Brown Rice and Black Beans

I LOVE Cooks Illustrated magazines. They really put a lot of time and research into their recipes to get them right. Sometimes the recipes they come up with have too many steps to make the recipe feasible for everyday dishes, but this method of cooking brown rice made me a believer in brown rice. I have wanted to incorporate more brown rice in my diet for the health benefits over white rice, but have never been happy with the end results. It seems like I never got it cooked enough. It always had too much bite in it. Kind of takes away from the pleasure of eating rice! This recipe starts on the stove and finishes in the oven. So make sure you start it in an ovenproof pan. My stainless steel cook set has no rubber or plastic handles on it, so I cooked it in my stockpot. I must say, I wish I had doubled this recipe. There was enough for my family of 5 to get stuffed off of it, but I want leftovers! I'm already envisioning homemade wheat tortillas filled with this.... hmmmm might have to make a batch of it again in the morning! When I told hubby I was making beans and rice for dinner, he was a tad disappointed. He is NOT a great fan of rice. He wanted to know what the meat was going to be. (Doesn't matter to him that a combination of beans and rice make a complete protein!) I cooked up some mozzarella chicken sausages and he (and the littles) had that sliced over their portions. Hubby was picturing in his head rice you would get at a Mexican restaurant (you know the instant rice with a hint of tomato flavor.... blah!... but that is one of his favorite parts of eating at Mexican restaurants), so he might have been a touch unsatisfied with this dinner (although it didn't stop him from having two heaping portions) Me... I can see this becoming a regular meal for us... doubled of course ;-) This is my slightly tweaked version from Cooks Illustrated. I stirred in the still frozen corn with the beans and it turned out fine! Don't pass up on the lime wedges.... mmmm fresh lime!

Brown Rice and Black Beans

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

1 3/4 C water

1 1/2 c long grain brown rice

1 tsp salt

2 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 C frozen corn

1/2 C cilantro leaves

1/4 tsp black pepper

lime wedges and avocado to garnish

Saute onion and pepper in olive oil in an ovenproof pot until tender and onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook stirring for about 30 seconds. Pour in water and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in salt and rice and cover with a tight fitting lid and place in a 375* oven. Bake for 65 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from oven and stir in black beans and corn. Place lid back on pot and let sit on counter for 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and pepper. Serve with lime wedges and avocado.