Big Weather's Big Recipe: Spicy beans and rice

I've been lucky enough to do the recipe blog in other cities I've worked in and, inevitably, someone asks for a vegetarian recipe. So before anyone does, I'd thought I'd post one right out of the gate.

I have to admit, I love meat and it was a tough assignment to find several years back. My wife came through, though. She remembered a great recipe a friend of ours made 20+ years ago while working in Altoona, PA. By the way, when I made it in the video I doubled it because I like leftovers for later in the week. Here's the basic recipe:

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Onion, chopped

1 Green Pepper, chopped

1 Red Pepper, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, diced

1/2 Cup of Salsa

1 Can of diced tomato, Italian style

1 Can of Light Red Kidney Beans

1 Can of Dark Red Kidney Beans

1 Can Great Northern Beans (or other type of bean)

3/4 tsp of Cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Minute Rice (I usually make the recipe on the box for 4 Cups)

Preparation

1. Saute the onions, peppers, and garlic in Olive Oil in a pot for about 5 minutes

2. Stir in beans and juice, and salsa

3. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally

4. Add spices and continue to simmer for 1-2 hours.

5. Make rice and serve the beans over rice.

6. Enjoy

WANT TO PRINT THE RECIPE? DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

A couple of notes... After step 4, you can transfer to a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours for an easy meal later in the day. Also, if you like it more on the spicy side, you can add red pepper flakes or Cayenne Pepper when you add the spices, but my family isn't a spicy family. Also, we try to watch the salt intake so this may need some more salt, depending on your taste preferences.

It is vegan at this point, but I like to add a little cheddar cheese and/or sour cream when serving. I also like to serve this with some fresh, Italian bread. Yum.

Finally, for my meat eating friends out there, you can brown a pound of ground beef in the pan before you cook the the onions. It comes out almost like a chili, but without the chili powder. I gotta tell you, it tastes pretty good without the meat though. Good luck and good eating!