easy bean recipe | Sex, Soup, and 2 Fisted Eating

Is it bad that I’m in love with bacon? It makes so many things taste so good…especially bit pots of vegetables. It looks like a lot of kale at first, but trust me, it boils down to a reasonable amount.

Ingredients

½ lb bacon (or turkey bacon…gobble gobble…it up)

1 lb kale (6-8 cups chopped)

1 onion

2 tomatoes

1 can red or black beans

¼ cup fresh cilantro

Supplies

Sharp knife and cutting board

Large soup pot with lid

Can opener

Preparation

Chop onion and tomatoes.

Cut bacon into 1” pieces.

Wash kale.

Drain and rinse beans.

Directions

Fry the bacon and onion over medium heat until onion is tender.

Add tomatoes, kale, beans and cilantro.

Cover tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until kale is tender.

If too much liquid remains once kale is cooked, uncover and simmer 10 minutes more until liquid evaporates.

Serve over rice or by its savory lonesome.

Yield

5-6 one cup servings (Told you the kale would cook down!)

Note: I used yellow tomato and red onion when I took this picture. With red tomato, it’ll look Christmas-y 🙂

We’ll talk about why beans are a cancer-fighter next week. This week I wanted you all to have a chance to taste how delicious beans can be. If you want a healthier version, you can omit the bacon and cheese; I keep them in because a little of each adds a lot of flavor. And I love cheese. This is easy and fast. If you want to play with the types of veggies you throw in, go for it! I’ve added zucchini, spinach..it’s all good.

This recipe came from the More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Longacre.

Ingredients:

2 slices of bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pepper, any color, chopped

2 cups cooked beans – kidney, black, etc., rinsed and drained (Canned beans are cooked and work great.)

2 ripe tomatoes, diced OR 1 can chopped tomatoes OR 3/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup beef bouillon (I don’t often have this on hand; I usually just sprinkle a packet of chicken bouillon. The tomatoes add enough water for my taste.)

1 tsp chili powder (I usually use 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

dash pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Fry the bacon, remove from pan, break into pieces.

2. Saute onion and pepper in the bacon fat until tender.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, lower the heat a bit, then simmer and stir occasionally until it looks blended (about 5 minutes). Serve over rice.