Not Your Ordinary Bean Dinners

I have several recipes for those of you who are ready to dress up a bean dinner with unusual flavors.  Below, you will find ways to prepare pinto beans, lentils, and chickpeas with flare.  These meals are perfect for a Friday Lenten dinner, or any night.  And, they are all quick and easy to prepare.

For an easy twist on enchiladas, make Enfrijoladas with cooked whole pinto beans.  These cheese enchiladas use a bean sauce instead of the traditional chili pepper sauce.  The recipe, by Marcela Valladolid, was featured on her Food Network Show “Mexican Made Easy” last year.  It does call for chicken broth, but vegetable broth would work for a vegetarian version.  As several of the reviews on the site report, the sauce that results from the recipe is more than needed for eight cheese filled enchiladas, so you can double the number of enchildas to feed more than four people.  Or, freeze half the sauce for another meal.  Read the recipe here.

My friend Karen created the following recipe for lentils.  I wrote about how Karen’s natural living lifestyle has influenced me at this post.  She has graciously agreed to let me post her recipe.  And, because she is such a generous person, she has offered to my blog her prepared information about feeding babies and toddlers a whole food, diary free diet while entirely avoiding processed food.  This comes from the advice she offers her brother’s patients (a Christian natural living chiropractic practice).  Look for that post in the near future.  This lentil recipe makes a lot, so you can feed a large family, or freeze half for later.

KAREN’S CURRY LENTILS

          by Karen Townsend

one pound dried lentils

water for soaking + 6 cups for cooking

Optional: 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 – 2 tablespoons sea salt (less for regular table salt)

1 cup brown rice or quinoa

1 – 2 onions

3 – 4 cloves garlic

olive oil for sautéing

4 large leaves of kale or spinach, leaves frozen whole or fresh

2 teaspoons curry powder

Optional: 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, avocado to garnish

Soak lentils overnight with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and plenty of water (they soak up the water).  This step is optional, but will enhance the nutritional value of the lentils.  In the morning, combine the following in a slow cooker on low (all day): lentils (drained and rinsed), 6 cups water, sea salt.

About one and a half hours before serving, put 1 cup of brown rice to boil.  Chop and sauté the onion and garlic in a little oil.  When the rice and vegetables are ready, add them to the slow cooker along with: the frozen, crumpled kale or spinach leaves (fresh works too), 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder or extra onion above, 1 teaspoon garlic powder or extra garlic above.

*For some reason it is also REALLY good served with sliced avocado on top!

**If cutting  lentils back to 1 ½ cups, use only ½ - 1 tablespoon salt and 4 cups water, keeping everything else the same.

One more recipe to try: a delicious, tangy yummy Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad.  I am quite impressed with the intense flavor of the dressing, and I plan to try it with other beans.  Serve this dish with leftover brown rice for a quick lunch or dinner.  Also, make sure you check out the links on the recipe page to the original recipe (by Heather at Heather’s Dish), which is slightly different and makes a larger quantity.  By the way, I just took another peek at Heather’s Dish and I’ve found more good stuff to try!

In 2013 I am linking with: What are you doing this Lent?, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, Your Green Resource, Food on Fridays, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Welcome Home, Four Moms, Better Mom Monday, Motivational Monday, Shoe Lace

In 2012 I linked with: What are you doing for Lent?, Catholic Bloggers Network, Lenten Link up, Lenten Meal Plan Monday.