Pinto Beans with Bacon and Jalapenos Recipe

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil, grapeseed oil, or canola oil
2 to 3 whole jalapeño chile peppers
2 to 3 thick-cut slices of bacon
2 cups of chopped onion
2 medium clove of garlic, minced
4 cups of cooked pinto beans (2 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained)
Salt
1/2 cup, loosely packed, chopped fresh cilantro
METHOD
1 Heat oil in a medium skillet on high heat. Put the jalapeños in the pan and stir to coat with the oil. Let cook, turning occasionally, on all sides, until all sides are nicely browned (about 10-15 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is). Remove from pan. Cut away and discard the stem, core, seeds, and veins. Coarsely chop the remaining jalapeño flesh.
2 While the jalapeños are cooking, cook the bacon slices on medium low heat in a large skillet, until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off (do not discard down the drain!) all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.
3 Add the chopped onion to the pan with the bacon fat. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until translucent and lightly browned. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more. While the onion is cooking, chop the cooked bacon.
4 Add the cooked beans, chopped bacon, and the chopped jalapeños to the pan and stir to mix. Sprinkle with salt.
Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, and steak and salsa.

Slow Cooked Taco Chicken

Slow Cooked Taco Chicken [Makes 6 servings]
From Budget Bytes

1 1/2 lb chicken breasts
16 oz jar salsa
15 oz can black beans, drained
8 oz frozen corn
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Cracked pepper, to taste

Add everything to the slow cooker along with 1/4 cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.

After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily).

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew

 

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut in 1-inch pieces
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. vegetable broth
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1/2 c. red wine
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 pints wild mushrooms, in large pieces
1 c. fresh parsley, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the flour, pepper, and thyme. Add beef to the crock pot and toss to coat with seasoned flour. Combine the broth, tomato paste, wine, and garlic. Mix well and pour over beef. Add mushrooms on top of beef, but do not mix in.

Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Do not lift lid during cooking! (I know you want to. But don’t.) Mix with chopped parsley before serving.

Chicken Chili with Black Beans

At only 323 calories per serving and packing over 40 grams of protein, this chili is a healthy, quick dinner that everyone can enjoy.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can low sodium black beans, or 1/2 cup dry beans soaked
8 oz tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
2 cups low sodium chicken stock, divided
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 serrano chili peppers, minced
1 habanero pepper, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped or 1 tsp dried

Step by Step Instructions:
1. Sautee garlic, onion and peppers in olive oil 3-5 minutes, until soft

2. Add chicken and brown, 2-3 minutes, flipping once

3. Once chicken is lightly browned, add 1 cup of stock, cumin and cilantro

4. Braise chicken covered for 5-7 minutes

5. Remove chicken and shred or chop

6. Return chicken to pot

7. Add tomatoes and remaining stock and simmer uncovered on med-low heat for 10 minutes

8. Add beans and simmer an additional 10 minutes

9. Serve

Nutrition Info: Makes 4 servings
323 Calories
42.8g Protein
8g Fiber

Lentils with White Beans

Serves: 2 | CarbsPerServing: 8g | Prep time: 10 min | Effort: Very Easy

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz) of lentils
1 can (15 oz) of white beans
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
mixed peppers (black, white, green) or black pepper (powdered; optional)
salt

How to Prepare:
Lentils salad, as a very healthy low carbs food, could not be easier to prepare: open the lentils can, wash and dry them. Do the same for white beans and put them in a salad bowl. Add salt, pepper (according to taste) & vinegar. Mix, serve and enjoy! Simple, huh?

Caloric value, carbs and other ingredients:
Extremely easy and quick to prepare; pepper is optional. Lentils is one of the healthiest foods. While it does contain 60% of carbs in total, 31% are fiber and only 2% are sugars – or “bad” carbs. Similarly, white beans also contain only about 2% sugars.

