Black Beans and Rice

It's no secret that I love Mexican and/or Spanish cuisine. Chipotle, Pollo Tropical, and Qdoba are all in my list of favorite "fast-food" eateries. But when I can cook some of these dishes at home, it saves money and time.  Black beans are great. They're filling, tasty, and they work well in a variety of dishes.

My recipe for black beans is all done to taste. I'll try to give approximations of what I used...

Ingredients
1 can of black beans, undrained
1/4 cup of onion, chopped
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
Olive oil
White vinegar
Water
Cilantro

1. Coat bottom of frying pan in olive oil. Over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in pan till caramelized. 

2. Add beans to the pan. Fill 1/4 of the can with water, and add to pan. Boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat.  Add cilantro and white vinegar to taste. Let simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Serve over rice. (I used Uncle Ben's Boil in a Bag brown rice).  Top with chopped onion and cilantro. 

Chicken Florentine

It's no secret that I enjoy pasta. I'm Italian. It's practically in my DNA.  So any time I can find a fun, relatively not-fattening recipe with pasta, I get pretty excited.

And, according to this website, Italians are also especially fond of spinach. I'm not incredibly a huge fan of the leafy greens (except in this dish, or in a spinach and artichoke dip...coming up soon, post Super Bowl).  But this recipe was especially tasty. I've made it a few times...but over the course of a few tries, I've altered the recipe to suit my tastes better (my recipe is NOT the recipe posted on the website above).  So, without further ado...Chicken Florentine.

Ingredients

2 cups pasta (use whole grain...it's better for you, and it's more filling)
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 onion, chopped
1 package (6.5oz) light semi-soft garlic and herb cheese spread (Alouette is amazing)
2 cups fat-free milk
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (reduced fat, preferably)
2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1. Cook pasta according to package, but do not add any salt. Drain but do not rinse.

2. While pasta is cooking, spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook chicken and onion for four to six minutes (or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender). If the onion browns too quickly, reduce heat.

3. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in the semi-soft cheese until completely melted.

4. In a bowl, whisk milk and flour together until smooth. Add the mixture to the chicken. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.

5. After sauce is thickened, reduce heat to low. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Toss in pasta, and cook for another two minutes, until heated through.

6. Stir in spinach and top with cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!

PointsPlus value: 11 (yields approximately 5 servings)