Black Bean and Corn Stew Is the Dinner Everyone Loves

Now that Fall is upon us and the kids are back in school it’s a good time to crack out the family dinner recipes that you can make on a Sunday and have at least one night of left overs during the week.  This is one of our favorite family dinners that each one of us really likes, Martha Stewart’s Black Bean and Corn Stew with homemade Honey Corn Bread.  The meal has nice balance to it, the stew is hearty, healthy and filled with protein while the corn bread is super most and a bit indulgent.  I like to get the stew on first and then immediately start the corn bread, so the whole thing usually takes less than an hour to make.  Best of all the stew is great for leftovers, especially over rice.  Unfortunately the corn bread usually doesn’t last to left-over stage, everyone likes it too much and it’s usually gone within 24 hours.

Below are the recipes I use, the first from Martha Stewart and the second from the back of the corn meal bag (you’d be surprised how many good recipes are on the back of packages).

 

 

 

THE RECIPES

Black Bean and Corn Stew

The corn in the stew gives it a nice sweetness and the chopped chilies give it some heat (you can leave them out but it will make the dish a bit bland).

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
2 cups water
Coarse salt
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large sauce pan or dutch oven. Add chopped onion and cook until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and then cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes more.
2. Add to the pan diced chiles, rinsed beans, diced 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 food processor or blender, puree 2 cups of the stew. Return the puree to the pan, and add corn; simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Honey Corn Bread

Like I said at the top this recipe is from the bag of corn meal, which actually includes three different recipe versions: Corn Bread, Sweeter Corn Bread, and Honey Corn Bread and all of recipes have versions for muffins.  I have made all three and can give you the inside scoop if you want to try them out yourself.  The Corn Bread is a traditional corn bread – corny and kind of dry.  The Sweeter Corn Bread is exactly that, a bit sweeter and a bit moister, it’s actually really good.  The Honey Corn Bread is the best, extremely moist and you can taste the honey, but I don’t make it as much because it is a bit decadent and I don’t always have enough honey on hand.

Ingredients

1 cup corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a 8×8 baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla and honey until well blended.  Combine the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Pour batter into 8×8 greased pan.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.