Food for Thought: Amazing Adobo Black Bean Chipolte Chili

This concoction that I whipped up on a whim may have a silly-sounding name, but I only made it that way because it not only happened to be amazingly-good, but the word "Amazing" completed the acronym I thought up to help make the dish easier to rememer - "AABBCC". Okay, it still sounds dumb, so let's just call it "ABC" and move along...

- 1 box of rice

- 2 cans of black beans

- 1/4 lb of ground beef (or just a solid handful, vegans may substitute with tofu, or whatever)

- 1 small can of chipolte peppers in adobo sauce

- 1/2 an onion, chopped

- 4 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 small can of diced tomatoes

- 2 bay leaves

- A handful of chopped cilantro

- Olive oil

Coat a large skillet with olive oil and fry the onions and garlic until they become soft. Add the chipolte peppers and beef. Stir-fry for about 10 minutes.

In a separate, large pot, cook the black beans, tomatoes, bay leaves, until they start to boil. Reduce heat about halfway and add the beef/adobo sauce mixture. Return to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes, adding the cilantro after about 5 minutes.

Cook rice according to instructions, top rice with the chili, serve, and enjoy.

Fast, easy, delicious. My kind of meal. This isn't anything extravagantly spicy, but it has that nice, smoky kick with the aftertaste that many will associate with chipolte. Also, I didn't have any available, but shredded cheese will go nicely with this (I recommend pepper jack, but only because I'm a masochist when it comes to hot or spicy food).

Mangia!
- Jon