Black Bean & Mexican Rice Tacos

It’s been really cold this week here in Saskatoon. Not too surprising, since it is the end of November, after all. But man, do I ever miss the tropics.

Okay, before I let myself get too whiny over it, I’ll just move on to the other thing besides tropical humid heat and golden tans that makes me happy: food!

I am all about easy food lately. Mostly because I’ve been occupied with homework and studying for grade 12 math. Yes, I am taking grade 12 math. It’s only been 13 years since I took a high school math class and I’m not really a strong math student to begin with. Math has been quite the challenge. I have something like 7 more  months of math to look forward to, as well.

Anyway enough about math. Wow am I ever easily distracted tonight! The reason I brought it up is because I haven’t had much energy this week to come up with new and tasty recipes. My poor blog.

This is a recipe made up of other recipes that are super simple.

Black Bean & Mexican Rice Tacos

Refried Black Beans

• 1 19 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1/2 onion, minced finely
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute about 2 minutes.
2. Add black beans. Mash with a fork or potato masher until broken up, but some texture still remains.
3. Stir in seasonings.
4. Saute over medium heat about 4 minutes. Add water and mix well. The mixture should be the consistency of store-bought refried beans, if you want a guideline.
5. Add cilantro and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Peppers & Onions

• 1 small green pepper, sliced into strips
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1/2 medium onion, cut in half then sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add onions and saute 1 minute.
3. Add pepper slices and continue to saute another 1 minute.
4. Add seasonings. Saute another 3 minutes. Peppers should be slightly tender but still fairly crisp.

Mexican Rice

• 2 cups white rice
• 2 cups canned tomatoes, pureed
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced finely
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions:

1. Measure all ingredients into rice cooker and stir well.
2. Turn on rice cooker and let it do it’s thing.
3. Give it a fluff and stir when it’s all done.

We layered stuffed all of this into hard corn shells and added some fresh avocado and lettuce with homemade salsa. I may have overstuffed my tacos a bit much. These were really tasty and I liked that one thing didn’t overpower any of the others.

I want to find a decent gluten-free and vegan soft tortilla and try making these into burritos. I bet they’d be easier to eat.