I have a lot of recipes pairing white beans and escarole – but this one is just a bit more – this one adds extra veggies and the dish is totally different than plain old sautéed escarole. The creamy texture of the beans just goes great with the crisp zucchini and corn.
Sauteed Escarole with White Beans
4 servings
210 calories per serving
2 heads escarole, rinsed well and chopped
2 oz. pancetta or bacon, chopped
1 zucchini, quartered and cut into julienne strips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c frozen corn kernels , thawed
15 oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 T red wine vinegar
1 t olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic powder
Pam
Heat a large skillet and spray with Pam. Add escarole and cook 6 minutes to wilt. Remove and set aside. Cook bacon 2 minutes then add zucchini and cook 4 minutes. Add garlic and corn and cook 1 minutes. Add back the escarole then mix in parsley, beans, salt, pepper, garlic powder, vinegar and oil. Toss well and serve.
Sofrito is filled with just incredible spices – when you add that and bacon to beans, there is nothing better ! The creamy texture of the beans mixed with the spicy sofrito is just perfect.
Sofrito Beans
8 servings
290 calories per serving
2 c canned black beans, rinsed and drained
6 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 c sofrito sauce (In the Mexican section at your grocer)
Cook bacon then add beans along with sofrito and cook 15 minutes.
This is just what it’s called…a great company casserole. It is easy to prep, all the prep is done way ahead, and the result is a creamy, tasty vegetable side dish that disappears very quickly !
Company Casserole
7 servings
178 calories per serving
1 can low fat cream of celery soup
1 c low fat sour cream
1 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic powder
½ c finely chopped onion
9 oz. frozen cut green beans, thawed
6 oz. frozen peas and carrots, thawed
2 c frozen corn, thawed
¼ c crushed low fat Ritz crackers
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix soup, sour cream, cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper and onion then stir in the veggies and place in a 2 quart baking dish sprayed with Pam. Cover and bake 25 minutes. Then uncover, sprinkle crumbs around edges and spritz the crumbs with the ICBINB spray. Bake another 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
This dish is worthy of any Mexican restaurant out there ! The salsas give the beans a subtle flavor and the velvety consistency of the refried beans is a perfect side to all Mexican fare. Try serving with Mini Chile Rellenos for a great Mexican inspired night.
Jazzed Up Refried Beans
6 servings
159 calories per serving
16 oz. can nonfat refried beans
15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed
¼ c prepared salsa
¼ c prepared salsa verde
2/3 c shredded low fat sharp cheddar cheese
4 scallions, sliced
Pam
Preheat broiler. Mix Beans, refried beans, salsas and 1/3 c of cheese in a pan and cook until hot throughout and the cheese has melted. Turn into a casserole dish sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and the scallions and broil 2 minutes or until cheese is brown.
I was a weird kid – I loved succotash and asked for it regularly ! I had not made it in quite some time, but now that I have the perfect recipe, I’ll be making it a whole lot more often.
Succotash
8 servings
182 calories per serving
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
16 oz. frozen lima beans
1/2 c water
10 oz. frozen corn
1/2 c skim milk
2 T butter
2 T cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t Molly McButter
Heat a skillet and cook bacon until crisp then remove it and drain on paper towels. Add onion and cook 5-6 minutes. Add beans and water and cook 5 minutes then add corn, milk, butter and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in bacon. Add Molly McButter, salt and pepper and serve immediately.
This sure doesn’t taste like it’s only cooked 8 minutes – it tastes much more like a soup that has been prepped and cooked for hours. The depth of flavor is fantastic. It has a bright and vibrant broccoli taste that is mellowed by the beans and cheese. Very, very good ! This is quite a good serving size – you can easily move this to 5 side servings and have this next to a salad or sandwich.
Cheesy Broccoli and Bean Soup
3 servings
220 calories per serving
14 oz. vegetable broth
1 c water
1 lb. broccoli florets
14 oz. cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
Boil water and broth in a saucepan. Add broccoli and cover the pan and cook 6 minutes then add the beans, salt and pepper and cook 2 minutes. Place half the soup in a blender with ½ c of the cheese. Puree and place in a bowl. Repeat with the remaining soup and cheese.
