Beans with Corn and Cilantro
It's been a few minutes since I've peeked through any of them, but Alexis recently has become obsessed with studying my cookbooks. I don't have that many and most of the ones I have are lame (these things happen when you're cheap), but she is still managing to come across some things she wants to try.
Which, bring it on, kid. I'm ready for some fun new ideas. (Pasta salad, for example. I need a new pasta salad recipe. Anybody have one they love?)
Anyway, the only bad thing about her going through the cookbooks and trying to find things she wants to make is that she keeps getting frustrated when we don't have all of the necessary ingredients for her to be able to follow a recipe. There have been some mini meltdowns over the issue.
Which means I ended up throwing kidney beans and corn together and showing her that it's okay to not follow a recipe.
It made for a good lesson. I showed her how to start with less than the amount you think you need of something and then add a bit more until it's right. You can add, but you can't take things back out once you've thrown them in the pan. I think she now understands the role of the crockpot in this world and how it's not really that different from cooking on the stove. We also talked about using fresh foods that will spoil first, and then checking the canned goods and frozen and such.
Something tells me we are going to have a bunch more of these sorts of lessons in the coming weeks. It's really super bothering her that there are unused vegetables still in the fridge. Well, that, and CILANTRO. I have all of the CILANTRO (caps lock necessary because HOLY CRAP THERE IS SO MUCH OF IT) growing in our yard, and now Alexis is acutely aware that we need to be trying to use it as often as possible.
If I'm eating Cilantro Zucchini Rhubarb Oatmeal next week, now you know why.
Beans with Corn and CILANTRO
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 can petite diced tomatoes
A giant handful cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Grab a really big skillet and toss the olive oil in it. Add the red pepper and turn the heat to medium-high. Let it cook for a minute or two and then stir. Now add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for about five minutes, or until the onion begins to turn clear.
2. Throw everything else in the pan. Stir. Simmer. Stir some more. It's done when the kidney beans are warm all the way through and are as soft as you like them. It took about 20 minutes for me to consider things all done.
3. Serve with colby jack cheese and extra CILANTRO.
Oh, wait. You probably don't have any CILANTRO since I have it all in my yard. Sorry about that.
Recipe
Reader Comments (2)
I love Southwest pasta salad - and BONUS! It has cilantro in it. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southwestern-Pasta-Salad/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=southwest%20pasta%20salad&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1
I have a very similar recipe, except for mine calls for black beans instead of kidney beans and tomatoes with green chlies (Rotel). I love this dish.
Cilantro is easy to grow? I must try that next spring.