Meatless Meal: Slow Cooker Black Beans & Rice

I have a confession to make:

Up until about a year ago, I never cooked dried beans.

And when I wanted Mexican-style or Spanish-style rice?  

I made Rice-a-Roni.

It's ridiculous, considering how inexpensive plain rice is, but I was addicted to the ease of that little seasoning packet...  And I never planned well enough in advance to remember to soak dried beans the night before, and then even when I did they'd always end up mushy!

Well.  We bought a ginormous bag of rice from Costco a while back, and I've been trying to use it up which means NO MORE Rice-a-Roni.  And you know what?  I don't miss it.  This rice is SUPER easy to make, and topped with slow cooker black beans, it makes a wonderfully filling meatless meal!  

I love these beans because I can get them started in the morning and not have to worry about prepping them close to dinner time!  And my 5-year-old loves being in charge of pouring the ingredients in the slow cooker :)

Slow Cooker Black Beans:

2 cups (one pound) dried black beans

1 onion

5 cloves garlic

2 tbsp butter or oil

6 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

1 tsp cumin

Optional: 1-2 bell peppers, chopped and/or one 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1. Mince onion & garlic (and pepper if you like) and sautee in butter/oil until soft.  Add cumin and stir 1 minute.

2.  Add dried beans (no need to soak!) to slow cooker.  Cover with onion mixture and broth.  Stir.

You can replace one cup of broth with one can of tomatoes

3.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours.

Is that not the easiest recipe ever?  And they turn out perfect every time - no more mushy beans!

Easy Salsa Rice

2 cups (one pound) white rice

1/2 onion

2 tbsp butter or oil

3.5 cups chicken broth

.5 cups salsa

1.  Mince onion and sautee in butter/oil over medium heat until soft.

2.  Rinse rice in mesh colander until water runs clear.

3.  Add rice to onion and stir 2-3 minutes.

4.  Add broth & salsa, stir, and bring to a boil.

5.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes until cooked through.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, quesadillas, or any of your favorite accompaniments!

Need more meatless meals? Here are 25 more ideas!