Tomato Salad with Chick Peas and Onions

Serves: 2 | CarbsPerServing: – | Prep time: 10 min | Effort: Very Easy

Ingredients:
4-5 fresh tomatos
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 onion (optional)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
black pepper (powdered; optional)
salt

How to Prepare:
Wash the tomatos thoroughly and slice them. Peel the onion & slice it – optional; if you do not like onion, do not use it Add some salt and pepper. Add vinegar. Add a can of chickpeas to the salad. Mix everything together – finished!

Caloric value, carbs and other ingredients:
This salad is very easy and quick to prepare; onion & black pepper is optional. As mentioned in other recipes, chickpeas do not have a very low carbohydrate content, but they do have the “good” carbs – with low glycemic index – and a lot of cholesterol-lowering fibre as well as vitamins and minerals, natural healthy fats and oils and a blend of enzymes.

Again, as mentioned, chick peas do contain about (mostly “good” ones) 23% carbs.

Asian Flavored Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs

BY CHRISTINE

• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 c. rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey (yes, this is a sugar – but I use local, raw honey and it’s good for our allergies)
• a pinch of red pepper flake
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger chopped
• about 10 short ribs
• 2 heads cauliflower, trimmed
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Combine the soy sauce, teriyaki, vinegar, honey, red pepper flake, garlic and ginger in a bowl and whisk till combined.

Heat a pan, or your stove top safe, slow cooker insert to med/high heat – sear your ribs on all sides.  Don’t crowd the pan, do this in batches if necessary.  Add them all back to the slow cooker insert and pour the marinade over the top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

About an hour before you’re ready to eat, preheat the oven to 400 and cut the florets from the cauliflower, place on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over the top, toss and roast 30-40 minutes or until the florets are slightly browned.

Put a bunch of cauliflower in the bottom of your bowl, place 2 or 3 ribs on top and spoon some of the cooking liquid over the top.

As I was putting the ribs in the bowl, the meat literally fell off the bone. So tender and delicious and browning the meat first sears the fat and makes it crunchy and tasty.  Yum.

Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

BY CHRISTINE

• 2 lbs stew meat
• 1 heart of celery chopped
• 2 medium onions chopped
• about 6 carrots, really roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce – or more if you like
• strained tomatoes – I used a 28.6 oz. box of Pomi – more or less is fine.
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 pint mushrooms
• 1 package dried black beans
• 2 heads cauliflower, florets

The night before, soak your beans according to package directions. When you get up in the morning, drain them, refill the pot with fresh water and simmer on low for 1.5-2 hours until tender and done – I learned a trick recently to check from the four poles of the pot.  One bean each from North, East, South and West of the pot.  If they’re all tender, you’re done!

Drain again, set aside in an air tight container. Refrigerate if it makes you feel better.  I left it out – we’re still alive. =)

When you put the beans up to simmer, take a large dutch oven, or the insert of your crock if it’s stove top safe. Heat on med/high heat.

Admire your grass fed, no hormone, pasture raised beef…

Add them to the heated pot and brown – this is where I ran into my first issue.  There was a lot of liquid and the meat wasn’t browning like I wanted.  I removed all beef from the pot, drained the liquid and put the meat back in – it started to brown immediately.  You may not have this issue, but I wanted to share my experience in case you did.

While the meat is browning, chop all your veggies and put in a bowl.  I added my spices here too, because I like to toast spices like cumin and chili powder, so why not do it all together?

Transfer the meat to a plate, put the veggies and spices in the pot, or slow cooker insert, add a big pinch of salt and brown them for a little bit, tossing occasionally.

Add the meat back in and cover with the tomatoes, Worcestershire, and stock.  Transfer to the crockpot, stir, cover and set on low to cook for 8 hours.

About an hour before eating, add the black beans and mushrooms, stir and cover. Preheat the oven to 400, cut up 2 heads of cauliflower, put on a sheet pan, toss with a little olive oil and kosher salt

and roast for 40 minutes to an hour, until golden.

Put a bed of the roasted cauliflower in the bowl, and spoon some stew on top, making sure that you get a little bit of everything.

