Did you know that you can make soup or stew in under an hour? Stews are one of the easiest meals you can make: you throw everything in a pot or slow-cooker and you pretty much just leave it there, maybe stirring occasionally.
I made this on a Sunday, my favorite time of the week to make a pot of something that I can pop on the stove and forget about. Well, not forget about but you know. Instead of the sauces and soups that I’m used to, which need hours to simmer, this finished so quickly that I was able to make low-fat brownies while it was cooking.
The trick with stew is that it usually has to cook for a minimum of a few hours. It, quite literally, stews. However, sometimes, and in this instance, you can literally open a few cans, chop an onion, season and fifteen minutes later – boom, dinner.
Unfortunately, with this meal there ARE lot of steps.
Step 1: Make stew.
Step 2: Change into sweatpants.
Step 3: Pour yourself a glass of wine and drink, savoring it’s lovely finish.
Step 4: Stir stew.
Step 5: Repeat Steps 3-4, as desired.
Step 6: Top stew with shredded sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with warm tortillas.
And so on…
Do you think you’re up for that challenge
Black Bean & Corn Stew:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can (4 1/2 ounces) chopped green chiles
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
Coarse salt
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion; cook until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cumin; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
2. To the pan, add chiles, beans, tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups water, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
3. In a blender or food processor, puree 2 cups of the stew. Return the puree to the pan, and add corn; simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot (and per step six, serve with plenty of shredded sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with warm tortillas).
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I always have canned black beans in the pantry (and often frozen corn, too). My second favorite thing to do on a Sunday, though, is to use my slow cooker to make a pot of black beans — don’t need to presoak, just put in the cooker for 18 hours with water to cover, on low. Then I have fresh beans whenever I want to make something like your quick-and-easy stew.
That looks absolutely scrumptious, and perfect for this time of year. I make a slow-cooker vegetarian chili, and while it takes about 2 hours, it does give me plenty of time to drink wine while lounging around in my sweatpants!
I think I’ll have to try yours, as I’m in love with black beans. Love the trick on thickening it by pureeing some of the stew!
Oh yum, Maris! I love anything with black beans in it. This sounds delicious!
the addition of warm tortillas makes it sound even more delicious.
this looks so good and healthy too. I like the fact that it doesnt have alot of ingredients
Yummie, this soup looks delicious and yet very simple
Oh that looks SO good. I love anything with black beans!
I’m big on soups and stews this time of year. Love Lydia’s idea too, for black beans in the slow cooker. Haven’t broken out the crock pot yet, but seems like now is the time!
Ooooh… this looks good – I love black beans.
Delicious stew. My new favorite dinner ingredient is black beans. I just made a caribbean black bean dish the other night. I’m adding this to my list of black bean recipes immediately. And a glass of wine to go with it!