Aztec Casserole

Submitted by Unknown Or Reset

"A high-protein, delicious one-meal dish. Made ahead of time, this casserole freezes well and is a good dish on-the-run. Omit ground meat for a vegetarian meal."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 40mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Yields: 14-16 cups

ingredients

• 1 cup dried black beans
• 1 cup dried red beans
• 1 cup dried black-eyed peas
• 9 cups hot water
• 1 cup organic sweet brown rice
• 1⁄2 cup barley
• 1⁄2 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lbs ground turkey or 2 lbs ground beef (optional)
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄2 yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups frozen whole kernel corn or 2 cups fresh whole kernel corn
• 3 -4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon roasted red chili paste
• salt

directions

1. Ahead of time:

2. Prepare dried beans in a slow cooker.
3. Cook on high until tender, (Approx. 3 hours).
4. Prepare grains in rice cooker following directions for 2 cups of grain.
5. (Approx 70 mins).

6. When beans and grains are cooked:

7. In a very large skillet or sautee pan, heat half of the olive oil and brown the meat.
8. Remove the meat to drain.
9. Add the remaining oil and then cooking over medium heat, add chopped onions, peppers and garlic.
10. Cook these until crisp-tender.
11. Stir in corn and red chile paste (as desired).
12. Add the cooked beans (including all the juice) and the cooked grains.
13. Add the drained meat.
14. Salt to taste and stir well.
15. Simmer the mixture to slightly reduce the liquid and meld the flavors.

Reviews

[jerison]

Healthy, filling. great ability to flavor to taste. Full of ingredients to combat altitude sickness. Can adjust to preferences. This is my 3rd time to make it!

 

[Elisa72]

Very good and very satisfying. The family wasn't crazy about it (being the mac and cheese types) but still came back for seconds. A little bland - I added black pepper to the pot and put hot sauce in my own portion - but it's the sort of dish that everyone can personalize with their own blend of seasonings. I like the nutritional content and will definitely make this again.

 

[kyepsen]

This is a really good recipe. I cut each of the beans in 1/2 just out of preference but otherwise followed the recipe. DH enjoyed it as well.

 

[bluemoon downunder]

I was initially drawn to this recipe by the exotic name, then determined to make it once I’d read the list of ingredients. What a pity that this is ImpulseGuy’s only recipe posted on Zaar. From looking at the super-healthy looking list of ingredients, I decided to make this a vegetarian dish, so instead of the meat I added more red peppers and two packets of frozen – thoroughly thawed and squeeze-dried - spinach. I also omitted the red chili paste (personal taste preference). The instructions were really clear, and this was a wonderfully hearty vegetarian meal: another 2005 Zaar World Tour great find!