Sunny Side Up Nutrition

A cooking, nutrition and family feeding blog to simplify your life

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Easy Black Beans and Rice

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about “go-to meals.” I define “go-to meals” as meals that we typically have the ingredients for in our pantry and meals I can make without planning and make quickly. I imagine you know the scenario: It’s dinnertime. Dinner hasn’t been started and you either don’t have a plan, the plan would take too long to get on the table, or you planned an easy meal because you knew it would be a hectic evening.

black beans and rice

“Go-To Meals” Are Different for Different People

Last week, Elizabeth wrote a follow up post, “Go-To Meals – Part 2,” with her family’s “go to meals.” We got a kick out of each of our lists, because many on her list would probably be on my “standard meals” list. They are not “go to meals” for me, because I would think they would take too much effort for me to make. This highlights how we all have different skill levels and comfort in the kitchen and, thus, some meals seem harder for some than others.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, cooking and planning meals takes a bit more effort for me. I very much value it, but it’s something I have to be constantly working on. Elizabeth is an amazing cook and makes cooking look easy. She actually taught me how to chop vegetables when we were in graduate school. Her ability to be calm in the kitchen has helped me learn simple skills to make cooking a little easier for me. For example, I am no longer intimidated to make a really yummy salad. Putting together a salad has become a “go to side” for me. When, before, I would have felt like it was “too hard” or that it wouldn’t be very good. Having more experiences in the kitchen and having simple skills can make cooking feel a bit easier and can expand your list of “go-to meals.” However, the fact is, we all have our own strengths and what may be a “go to meal” for you may not be for me, and vice versa.

“Go-To” Black Beans and Rice

After my post about “go-to meals,” a reader asked me for my Black Beans and Rice recipe. This is a super easy recipe (for me) and something we have been making for years. This is a recipe I share often with my clients.

First, open 2 cans of black beans and pour them in a colander in the sink and rinse. I let them sit there awhile. Then, put 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized pot. At this point I don’t actually measure any of the items. 4 tablespoons is about four circles around the pot. Add 4 garlic cloves, minced and sauté for 1 minute. I usually use a garlic press such as this one. However, when I made this last week, I didn’t have any garlic and made it without it! Add the beans, 2 bay leaves, 1 cup of salsa, and 2 teaspoons of cumin.

Stir and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

We like to serve with shredded cheddar cheese and diced avocado and each person can top their bowl as they’d like. I’ve been recently making rice in my Instant Pot. It feels like one less pot to attend to during the busy dinnertime. I put the rice and water in the pot and then just set it.

The beans can also be very good with tortilla chips or inside a tortilla, as a burrito. This is not authentic black beans and rice. But quick and very easy!

This post includes an Amazon affiliate link.

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Easy Black Beans and Rice

  • Author: Anna Lutz
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Description

Simmered Black Beans with Tex-Mex feel. Very easy “go to meal” 

Ingredients

4 Tbs olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa

2 bay leaves

2 tsp cumin

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a medium sized sauce pan. 

2. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute

3. Add beans, salsa, bay leaves and cumin

4. Stir and simmer fo 10 minutes. 

5. Remove bay leaves and serve over rice

“Go To Meals” – Part 2

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Easy Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

Hi!  Elizabeth here.  I’m calling this post “Go-To Meals” Part 2.  Anna shared her family’s “go-to meals” in her post last week.  Read it here.  I’m definitely adopting their yearly tradition–Anna, Dan and their children spend some time on their car trip home from visiting Dan’s parents for New Years to talk about what meals they’ve been eating during the year.   Anna writes down the list so she can refer to it during the year. I just love this idea! I also love the way Anna and Dan divided the list into categories that made complete sense to me. Some of my “Go-To Meals” might fall into Anna and Dan’s Standard Meals.  A good example that everyone’s meals and how they approach food are different.

My family’s current “go-to meals”  

There are definitely some that have fallen off the list over the years.  I plan to bring them back into our rotation and share them with you in a future post.

Meals don’t have to be complicated to be nourishing or to provide an opportunity to gather together to eat.

What does this list tell me?  That I rely A LOT on broccoli and salad as sides.  Perhaps it’s time to branch out a bit!? I’m going to refer to Anna’s post here on simple sides when I’m planning meals over the coming weeks.

One of My Family’s “Go-To Meals”: Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

Everyone in my house likes a version of this soup.

My 11 year old, Ellie, only likes the broth.  The bowl she serves herself is often mostly broth with just a few beans.  Caroline, my 14 year old, loves this soup except for the kale. The bowl she serves herself is typically the complete opposite of Ellie’s bowl.  Caroline loves the beans and prefers less broth. I don’t worry that neither likes the kale. The kale cooks in the broth, so some of the nutrients from the kale find their way into the tasty, parmesan infused broth.  And eventually, they might end up trying the kale again.

