I am a big fan of cooking once and eating twice (or thrice!). Here is a quick and easy recipe that is light, tasty and can be used for three different meals. Perfect for this time of year, as we begin to move into lighter meals that emphasis plant protein, salads and light soups.
Day 1: The Black Bean and Corn Salad with Chips or Pita (Lunch)
I generally eat this dip with corn tortilla chips or toasted pita for lunch on Day 1
Mix the following in a large bowl. This will be the core component for the rest of the meals.
- 2 Cans Black Beans (or any beans you have and like, I’ve made this with kidney and white beans as well).
- 2 cups sweet corn (depending on the season I use either canned or fresh)
Toss with one or more of the following:
- 1/2 Avocado (smooshed and mixed in to make the salad creamy)
- 1/2 cup Salsa *it is also fine to not use salsa
- 1/4 cup Vinaigrette (a simple balsamic and olive oil mix is wonderful
- Sea Salt to taste
Day 2: Quesadillas with a Salad (Dinner)
The second day, I make a quesadilla with:
- A sprinkling of cheese
- The bean and corn salad
- Shredded chicken
- Topped with sour cream and black olives
I will often serve this with a big green salad and broiled asparagus to round out the meal.
Day 3: Stuffed Potatoes and Soup (Dinner)
For this day’s dinner I start early and put the soup in the crock pot. I often make chicken tortilla soup with the stuffed potatoes. About an hour or so before dinner I pop the potatoes wrapped in foil in the oven to bake them. The actual prep for the dinner is simple once the potatoes and soup are done.
- Cut open cooked baking potatoes and scoop out the inside flesh.
- Mix that with the bean and corn salad.
- You can add shredded cheese or sour cream if you’d like. The farm we get our raw cheese from has a wonderful pepper jack I use for this! (This recipe also works perfectly well without the cheese)
- Re-stuff the potatoes with the filling.
You can serve just like this or reheated in a 350* oven for about 15-20 minutes.
So there we have it; a lunch and two dinners all around a simple bean and corn salad! Bon Appetit!
I am THRILLED to see these ideas! I just fell in love with Chicken Tortilla Soup, two of whose main ingredients are corn and black beans. I make it pretty thick so instead of crushing chips into the soup and getting them soggy, I eat the “soup” with chips. I was wondering though how I could get the same great bean and corn taste without the tomato sauce-y/soup thing. These ideas are perfect!! Thanks!
Hi Lisa
Can you share your tortilla soup recipe? I have fresh corn this week, so this line up is in the plan!
Hi Abby!
Here is a tortilla soup I use often (I believe I originally got it from a Cooking Light forum post) . I cook 2 large breasts in the soup and then at the end shred one of them and return it to the soup, and I refrigerate the other for a meal the next day.
Tortilla Soup
3-6 Tbl of olive oil or coconut oil
8 corn tortillas, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large chicken breasts
1 can of black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add tortillas, garlic, cilantro, and onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock.
3. Return to a boil. Reduce heat. Add salt and cayenne.
4. Add 2 chicken breasts. Simmer 30 minutes.
5. Remove bay leaves and in can of rinsed black beans and 1 cup of frozen corn.
6. Continue to heat for 5-10 more minutes.
7. Remove bay leaf and chicken breasts.
8. Shred one of the chicken breasts and return to soup (save the other for another meal!)
9. Garnish with monterey jack, avocado, sour cream, and/or tortilla strips