Black Beans and Kielbasa

[Cooper]

I cut the following out of the newspaper ages ago and finally made it last week. The recipe involves just about no prep work and is very easy. It's very good. What I did follows, and it is followed by the newspaper story.

Enjoy!

Black Beans and Kielbasa

Ingredients

1 can (29 oz.) black beans
1 can (14 ½ oz.) stewed tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 pound kielbasa
cheese, shredded
rice

Directions

Cut the kielbasa into 6 pieces. Score the kielbasa and remove the casing.

Drain most of the liquid from the black beans into a bowl. Reserve the liquid in case it is needed to moisten the dish at the end.

Add the black beans to a large skillet with a lid. Add the stewed tomatoes and corn. Cut large pieces of the stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces. Scissors make this easy.

Sprinkle on the garlic spices and spices. Mix to blend.

Add the kielbasa and simmer on low for 45 minutes.

Prepare rice according to package directions.

Place rice on plate and spoon cooked bean mixture. Top with a piece of kielbasa and add shredded cheese.

____________________

The article from the newspaper follows …

Slow cooker seals in flavor of kielbasa

February 8, 2006

If you don't like your slow cooker, there's a good chance it's the same one Aunt Mildred gave you as a wedding gift way back when. Slow cookers have come a long way in the past couple of years, and we highly recommend you give them another chance. The improvements in the new generation of slow cookers are impressive:
The most sophisticated programmable pots (about $70) can be set to cook in both hour and half-hour increments, plus they switch to a warm mode when the cooking time is up. Less expensive models (about $40 to $50) can be programmed to cook for four, six, eight or 10 hours before automatically switching to the warming mode.

Most of today's cooker inserts are an oval shape, allowing more surface space for even cooking.
Slow-cooker stoneware inserts are larger than they used to be – most crocks have a capacity of 6 quarts. This extra space makes the cooker more versatile, cooking enough to feed a family of six or allowing you to cook a 5-pound roast or brisket.
Almost all of the new pots contain a removable stoneware insert that's dishwasher-safe.

Reynolds now makes a slow cooker liner bag (similar to a turkey baking bag) for even faster cleanup. Just serve the food, lift out the bag and throw it away. Talk about fast. A box of four liners retails for $2.49.

Some pots (about $50 to $60) have inserts that can stand extreme temperatures so you can brown meat right in the crock on your stove top or even put the insert into a conventional oven.

Next week, we will talk about how slow cookers can transform a busy family's dinner dilemma. In the meantime, we recommend recipes – like today's Slow-Cooked Black Beans and Kielbasa – that require very little preparation. Just put in the food, go away and come home hours later to a house that smells like you hired a professional chef.
Serve Slow-Cooked Black Beans and Kielbasa with rice and a tossed salad.

Send desperate tales of woe or everyday success stories and your favorite quick recipes to Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Visit us on the Web at http://www.desperationdinners.com; or e-mail: bev-alicia@desperationdinners.com

Slow-Cooked Black Beans and Kielbasa

6 servings

2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
1 cup frozen yellow corn kernels
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound reduced-fat turkey kielbasa sausage

Cooked rice, for serving, optional
Shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican-blend cheese, optional garnish

Rinse and drain one can of the black beans, and pour the beans into the slow cooker. Add the second can of black beans with their juices to the cooker. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the frozen corn.
Sprinkle the garlic, chili powder and cumin over the mixture and stir gently, so as not to break up the beans.

Cut the sausage link into six pieces, and ***** each piece with a fork. Place the sausage pieces over the bean mixture, but do not stir. Place the lid on the slow cooker, turn the cooker to low and cook for at least 6 hours or up to 10 hours. (The bean-sausage mixture also can be cooked on high for 3 hours or up to 4 hours.)

Before serving, if rice is desired, cook it according to the package directions. To serve, ladle the bean mixture over a bed of rice (if desired) or ladle the beans into soup bowls (if not using rice). Top each serving of the bean mixture with a piece of sausage. Sprinkle shredded cheese over each serving to taste, if desired. Serve at once. (Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Stove-top directions: Follow the directions above, but instead of adding the ingredients to a slow cooker, place them over medium heat in an extra-deep, 12-inch nonstick skillet that has a lid. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, reduce the heat to low, and then cover the skillet. Simmer, stirring gently from time to time, until the sausage is heated through and the flavors develop, about 45 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and serve as directed above.

Start to finish: 7 minutes preparation, plus 6 to 10 hours unattended slow-cooking time

Per serving: 296 calories (33 percent from fat), 12 g fat (4 g saturated), 47 mg cholesterol, 21 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 10 g dietary fiber, 1,252 mg sodium.

[dras]

That is so weird you posting this because I made almost this exact recipe last week. It is great for leftovers, too.

It's a ripper, though.

[Candy White 1.ight]

I would try it with pink beans...actually I'm going to try it

Black beans are good but I think pink for whatever reason has a lot more flavor. I had something similar to this some type of slow cooked Keilbasa like sausage cooked in beer and onions in Prague..not bratwurst and very heavy and hearty, no beans though

EDIT: I think I would omit the corn..although I do like corn I don't think they go well with beans for whatever reason lol


Modified by Candy White 1.ight at 10:10 PM 8-15-2006

[Neon Washer Nozzle]

I like the "black beans and rice" that comes in a pouch. I'll prepare that and toss some cubed smoked sausage in with it and its awesome.

