Caribbean Rice and Beans

Can you tell? It's a new background! I'm still not sure why my other once disappeared, and this one looks similar...but I thought it had a nice "recipe-ish" quality to it.

I did get back into cooking, dieting, and exercise this week! Needless to say I'm tired now :) But I feel much better. I've got lots of new recipes and cookbooks to energize me, not to mention Bobby is done with Honors Surgery and will be at home for the next 4 weeks! He'll be studying for his next set of Boards, but still--he's home!

This dish is from my Cooking Light Cookbook, and I actually found it in the "Meatless Main Dishes" chapter. Don't tell my husband (no meat, no meal). But to stick to his rule, you can tell from the photo that I paired this with flat-iron steak drizzled with Chimichurri sauce (you can get it bottled at Whole Foods, fyi) and served the Caribbean Rice and Beans as a side dish. It still makes enough for a main dish, so you could do that, or have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

As usual I probably put more cheese on than it actually calls for, negating the "Light" part of Cooking Light...but I just can't help it!

Caribbean Rice and Beans

2/3 cup water
2/3 cup uncooked instant rice
1 tsp oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 diced green bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup coarsely chopped tomato
A few shakes of salt, crushed red pepper, and cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
15 oz can black beans, drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook rice according to directions on the box, keep covered in saucepan and set aside. Coat large skillet with PAM or oil and add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes or until tender. Add chopped tomato, salt, crushed red pepper and cumin--then saute about another 2 minutes. Stir in rice, cilantro, and black beans. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with mozzarella and serve.

Depending on how fast you chop, this could take 20 minutes. Then if you'd like to serve as a side, just have your meat grilling at the same time. I think it would also be good to add some fresh corn if it's in season. Very easy, plenty for everyone--so it's great for a weeknight as a main dish or a side!