I’ve made this soup for years.  It’s inspired by/adapted from a pasta recipe, Orecchiette with Shell Beans, Proscuitto, and Parmigiano-Reggiano in Alfred Portale Simple Pleasures: Home Cooking from the Gotham Bar and Grill’s Acclaimed Chef.

It’s quick and easy.  And I typically have the ingredients on hand.  It can truly be made in 30 minutes!

Easy Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

At some point, I decided to change the recipe up a bit.  I began adding a lot more broth, a hunk of parmesan cheese (this gives the broth a lovely rich flavor), and black eyed peas.  

And it slowly transformed into soup, rather than a sauce for pasta.

Sometimes, I serve this over polenta–not as a “go-to meal” though!  Served over polenta is a great option for a nice dinner and it’s great for a crowd, too.   During a few Christmases at Chad’s parents (there’s always a crowd), I made a big batch of the soup and served it over polenta along with a salad. Then we used the leftovers as soup for lunches.  

Here it is served over pasta.  I love serving it over orecchiette (which means little ears) pasta because the broth pools in the “little ear” shape.  I alternate between the three because we have one person in our foursome who doesn’t like polenta and one who prefers it as the stand-alone soup.    

If you’d like to make this without the bacon, I’d suggest adding fresh basil or a couple of tablespoons of pesto to the soup just before serving.

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Easy Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

A great weeknight soup that doubles as a tasty ragu over pasta or polenta.  Serve it over polenta for a nice weekend or special occasion meal.

Ingredients

4 slices of bacon cut into small strips

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

3 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1 2 x 3 inch hunk of parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

2 cups kale, washed and torn

1 ½ teaspoon salt

pepper

 

Instructions

  1. Stack the 4 slices of bacon and cut into strips crosswise.  Place the bacon in a large pot over medium-medium low heat. Cook the bacon until it is crisped–about 10 minutes.
  2. While the bacon is cooking, peel and chop the garlic; drain and rinse the beans in a colander, and rinse and tear the kale; and cut off a piece of parmesan cheese.
  3. Once the bacon is crisp, add the chopped garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Next add the beans, stock, water, parmesan hunk and salt and pepper.
  4. Bring to a boil.  Then turn the heat down to medium and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes.  Next add the peas and kale and cook for about 5 more minutes.
  5. Serve as a soup or serve over pasta for a quick and easy tasty weeknight meal.  

 

Notes

For a weekend meal or for a large group, I sometimes serve it over polenta.

 

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts – Our Holiday Tradition

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Just before Thanksgiving, Anna and I shared some of our family holiday traditions. These Brussels sprouts are part of our Thanksgiving AND Christmas meal traditions. The process of removing the cores and seperating the leaves takes awhile. But it’s well worth it! And Chad and I enjoy the time together. Sometimes people help with the process and sometimes it’s just us. Either way, we enjoy making this dish.

If you’d prefer not to core and leaf the Brussels sprouts, you can simply feed them through your food processor using the shredder attachment. It’s not the exact same dish, but still works well and tastes great! Either way you decide to prepare them, cook them until they are bright green and some of them just being to brown.

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Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

Even Brussels sprout naysayers will like these tender, sauteed Brussels.

Ingredients

2 bags (or 1 branch) of Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut the end off the Brussels sprouts.  Then, using a sharp paring knife, carefully carve out the core.  Once you’ve cored all the Brussels sprouts you can begin separating the leaves into a large bowl.  (You can do this a day or two ahead and cover the bowl and leave it in the refrigerator until ready to saute them).

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large saute pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the Brussels sprout leaves and salt and pepper to taste.  Saute for about 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Thanksgiving Traditions and Dessert-Part 2

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A North Carolina or a Pennsylvania Thanksgiving

Elizabeth here.  Our family of 4 (me, Chad, Caroline and Ellie) has always traveled to either North Carolina or Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. My parents are in NC. My sister lives in Georgia and often makes the trip to NC when we’re there.  Sometimes we spend Thanksgiving Day with my mom and stepfather and some years we spend the day with my dad, stepmother, half brother and extended family. Some years friends and other family join us for dinner and some years not.  We also try to make time to see friends when in NC, too. It’s always a whirlwind, but I love seeing everyone!

When we travel to Pennsylvania, we spend the holiday weekend with Chad’s parents, his brothers, their wives and their children. Then the day after Thanksgiving, Chad’s Uncle, Aunt and 5 cousins and their spouses and children come spend the day with us. It’s a big crowd, but lots of fun.

Family, Gratitude and Games

Our tradition is being with family.  Part of our tradition is to take a few minutes to go around the table and give each person a chance to tell everyone what they’re grateful for. I love this tradition and I especially love hearing what all the children have to say.  

