Maine Local Twenty features local ground meat as an item. Maine has the capacity to produce for its residents to enjoy year round. Spicy Beef and Beans is an easy recipe that folks of all ages can enjoy. To complete the meal, serve with corn chips or corn bread and a green salad.
1 pound ground beef (may also use lamb, chicken , turkey or rabbit!)
1 ½ cups cooked beans (black beans, kidney beans, soldier beans) * about ¾ cups dried beans
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped (may use more to taste)
1 ½ cup Emily’s Taco Salsa, about 1 jar
¼ cup chopped hot or jalapeño peppers (to taste, may omit, be sure to use gloves when chopping)
1 tablespoon oil for sautéing meat
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
In a fry pan, saute the onion and chopped garlic in the oil. Add the ground meat, cooking and stirring until done. Drain the fat from the pan. In a large bowl, mix together the meat and cooked beans. Stir in the salsa. Add the hot peppers if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into an oven-proof casserole. Top with the grated cheese. Bake at 350 degree oven until bubbly, and the cheese is melted, about 20 – 30 minutes.
Makes six servings.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 354 calories, 26 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 20 grams fat (0 grams fat), 214 mg. Sodium, 5 grams fiber.
*Instead of canned beans, try cooking your own. As a general rule, 1 cup of dried beans (8 ounces) increases to 2 to 2 ½ cups of cooked beans. Soak dry beans in a large pot for several hours. Drain the water. Cover the beans with water and simmer until the beans are just tender, depending upon the bean, this may take 2 or more hours. Don’t boil the beans rapidly…just simmer. Add water to the pot as needed. LOVE the bean, cook them gently. Once they are just cooked, drain and cool. Pack into glass jars and freeze for later use. This method is much more economical and avoids the high sodium content of commercially canned beans.
Try this nifty appetizer: spoon Spicy Beef and Beans into “scoops” corn chips, sprinkle the tops with grated cheddar cheese, heat in a 350 degree oven on a sheet pan until the cheese has just melted. This recipe will feed quite a crowd.