More time to do laundry...

Sometimes I look at recipes like this and while I know it will be easy to cook, it just looks like it will take too long. Some days that's OK; some days I have all the time in the world...Oh I'm sorry I was thinking back to the days before I was a mom. Who am I kidding, I never all the time in the world. But I do love to cook so I've found a way to take the process of cooking, and well...simplify it as much as possible.

While this recipe isn't hard, there are a lot of steps. So the first thing I do is prep. Just like the TV cooking shows. I go through the recipe and prep all the ingredients first. When you do it all at once, it goes much faster. Once everything is all together and within arms length, the meal really comes together rather quickly. I also try to find preparation methods that save time.

For instance; I used my immersion or stick blender to incorporate all the ingredients for the slaw, instead of pulling out my entire food processor. It was much faster and a much easier clean up. I also crushed the tortilla chips in a baggie with a rolling pin, rather than using my grinder. I'm pretty handy with a knife and can dice veggies rather quickly, but if that's something that seems to take you a long time try using one of those quick choppers. The ones you see on TV. I have one, and really like it when I need something done super fast. They really work.

I'm not saying this recipe doesn't take some time. There are three different components to think about. But with a little ingenuity, you can cook smarter and faster. The recipe said it would take 1 hour. From start to finish I had dinner on the table in 35 minutes. I say...25 minutes saved...is 25 minutes more time I have to do laundry...augg...!

(I chose this picture, because I thought it was so cute to see my little "R" enjoying this tasty meal in the background.)

BLACK BEAN CAKES STACKED
(Recipe from Cuisine at Home)

For the Slaw…
1/3 C. sour Cream
¼ C. scallions, thinly sliced
10 sprigs of fresh cilantro
½ Jalapeno, seeded, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 C. cabbage, shredded
Salt to taste

For the Rice…
1/3 C. each of onion, carrot, and celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 T. tomato paste
½ t. each of kosher salt, ground cumin, and paprika
¼ t. cayenne
1 bay leaf
½ C. converted white rice
1 C. chicken broth or water

For the Cakes…
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed, divided
1 egg white
½ C. corn tortilla chips, ground
¼ C. red bell pepper, diced
2 T. onion, grated
½ t. each of kosher salt, ground coriander, and chili powder

1. Puree the first 5 ingredients for the slaw in a food processor or blender; toss with the cabbage, season with salt, cover and refrigerate. Allow to chill while you prepare the rice and black bean cakes.
2. Sauté the vegetables for the rice in 1 T. of oil. Add the garlic, tomato paste, spices, and bay leaf. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the rice and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered; while you prepare the black bean cakes.
5. In a bowl mash all but ½ C. of the beans, with the egg white.
6. Add the remaining beans, chips, bell pepper, onion, and seasonings.
7. Refrigerate the mixture for 10 minutes.
8. Form into 4 round cakes.
9. Fry the cakes in 2 T. oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until heated through; about 4 minutes per side.
10. Serve the bean cakes stacked on Mexican rice, and topped with the slaw.