As a child, I always loved watching the Macy’s Day Parade!  I still do and both my children enjoy it now, too! After our meal, we often play some sort of game: Apples to Apples, Taboo, Head’s Up.  For us it’s a fun way for everyone to connect.

Thanksgiving Sides

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Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie

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Thanksgiving Day means different things to different people.  Some families have traditions that are very important to them to continue each year. Other people may not have specific plans or may choose to spend the day with a small or large group of friends.  For some, it brings excitement and for others it can be a difficult day. Food, of course, is a big part of the Thanksgiving holiday and we think it’s fascinating to hear how different people celebrate. We thought we’d share with you our families’ plans and a couple of recipes we make for the holiday. 

Our North Carolina Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, for the last several years, my family of 5 and my mother join my sister’s family at their house that’s a short 45 minute drive away. The focus of the day is for the 5 young cousins to be together and hopefully for the adults to not work too hard. Each adult typically has a job of making one or two food items for the Thanksgiving meal. My sister makes corn pudding and a green vegetable, like roasted brussel sprouts. My brother-in-law often makes an amazing apple and sausage stuffing and a new and different dessert each year. My mother makes a cranberry orange salad and brings rolls that are often the hit of the grandchildren. My husband makes the turkey and has perfected the process using Alton Brown’s recipe for brining a turkey. (One year, my husband decided to make a beef tenderloin rather than a turkey and we are still hearing about this travesty from the 12 and under crowd.) I make the pumpkin pies. I wouldn’t say the adults in our family are particularly fans of tradition, but this division of labor seems to work for us. The meal choices were mostly driven by what the individual members think must be present at the Thanksgiving meal. My husband is the one that says there must be pumpkin pie every year. …

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Keep it Simple! 3 Quick and Easy Meals

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I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! I love this time of year. We’re looking forward to getting together with family and friends as always. However, life gets so busy during this season. There’s shopping for gifts, parties, activities, travel and holiday shows – It’s all so much fun, but it can all feel overwhelming if I don’t take the time to plan and keep meals simple. We don’t want to eat out most nights, which is what happens if I try to wing it. Plus, making dinners allows for leftovers for at least a couple of lunches each week.  

At the end of the day, as Anna highlighted in her most recent post what you eat for dinner isn’t what’s most important.  It’s the meaningful time you spend connecting with your family.  

Here are 3 quick and easy meal ideas you can rely on through the holiday season. I’m also going to use Anna’s printable meal planning template (sign up at the top of our blog to receive it) along with a couple of other go-to meals I wrote about last spring to simplify meals.  

Sausage (vegetarian or meat) with sweet potato fries and sautéed brussel sprouts

30 minute meal

I tend to buy this Neiman Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage. All four of us really like it. If it’s a vegetarian option you’re after, the Field and Stream sausages are quite good.  Shaved or shredded Brussels sprouts are a favorite in our house.  Everyone loves them, there’s no prep work and they cook in less than 10 minutes!  When I can’t find shredded Brussels sprouts, I buy them whole and run them through my food processor with the grater blade.  If I know I don’t have time for that extra step, I’ll cook a frozen vegetable I have on hand.

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Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese and Salami

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Easy Lentil Salad

HI. Elizabeth, here.  It’s been so warm and humid here in the DC area, it’s hard to believe it’s mid-October.  I love fall and am looking forward to some cool, crisp days like today.

This Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese and Salami is just the recipe for still-warm fall days. It’s also hearty enough for cool days.   As I mentioned in a recent post, these Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils are one of my favorites.  You can typically find them in the refrigerator case on a top shelf above the vegetables.   In our house, we use them either cold in a salad like the one below or heated and served with rice and some grated cheese.  My friend, Amanda adds caramelized onions and rice to them.

This recipe is so easy!  It really only takes a few minutes to make.  I love to have it for lunch on mixed greens. It also makes a nice side dish.  This salad is one of those items my kids still haven’t tried, but I keep offering it. If you have toddlers, preschoolers or even young elementary age kids, you might offer this salad deconstructed.  They’re likely to be more receptive to the individual ingredients.  And remember, even if your child doesn’t try a food after seeing it many times-don’t give up.  They might just try it eventually.  When they do, you’ll want to jump up and down and cheer, but resist the urge.  As hard as it is not to cheer, remaining neutral creates a low pressure environment for trying new foods.

Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese and Salami

Easy Lentil Salad…

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What’s For Lunch?

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Elizabeth, here.  I hope you had a chance to read Anna’s recent post about the importance of eliminating diet talk from schools. And did you see our new resource to share with teachers and coaches?  It makes it so easy to reach out and share your beliefs about food with anyone who works with your children.

