beans, thinking I'd make my middle child's favorite black bean salad for lunches. When I woke up and felt how windy and cold it was out, this soup just popped into my head and I knew it would be the perfect meal on this blustery day. It totally gets blustery here in North Florida, you know. I've been eating it all week and it's so yummy!!
It came together fairly easily, thanks to my frozen crock pot black beans I divided up and saved a while back, as well as homemade chicken bone broth I also stored. If you don't have homemade, canned beans and a container of store bought chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you're meatless) will work just fine. This stuff is so good, it was nearly gone before I could get a picture of it cooked. That's how good it is. Pretend there's a picture of a bubbly, browned, fresh from the oven dip right here. A friend shared her recipe for a full on real blue cheese version of this years ago and I knew immediately I had to create a dairy free version for us. No matter where I serve this, it gets gobbled up and most people are surprised to hear there's no dairy! It's a great way to use up leftover chicken of any flavor, rotisserie chicken, or if you've read my chicken soup post you can cook extra in your soup to use in this dip later. I used breasts from my freezer already covered in dry ranch seasoning and boiled them for approx 20 minutes. If you're a vegan there's a simple substitute for the chicken. |
About Dana Merrill
I'm a busy mom of three, determined to maintain a healthy lifestyle amidst the beautiful chaos. Links
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