Food: Black Beans and Rice

If you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal to make that doesn’t involve a box and a ton of preservatives, consider this hearty meal. It’s easy to make, healthy, tasty, and well, goes pretty well with wine. We enjoyed this meal with a glass of 14 Hands Hot to Trot.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups of chopped roasted ham (look for one that’s free from preservatives and organic)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• a couple of drops of pepper sauce
• 6 cups of cooked brown rice (We like Lundberg farms short grain brown rice for this dish)

First, start the rice cooking. Saute the onion, garlic, and peppers in a tablespoon of your favorite olive oil. Add ham, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, and beans. Simmer beans for about 10 minutes over low heat, add pepper sauce. Serve beans over rice.

What’s your favorite quick, healthy, and cost-effective meal to go with wine? Post your recipe in our comments section.