Soggy Sunday

Well, we ended our vacation early, figured it was best to cut our losses and move on. We arrived home late last night, visited with my kids for a few and then happily climbed into bed.

I got up early this morning, had hoped for a pool day but, alas, Mother Nature has other plans. Instead of a bathing suit I donned my cleaning clothes and got to work on the post-vacation process, unpacking, etc. as well as preparing for the coming work week.

I did a kitchen inventory and started making a menu & shopping list, will post more tomorrow but in the meantime here's what I'll be making for dinner tonight, courtesy of Martha Stewart. (yep, that really is Ms. Stewart up there, during her heyday modeling career!)

Black-Bean-and-Corn Stew

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4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion -- chopped
4 garlic cloves -- minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 1/2 ounces chopped green chiles -- (canned)
30 ounces canned black beans -- rinsed and drained
30 ounces canned diced tomatoes -- in juice
Coarse salt
10 ounces frozen corn

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.

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.

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.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 363 Calories; 7g Fat (16.9% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 59g Carbohydrate; 18g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1387mg Sodium.


I know, it's a million degrees outside so it doesn't seem as if stew would be welcome but it's also dark & dreary and I'm in the mood for something warm & comforting. If the rain holds off, we're going to meet some friends at an outdoor concert this afternoon, hoping to end the week on a positive note. With that in mind, I'm going to toss the ingredients into my crockpot so it'll be ready for us when we return home this evening.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday so far..

xooxoxox