Island Style Rice and Beans

CraftScout's Note:

I found this on a OAMC website, which credits Healthy Meals in Minutes for this recipe. This was pretty easy, and nummy. This could also probably be made in a rice cooker (especially after thawing a frozen batch). I did the stovetop cooking for my two batches separately, since I was baking one batch for dinner and freezing the second. This worked out well for me.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups cooked black beans or 15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; saute until golden, about 10 minutes.
3. Add rice and cumin; cook while stirring, for 1 minute.
4. Stir in beans, tomatoes with liquid, water and hot pepper sauce. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon. Increase the heat to HIGH and bring to a boil.
5. Transfer rice mixture to a lg. baking dish (11"x7"). Cover and bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes.
6. FOR OAMC: Freeze in a labeled gallon ziploc bag after step 4(after allowing it to cool to room temp.). To serve, thaw in refrigerator, and bake according to directions above.