Mexican Chilli: Taco meat has a second life!!

Left overs they can be so annoying or so amazing depending on what you can think up to do with them!  A few days ago, I made some tacos and since it's just the two of us for the most part, we had leftover meat.  Last night I was starving coming home from work and I thought about something with corn, lots of flavor, and beefy....voila!  I got home and before I even changed out of my work clothes, I got to work on my creation.  First I got out a deep frying pan and sauteed some onions in a bit of vegetable oil, then when they were transparent, I added the corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, and leftover taco meat.  With everything in the pot, I just let it simmer for about 30 minutes.  Oh, I added another Tbsp of my taco seasoning to give all the beans, corn, and tomatoes some flavor, there wasn't enough seasoning in the taco meat to give the entire product good hearty flavor.  When my husband came home, he was hit with the smells of a delicious mexican chilli!   

Here's the recipe:

Mexican Chili
Half of a medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp, vegetable oil or unsalted butter
1 can, undrained black beans, (American's Test Kitchen recommends Goya beans)
1 can of whole kernal corn, drained
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained...slightly
1/2 lbs of Taco meat  ( I prepare mine with my own taco seasoning)
1 - 2 Tbsp of taco seasoning

Directions
Saute onion in oil until transparent, add the remaining ingredients and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Blackbean Soup

Oh! What a warm bowl of black bean soup does to the soul of a southerner...even one at heart!  This evening as the rain continues to saturate our county with hurricane Joaquin threatening the east coastal communities, I got home before my husband and cooked up a big pot of soup.  I had some leftover couscous that I made a few nights ago, so with shredded cheese and Greek yogurt, we had a fulfilling meal, the two of us.

As with many soups, this one called for chicken stock which I have plenty of homemade stock made from the rotisserie chickens we get from Sam's club periodically.  See the recipe here. All it took from start to finish was about 30 minutes, so it is a quick, hot, and flavorful meal for any workweek evening!  Here's the recipe:

 Black Bean Soup

2 -14 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground pepper
3 cups, chicken stock, (I use my own homemade)
1 can dices tomatoes
Hot sauce, optional

In a large pot, sweat the onions and garlic in olive oil until they are transparent.  Add the drained beans, tomatoes, and stock following with cumin, pepper and optional hot sauce.  Allow the soup to boil for about 5 minutes, then reduce and let simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat and with an immersion blender, lightly blend the soup just until it begins to look smooth with bits of tomatoes and beans still remaining.  Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream (we use Greek yogurt) and shredded cheese.

For the final ending to our meal, my husband topped chocolate chocolate chip ice cream with a dollup of whipped cream and a spritz of Amaretto!  YUM!!!