I love black beans and chopped tomatoes.....either fresh or canned. Sometimes I'll put a bit of salsa in it if I have any.

Make some black bean soup. Saute onions in olive oil. Add chicken broth, black beans and whatever seasonings you are inspired to use. Yum!

Jim

Black bean hummus! I use a whole can for a batch, but you can halve everything else and I think it would be fine.

Just sub black beans for the garbanzos in the following:

ATK Hummus

Ingredients
⢠3 tablespoons lemon juice (or the juice from two lemons)
⢠1/4 cup water
⢠6 Tbsp Tahini
⢠2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
⢠1 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (a handful of chickpeas reserved)
⢠3 garlic cloves, peeled
⢠1/2 teaspoon course salt, plus more to taste
⢠1/4 teaspoon cumin
⢠dash of cayenne
Instructions
1. Combine the lemon juice and water in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the Tahini and olive oil together until smooth.
2. Process the chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in a food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.
3. With the food processor running, stream in the lemon and water and process for one minute. Scrape down the bowl again.
4. Turn the food processor on and stream in the Tahini and oil mixture and process until smooth, about another minute.
5. Transfer the hummus to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour to let flavors blend.
6. Sprinkle with remaining whole chickpeas, chopped cilantro, a pinch of sea salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.
7. Eat with cucumber, crackers, red bell pepper strips, or a spoon.
8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days (if it lasts that long!).

Nachos, beans and rice, chili, marinate in put on tex mex salad. Mix with sweet potatoes, corn, peppers, etc. for a stew. My favorite bean!

Mix with tinned tuna, herbs, spring onions and vinaigrette.

I freeze any beans/rice/grains I have leftover because they can be used in any number of main or side dishes, added to soup, or added to a salad.

Everything is fair game in a skillet dinner or adding to stir-fry - especially black beans. You can stretch a small amount of cooked ground turkey or beef by adding beans, or using rice and beans, for your favorite South-of-the-Boarder meal.

Black Bean Taco Salad
Season black beans with chopped green onion or fresh chives, fresh cilantro or parsley (optional), ground cumin and some fresh lime juice (or a little True Lime crystals - packets or shakers of True Lemon and True Lime are your pantry friends). Add some chopped tomato or drained canned petit cut tomatoes, or chunky salsa. Maybe some sliced ripe olives. Serve on a bed of greens topped with shredded cheese.

-Grainlady

Like Grainlady said, I pop leftover bits into the freezer to use later. Leftover black beans would go into a chili, tortilla soup, another Tex-Mex soup that we like, taco salad, tacos or even beef stew (a few, not too many) or even hamburger 'goulash'. DSII loves black beans so he would prolly put them in the stovetop nacho cheese sauce that he makes all the time. They could be added to a chicken enchilada casserole, too or mixed in with the pintos for burritoes.

I do all of the above. Last week i soaked and cooked a bag without a plan. Some went in a mid-week soup. Some i froze. And the rest i made a cold bean salsa salad with a bit of everything i could find, even a diced cucumber. Day two i mixed in a can of tuna for our lunches...

I thought of another recipe I make that is good for 1/2-cup of any kind of beans (and a good place to use 3/4 c. of leftover cooked quinoa). The recipe calls for garbanzo beans, but I use chana dal, lentils, black beans, cannellini, almost any kind of legume. -Grainlady

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
(Source: Joy Bauer, RD)
This filling dish (quinoa has 5 grams of fiber per cup) is great for summer gatherings. Pair with grilled chicken or refrigerate and serve cold.

2 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon(s) chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon(s) olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
3/4 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 c. canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 plum tomato, cut into pieces
1/4 seedless cucumber, cut into pieces

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, whisk together fresh lemon juice, flat-leaf parsley, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2.Add cooked quinoa, chickpeas, tomato, and cucumber and toss to combine.

I routinely throw canned beans on salads for lunch. Canned tuna, beans, tomatoes and green beans with some mixed greens and a light dressing is a nice lunch!

I love black beans. Sometimes I'll make black bean dip.

Throw the beans into the food processor with some Safeway Select Chipotle Salsa and a few spices (cumin, garlic powder, more ground chipotle powder) and also a squeeze of lime juice). Puree. You can leave it a little chunky if you want.

You can eat this as is, or put it into a baking dish, top w/ grated cheddar, and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes until it warms through and the cheese melts. Either way, scoop it up with tortilla chips.

Or - great quick burrito -- nuke the beans, some salsa, those same spices. Tuck it inside a flour tortilla, and add some cheddar. Nuke for about 30 seconds til the tortilla warms and the cheese melts.

I was specific in my Safeway salsa recommendation. It's one of the only jarred salsas I really like for cooking. But of course you can use any brand you like.

Chris