Rice and Beans
This recipe was originally inspired by one shared on the Frugalwoods blog as their ultra-frugal solution to packed lunches. My version contains meat, broth, and a slightly more generous serving size, and hence it is a little bit less frugal, but it’s still a great alternative to eating out. This freezes and re-heats really well, so it can be made once a month and alternated with other lunch options if, like us, you don’t enjoy eating the same meal day after day.
Notes
Chicken broth can be very high in sodium. Purchase low sodium broth or consider using a 50/50 blend of chicken and vegetable broth or chicken broth and water. You could simply use all water instead but the dish will be less flavorful.
At my grocery store, sliced mushrooms are the same price as un-sliced mushrooms so I always purchase the pre-sliced ones for this recipe to save myself extra work.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati rice
- 4 cups chicken/vegetable broth
- 1-2 medium yellow onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons Sriracha
- 3 15.5 ounce cans black beans
- 1/2 pound cooked ham, cubed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add two cups rice and four cups broth to a large sauce pan and bring to a boil
- Cover the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for approximately 20 minutes until the liquid is gone and the rice is tender. check occasionally to ensure liquid is still simmering but not boiling
- While rice is cooking, chop the onion. Add olive oil to a wok or deep frying pan and saute the onion over medium heat
- Mince garlic and add to pan, sauteing until onions are translucent. Reduce heat if necessary to prevent garlic from browning
- Once onions and garlic are cooked, add cubed ham to the pan and coat with Sriracha. Stir and allow the meat and onions to continue cooking while you prepare the mushrooms. If it seems to be cooking too hard, lower the heat to prevent the meat from sticking to the pan
- Clean and slice mushrooms and add to the meat and onion mixture, allowing them to reduce down and release their liquid
- Once mushrooms are cooked, stir in the black beans and bring the whole pan to a simmer until the rice is done. Stir occasionally
- When rice is cooked, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until rice is thoroughly coated and beans and meat are well-distributed. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired
- Portion into lunch containers and allow to cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator or freezer