[MasterFuu]

My mom makes the exact same soup, just with white beans. I think they taste better as leftovers, compared to brown beans which I only like when the soup is freshly off the stove. Some freshly sliced tomato and red onion, and home made bread, and you're set!

[ROCK AND ROLL CHEVY]

Quote, originally posted by Cooper »

Cut the sausage link into six pieces, and ***** each piece with a fork.

[buckhead]

Quote, originally posted by Cooper »

Cut the sausage link into six pieces, and ***** each piece with a fork.

Oh thank you gods of the magic message boards for protecting us from vulgar language. How could we exist without you?

[vdubjb]

bottled minced garlic is flavorless....

[ROCK AND ROLL CHEVY]

Quote, originally posted by buckhead »

Oh thank you gods of the magic message boards for protecting us from vulgar language. How could we exist without you?

I'm going to guess that it's supposed to say "pryck." Otherwise, it's something I don't even want to think about doing to a kielbasa. At least in front of you guys.

[Cooper]

Just updating this for the meals-to-eat-all-week thread.

Recipe from the newspaper is online now on a lot of web sites. Just use it as a guide for ideas. Search “slow cooked black beans and kielbasa” for the original recipe in a slow cooker. Original ingredient list is:

“1 can (29 oz.) black beans or two 15-oz. cans
1 can (14 ½ oz.) stewed tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 pound kielbasa
cheese
rice.”

I use dried black beans rather than canned. Soak some black beans overnight and partially cook.

I use fresh kielbasa, rather than smoked. Brown kielbasa in a skillet. Minced garlic cloves and add at the end.



Drain stewed tomatoes, reserve the liquid, and cut tomatoes into smaller pieces. Needs more than the recipe amount of stewed tomatoes. Will add more next time.

Add tomatoes and corn to the skillet. No room for the black beans.



Realize that the size 8 skillet I started with is too small, and I don’t have a lid to tightly cover a 10 or cover a 12 or 14. Transfer everything to a Dutch oven. Should have just started with a Dutch oven.



Add partially cooked black beans, the reserved liquid from the tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Add additional cooking liquid and water, if necessary, to cover the black beans. Cook until black beans are done.



Serve over rice and top with shredded cheese.



Leftovers for a few more days. Keep some of the liquid from the Dutch oven, too, as a gravy for the leftovers.

[vdubjb]

That is so weird you posting this because I made almost this exact recipe last week. It is great for leftovers, too.

It's a ripper, though.

fantastic turn of phrase, Replace the kielbasa w/ chorizo and then you'll truly be onto something.

[Cooper]

All four grandparents were Polish. Kielbasa will do.

I wanted chorizo a few weeks ago and only found it with preservatives; didn't find fresh Chorizo at Price Chopper. Don't even remember what it was for.

[vdubjb]

I was just in Poland last month. They laugh at us b/c "Kielbasa" just means 'sausage'. The variety of tubular meats in Poland are insane.

[Cooper]

Have you seen the web site of backyard smokers in Poland? Pretty neat. Very rustic, but they get the job done.

Lived here 9 years and only this year went to the Polish delis in Worcester.

Remembered what I wanted chorizo for. A chorizo and cheese quick bread recipe from an old cookbook. Tried it twice. Went down the garbage disposal both times.

[vdubjb]

Never saw the smokers. I was looking for smoked meat out there and didn't see any. Lots of grilled pork, sausages though. Chorizo is great in beans and tacos. I use it in stuffing too.

[Cooper]

Here's the bread that bombed twice. My wife avoids preservatives since they are a migraine trigger, so dry chorizo was out. I tried to cook "all natural Cajun-style chicken Andouille sausage" to see if I could dry it out enough to use in the recipe. The answer to that would be "no."

Gorman, Judy. Judy Gorman’s Breads of New England. Camden, ME: Yankee Books, 1988.

"Chorizo Bread

Makes one 9- by 5-inch loaf.

Bits of spicy Portuguese sausage spark this bread. Serve warm with soup or sliced thinly and serve with goat cheese as an appetizer. Pepperoni may be substituted for chorizo if you wish.

6 ounces dry chorizo sausage
1 roasted red bell pepper, fresh or canned
2 ½ cups all purpose flour, scoop measured
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 large package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Remove the casing from the sausage and chop coarsely. Peel the roasted pepper if it is fresh. Pat the pepper dry and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Generously grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter. Beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat the eggs in one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, sprinkle in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Beat until well moistened. Blend in the cheese. Add the sausage and red pepper, and stir to combine.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 50 minutes to 1 hour, covering the loaf with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes, if necessary, to prevent overbrowning. When a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out. Serve warm or complete cooling on the rack."

[vdubjb]

That sounds interesting. I have inherited a few cans of crappy American swill, aka Bud and Coors. I turned one can into beer bread. You should adapt that recipe into a focaccia. Much better results I would imagine. Bread with meat baked into it sounds too hot pockety, lol

[Cooper]

Of all things, you have to mention fococcia.

I make all our bread, and one my wife mentions every now-and-then is focaccia.

Even said I would make it after this thread: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...light=focaccia.

And that was three years ago.

[vdubjb]

Of all things, you have to mention fococcia.

I make all our bread, and one my wife mentions every now-and-then is focaccia.

Even said I would make it after this thread: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...light=focaccia.

And that was three years ago.

haha, we Brooklyn Boys have great taste. I haven't had Foccacia in years. I only keep unbleached whole wheat flour in the house.