It’s the end of the pay period, and with only a couple days left until we get paid next, the shelves in the pantry and fridge are pretty barren. These are the days that force the creative side out of me – sometimes for good and sometimes…not.
Last night, I perused the kitchen for something – anything! – that might have potential for tonight’s dinner. I came up with 1 lonely tupperware of black beans in the freezer. And thanks to Google, after typing in “black bean recipes,” I came up with Quinoa and Black Beans on allrecipes.com.
Now to just see if I have the ingredients it calls for. As I clicked on the recipe I was a bit nervous. It was the highest rated black bean recipe on the site…which meant, I most likely didn’t have the numerous specialty ingredients listed.
But, alas!, quinoa, onion, garlic, black beans, corn, tomato, spices…check! Just a quick stop at the Farmer’s Market down the street provided the cilantro, and voila! I love it when end-of-the-month desperation yields such delicious, healthy, new, and even aesthetically pleasing meals.
God is good to this pregnant lady (and to her hubby, who has to endure whatever comes out of the kitchen at the end of the pay period)!
Derek and Kristin Dearth 
lol
You have a gift! Nice to have the Internet. Now, recipe please.
If you click on the “Quinoa and Black Beans” link (I think it’s in orange), it should take you right to the recipe. And amazingly, I only made 2 changes! 🙂 I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, and I added a chopped, seeded tomato at the end – just for color. But I’m sure it would be great as is, too. I mean, how can you go wrong with black beans, garlic, cumin, cilantro??? My only negative comment is that this recipe says it serves 10…but, somehow, Derek and I managed to polish it all off in one sitting. We seem to have that problem a lot, unfortunately. Maybe that’s why our pantry and fridge are always empty at the end of the pay period!
Our favorite lunch over here is quiona, beans, and tomatoes. I usually add some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. That’s it. Delicious!
Also, if that’s all you’re eating, I can see how you’d eat it all. It probably meant serves 10 as a side dish. 🙂