Chorizo is Mexican sausage much like Kielbasa is Polish sausage and Andouille is Cajun sausage. It is delightfully spicy and lends its rich flavor to any dish you add it to including this great side dish made with beans.
Chorizo Beans
4 servings
179 calories per serving
1 t oil
4 oz. chorizo, halved and thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ lb. wax beans or green beans
¼ c water
4 t sherry vinegar
½ c chopped parsley
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Heat oil and cook chorizo until crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add shallot to pan and cook 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Then add beans and water, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer 6-8 minutes. Add sausage to pan with vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper.
Check out the online cookbook, Keep the Beat ™ (available in pdf format) for some great ideas for healthful food that kids will eat and they will enjoy preparing with you. Kids learn by example – show them how good healthy food can be !!!
This is a great combination of an empanada and a pita – the recipe is fun to make and is a great healthy alternative to traditionally fried empanadas. You can easily change this up and use leftover pork or turkey instead. And you can even make it a bit more authentic by adding some sofrito to the mix. This was a great meal !
Empanapita
4 servings
373 calories per serving
2 6½-inch whole wheat pitas
1 c Tangy Salsa (see recipe below – or you can sub a store bought salsa)
For filling:
2 c canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed
2 c frozen broccoli, corn, and pepper vegetable mix, thawed
2 c grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced (Perdue Shortcuts work great here !)
½ c shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ c sofrito tomato cooking base (in the Goya section of your market) – optional
1 T fresh cilantro, chopped
2 T scallions, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
For Tangy Salsa (22 calories per serving):
½ c jarred roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry
½ c no-salt-added diced tomatoes (or substitute 1 medium tomato, chopped)
1 small lime, peeled and cut into small chunks
¼ t ground black pepper
¼ t ground cumin
1 T fresh cilantro, rinsed and chopped
Tangy Salsa
Preheat oven to 400 ºF. Combine beans, vegetables, chicken, cheese, sofrito and seasonings. Mix well.
Cut pitas in half, and open the pockets. Divide filling evenly between the four and place on a nonstick baking sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes until the filling is hot, cheese melts, and chicken is reheated. You can make these a bit ahead of time and heat when ready – this makes it a great recipe for when you are having guests.
For salsa, combine all ingredients and toss well (it is best if you make this ahead and let sit an hour or 20 so let the flavors mingle). Serve each empanapita with ¼ cup of Tangy Salsa.
Don’t skimp on the salsa – it really makes the meal ! I added ¼ c lime juice, 1 T sliced scallions, salt and pepper and omitted the roasted red peppers. The lime pieces add such a nice fresh flavor !!
This is a tasty stew that does well stovetop or you can sauté the onions and then pile it all in a crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours.
Brunswick Stew
6 servings
238 calories per serving
Pam
1 t oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts in bite sized pieces
10 oz. frozen baby lima beans
10 oz. frozen corn
3 c chicken broth
1 ½ c chopped tomatoes
6 oz. tomato paste
3 T lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Spray a Dutch oven with Pam and heat on medium high. Add oil and then sauté onion 3-4 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients and reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
FLAVOR EXPLOSION ! There are tons of bold flavors in this salad and dressing – and they mix to perfection ! Feta cheese, mustard, orange, radicchio, basil, feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes – – all mingling together to serve up a big, bold salad.
Chicken Salad with White Beans
4 servings
398 calories per serving
Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, chopped and mashed
¼ teaspoon salt
4 T oil
6 T orange juice
¼ c vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
Salad
15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 ½ c diced cooked chicken breast (Perdue Shortcuts work great here !)
2 c diced zucchini
1 ½ c cups diced celery
¼ c crumbled low fat feta cheese
¼ c chopped, sun-dried tomatoes (rinse them off in water and dry them with a paper towel first)
1 c coarsely chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 c torn escarole or romaine
2 cups torn radicchio
Mash garlic with ¼ t salt and then whisk in the oil. Add juice, vinegar and mustard and whisk to combine. Add more salt if necessary. Prepare all salad ingredients and toss with dressing. Season with salt and pepper.
