My wife and I are on a diet, and I wanted to make something that was low in calories, and high in iron. I also wanted some ground beef (a rare treat on a low calorie diet). This turned out fantastic. I’d cook it again even if I wasn’t on a diet.. I’d just have seconds. Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp each salt, pepper
½-teaspoon ground cumin
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups beef broth
2 cans (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained (substitute with any canned bean as desired).
1 cup diced peeled potato
1 can (14 ounce) diced tomatoes
¼ to ½ teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
2 green onions, sliced

In a bowl combine beef, 2 cloves minced garlic, thyme and ½ tsp each of salt and pepper; roll into approx 1 tbsp balls.

In a skillet or large sauce pan, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown meatballs, in batches as necessary, turning often, for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Drain fat from pan.

In skillet/sauce pan bring the onion, remaining garlic and ½ cup broth to a boil. Reduce head; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in the beans, potato, remaining tsp of thyme, cumin and remaining broth; return to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir in tomatoes and hot sauce; heat through. Sprinkle with green onions.

Yield: 6 servings Approx 300 cal per serving.

I’ve decided to start posting some of my favourite recipes. I know that when I was a bachelor I didn’t cook nearly as much as I should have. It’s always handy to know how to cook. This simple recipe was given to me by a friend a number of years ago. I THINK it was the first thing I ever cooked for my wife. This recipe, like all recipes that I’ll put up, is simple but effective. I keep my instructions as simple as possible.

Tools Needed:

- Skillet or deep frying pan
- cheese grater (not needed if you have grated cheese)
- Good knife for chopping (Optional)
- a big serving spoon
- A flipper

Ingredients:

- Tablespoon of vegi or olive oil
- 1 Jar of salsa
- 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 1 onion(optional)
- 1 green pepper(optional)
- 3 or 4 cups of shredded mozzarella
- 2 Cups rice.

1. On a medium to high-medium element, add oil to skillet and add chicken breasts. Cook until cooked. If unsure, cut into a breast(juices should be clear, and inside shouldn’t be pink).

2. Add salsa to skillet and simmer for a half hour. Chop onion and green pepper up if desired, and add to mix.

3. While simmering, prepare 2 Cups of rice as per directions. (Basically 2 cups water for every 1 cup rice. Bring water to boil/ Add rice/reduce to min and cover for 20 minutes/remove from element and let stand for 10 min).

4. Top skillet contents with mozzarella and let melt.

5. Serve skillet contents on a bed of rice. I recommend using a big spoon to serve the breasts so that they keep a layer of salsa and cheese on top of them, and then use the spoon to snag a portion of salsa for the uncovered rice.