Soooo good! And you can feel so good about feeding this meal to your family!  If you’re not carb conscious like we’re being for a while, you could add potatoes, or serve this on a bed of egg noodles. Stick to your ribs, delish.

Seared Scallops and Wilted Greens

 

Here I’ve paired some scallops with wilted greens and served them over white beans for a slow carb meal. The acidity in the greens make them the perfect complement to devilishly rich scallops. This could be served over mashed cauliflower or beansl!

To prepare:

Slice the kale stems into thin pieces and the leaves into larger strips. Heat a large, deep pan to medium-high.  Add the bacon a cook 3-4 minutes.

Then add the shallots and cook until soft—3 more minutes.

Next add the garlic, and kale STEMS.

Cook another 4-5 minutes before adding the leaves. Toss until wilted over the heat. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, then salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm.

Heat an iron skillet to high.

Removes the “foot” off the side of each scallop and dry them thoroughly–then salt and pepper.

Add the oil to the pan and swirl around. When it starts to smoke, quickly add the scallops.  Cook on high for about 1-2 minutes.

Flip the scallops and add the butter.  Spoon the butter over the scallops as they cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve over warm greens.

 

Recipe: Seared Scallops with Wilted Greens

 

Ingredients

• 3 slices of thick-cut bacon cut into pieces
• 2 shallots, sliced thin
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bunches of kale (chard, beet greens…)
• 1 Tb. soy sauce
• 1 Tb. Red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 12 large sea scallops
• 2 Tb. olive oil
• 1 Tb. butter

Instructions

1. Slice the kale stems into thin pieces and the leaves into larger strips.
2. Heat a large, deep pan to medium-high.  Add the bacon a cook 3-4 minutes.
3. Then add the shallots and cook until soft—3 more minutes.
4. Next add the garlic, and kale STEMS.  Cook another 4-5 minutes before adding the leaves.  Toss until wilted over the heat.
5. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, then salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm.
6. Heat an iron skillet to high.  Dry the scallops thoroughly, then salt and pepper.
7. Add the oil to the pan and swirl around.  When it starts to smoke, quickly add the scallops.  Cook on high for about 1-2 minutes.
8. Flip the scallops and add the butter.  Spoon the butter over the scallops as they cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve over warm greens.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 12 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

New Mexican Chile Verde

 

 

 
To Prepare:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork and 2 tsp of salt. Brown the pork on all sides, stirring regularly.

Remove the pork from the pot and pour out all rendered fat, saving about 1 Tb. Add the onions, remaining salt, cumin, coriander and oregano. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Then add the garlic and peppers. Saute another 3-5 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatillos, bay leaves and cilantro. Toss the pork with the masa and add back to the pot. Stir well.

Finally add the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, or until the pork is falling apart.
Take 2 forks the break the pork up even more. Salt and Pepper to taste.

 

Ingredients

• ¼ cup oil
• 4-4 ½ lbs. pork butt, trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
• 1 Tb. salt, divided
• 1 Tb. ground cumin
• 1 Tb. ground coriander
• 1 Tb. oregano
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 4 coves garlic, minced
• 2 Anaheim peppers, chopped
• 2 Poblano peppers, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 lb. cleaned and chopped tomatillos
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 large bunch of cilatnro, chopped
• 4 cups of water or chicken stock
• Lime Wedges for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork and 2 tsp of salt. Brown the pork on all sides, stirring regularly.
2. Remove the pork from the pot and pour out all rendered fat, saving about 1 Tb.
3. Add the onions, remaining salt, cumin, coriander and oregano. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
4. Then add the garlic and peppers. Saute another 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the chopped tomatillos, bay leaves and cilantro.
6. Take the pork and add back to the pot. Stir well.
7. Finally add the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, or until the pork is falling apart.
8. Take 2 forks the break the pork up even more. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Preparation time: 30 minute(s)

Cooking time: 3 1/2 hour(s)