Baja black beans, corn & rice

[happydog]

I found this on Recipezaar, and it's just great, and very healthy. Very cheap to make, too, particularly if you cook your own beans. You can also sub canned diced tomatoes for the fresh, since they are out of season here right now. Also, don't mix the rice with the topping until you are actually going to eat it. Store them separately, because the rice will soak up all the lime juice and get mushy.

Baja Black Beans, Corn and Rice Recipe #55768
A south of the border blend of textures and flavors. serve hot as a main dish or a side dish with grilled meat or chicken.
by Barb Gertz
6 servings
time to make 20 min (plus 1 hour for the brown rice)
6 cups cooked brown rice
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (you can use home cooked instead)
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained (you can use fresh or frozen corn instead)
4 fresh tomatoes, diced (canned diced tomatoes work fine)
1/2 cup red onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (this is important! don't use bottled lime juice)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 dashes hot sauce

1. Cook brown rice. (see recipe below)
2. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and hot sauce.
3. To serve, Place a scoop of hot rice in a bowl or on a plate, top with a generous scoop of the black bean mixture.
4. Stir together before eating.


And I'll go ahead and post my fail-proof recipe for brown rice, which can be a little bit tricky, compared to white rice, but has so much more flavor and nutrition. Brown rice requires a lot more water, and longer cooking time to avoid being mushy on the outside while still hard on the inside.

6 cups cooked rice
time to make: 1 hour, 5 min prep
4 1/2 cups water
2 cups brown long or medium grain rice
2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Bring water to a full, rolling boil.
2. Once water is boiling, add brown rice and olive oil, cover tightly, and reduce to low simmer.
3. Simmer for 45 minutes, without opening pot.
4. After 45 minutes, remove heat and let sit for 15 minutes.
5. DO NOT OPEN POT UNTIL 15 MINUTES ARE OVER.
6. Open pot and fluff perfect rice.
(If you live at high altitude (over 6000ft), add 10 minutes to the cooking time.)

You can also add garlic, and/or cook the rice with broth instead of water, for a flavorful side dish, but for the baja beans, I recommend plain. It has plenty of flavor all on its own.

[HandyMom]

Sounds good but I'd have to omit the lime since they are over a dollar a piece for one lime here.

[happydog]

I can certainly understand that. Maybe lemon juice would work instead? We're currently in Mexico, and limes are less than a dollar per *pound* here. A pound is a lot of limes. lol

[Edna_E]

Bottled lime juice comes close, or lemon juice. Just don't mistake limeade for lime juice. Also, one big lime is enough to get about 1-2 tablespoons of juice.

[Christa]

Yum! I'll have to try that. I've been afraid of brown rice after a couple of failures, but I should really give it another go. Does anyone cook a bunch of brown rice and freeze it, or does that do something weird to the texture?

[Lambie]

Oh my gosh, this looks sooooooooooooooooo delicious...I just copies it and will certainly try it!!!Thanks, Katy