Has everyone settled into the new school year?  If you’re anything like me, it’s the time of year you get stuck in the lunch-making-ho-hums.  I don’t love packing lunches and get tired of it pretty quickly!  As a way to prevent the ho-hums and mix things up a bit, I thought I’d share a few more ideas for quick and easy lunches to add to the LUNCH LIST.  

What’s For Lunch?

Leftover Pizza, Clementines and Homemade Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Lunch Leftover Pizza, oatmeal cookies, clemintines

A teenager or older child would likely need at least two slices of pizza depending on the slice size.  (These are actually quite small. I had to cut this piece of pizza in two to fit it in the container).  Or add a Greek yogurt or some trail mix to lunch if there’s only one slice per older child.  For younger children, make a hole in the top of the clementines to make it easy for littler hands to peel them, or just peel them before putting them in the lunchbox.  

Leftover Pizza, oatmeal cookies and clementines

I love these Sistema lunch cubes as I mentioned here a few weeks ago.  They have plenty of room for a full lunch.  And the fact that the container closes between sections means less likelyhood the pizza or cookies will taste like clementines and vice versa.

Sistema Container

My youngest loves leftover pizza for lunch!  This makes me happy because it’s so easy and it really satisfies her.  …

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3 Favorite, Easy Back to School Lunches

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I love seeing all the back to school pictures this time of year!  (I’ll post a back to school picture once both kids have gone back to school.)  I can’t even believe it, but our 14 year old started high school on Monday.  Naturally, I’ve been thinking about what to pack for school lunches.  I settle into making the same lunches pretty often. I’ve definitely done that this summer.  So, I thought I’d start the school year off with some lunch ideas to share over the coming weeks. Hopefully, these will also be helpful to you and your family!  In the midst of all this meal planning, don’t forget to think about meals and snacks for yourself, too. 

Lunch, like all other meals and snacks doesn’t need to be perfect! There’s so much pressure to feed ourselves and our kids in some perfect way. At my house, the containers we use don’t match and I sometimes use plastic baggies. And my kids will eagerly tell you I’ve been known to forget to put things in their lunch bags, like utensils or even food. At some point last year, I got a text from Caroline during the day with a picture of the empty Thermos I put in her bag.  I forgot to add the food!  

3 Easy Lunches

One of the easiest lunches for me to pull together is lentils, rice and grated cheese.  I love these Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils!   You can heat them or serve them cold (recipe for a lentil salad coming soon). All you need is some extra rice, or buy precooked, frozen rice to mix with the lentils and a little salt. I heat the Thermos by filling it with boiling water from our electric water kettle.  You can also use hot water from the tap. Screw the lid on the thermos and let it sit while you make lunch. Heat the mixture for 1-2 minutes on high in a microwave safe dish. The time will vary depending on your microwave. Remove it from the microwave and stir in about a 1/4 c grated cheese. Empty the hot water from the thermos and add the heated lentils, rice and cheese.

Easy back to school lunches…

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Peel N’ Eat Shrimp – A Family Beach Trip Tradition

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Peel N' Eat Shrimp

Anna and I both happened to be at the beach last week (different beaches).  Relaxing at the beach took me back to the food we ate during our annual trip to Emerald Isle, NC with dear family friends.  We had some sort of fresh seafood most nights, and my mom often made peel n’ eat shrimp.  That’s one of Anna’s family beach trip traditions too!  

As I watched my children and their cousins laughing and diving and jumping waves, I found myself reflecting on Anna’s most recent post  An Open Letter to My Daughter’s Camp Counselor.  When we focus on what not to eat or what we think we are supposed to eat, or weight loss; we miss out on life.  Instead of enjoying connecting with friends and family, we are distracted.  Food provides opportunities to create meaningful connections, traditions and memories.

Peel N' Eat Shrimp

Peel N’ Eat Shrimp

Anna and I each make peel n’ eat shrimp a little differently. I make it the way my mom did: by seasoning the water with some veggies, salt and lemon.  Anna’s family cooks the shrimp in unseasoned water.  I love this!  It doesn’t get any easier!! We had cocktail sauce my mom made by mixing horseradish into ketchup.  I think we also had plain ketchup for those who didn’t want any spice.  Anna’s family sets out horseraddish and ketchup to allow everyone to make their sauce as spicy or mild as they like.

I’m so glad I made peel n’ eat shrimp when I was at the beach!  WHY don’t I make this for dinner at home sometimes??? It’s SO EASY!  And the smell of the water as it came to a boil with plenty of salt, celery, carrot, onion and some fresh, flat leaf parsley took me back to heart warming memories of our yearly trips to Emerald Isle.  

Another method is to roast it in the oven instead of boiling it. I’m definitely going to try that soon! 

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