I prefer to prepare dinner dinner, nonetheless typically answering the question of what’s for dinner may be anxious—notably all through the week, when deadlines and completely different commitments take priority. And as soon as I’m hungry on the end of the day and don’t have a dinner plan in place, that’s as soon as I’ll raid the fridge for random parts in hopes of throwing one factor collectively shortly, or order takeout.
While I’m not a meal prepper, you’ll be able to see me batch-cooking enormous pots of soup or casseroles on Sundays (when I’ve the time and space to learn from the strategy of cooking) and reheating the leftovers on the following days. When we’ve run out of leftovers, my husband and I make sooner, a lot easier meals, like our go-to Friday night time time meal: black beans and rice.
I wasn’t on a regular basis an enormous fan of beans, nonetheless I started consuming them generally all through the pandemic since they’re low price and shelf-stable. I similar to the consolation of canned beans, which require no prep work other than reheating them. Our beans and rice dish came about by merely throwing our favorite parts proper right into a bowl with some black beans: steamed white rice, sautéed kale, sliced avocado, chopped onion and a squeeze of lime juice.
To make it, I start by rinsing some white rice and popping it proper right into a rice cooker. The the rest of the meal comes collectively pretty shortly, so I’ll usually put the rice on about an hour sooner than we have to eat so that it’s cooked and in a position to go. My rice cooker takes 45 minutes to make white rice, and if we have to eat our meal as shortly as a result of the rice is accomplished cooking, I start prepping the alternative parts when there are quarter-hour left on the timer. I chop an onion, slice up an avocado and cut back a lime in half.
Next, I dump a can of black beans, liquid and all, in a saucepan, add lots of the chopped onion (I prefer to order a bit for topping the bowls) and warmth it over medium heat. When the liquid throughout the beans begins effervescent, I flip the heat all the way in which all the way down to low, giving it a mix to verify the onions soften. I don’t rinse the beans on account of I just like the flavour the liquid gives to the dish, nonetheless I do drain them barely when assembling the dish by tilting the serving spoon full of beans alongside the side of the saucepan. If you’re watching your sodium consumption, you can purchase no-salt-added canned beans and/or rinse and drain them.
Then on one different burner, I sauté some kale with olive oil and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning in a frying pan. We really like kale, so I’ll usually sauté two pans value so there’s enough to get pleasure from with any leftovers.
To serve, I seize my favorite handmade ceramic pasta bowls and assemble the dish. I spoon some rice into each bowl, then excessive it with the warmed black beans and onions. The sauteéd kale and avocado slices are positioned throughout the beans and rice, and I finish with a sprinkle of raw chopped onion and a squeeze of lime juice. And that’s it!
It’s a simple, tasty, budget-friendly dish. There are so many swaps chances are you’ll make to suit your preferences or deplete regardless of is in your pantry and fridge. You can swap the white rice with brown rice or a wild rice mix, change the type of beans, veggies and seasonings, or excessive it collectively together with your favorite scorching sauce. I choose to throw an over-easy egg on excessive of leftovers the following day. I like that this complete dish comes collectively in about 45 minutes (a lot much less once you use leftover or precooked rice), and the first parts are pantry staples we practically on a regular basis have available.
As far as vitamin goes, this black bean and rice bowl is full of anti-inflammatory parts like avocado and kale. The black beans provide filling fiber, and once you substitute the white rice with brown rice, you probably can enhance the fiber way more. This meal may be good in your gut, due to the resistant starch in black beans and prebiotics in onions. As a whole, it’s a well-rounded dish with carbs, healthful fat and protein.
Having go-to meals like this rice and beans bowl takes the pressure off of dinner planning—notably if you happen to protect your kitchen stocked with most (if not all) of the weather you need. If you’re planning on making this dish at residence, I’d recommend procuring spherical for an avocado just some days beforehand or using thought of considered one of these ripening strategies to ensure you have a splendidly ripe avocado by dinnertime. Having a healthful dinner doesn’t require a complicated recipe or hours throughout the kitchen; it might be as simple as putting your favorite nutritious parts proper right into a bowl and digging in. I hope this “recipe” conjures up you to assemble your private quick, healthful and delicious dinners at residence.
