Pepper, Onion, and Black Bean Shortcakes

You know why I love the weekends?

Sleeping in?

Nah…this cool cat has pretty much made it his goal in life to align both my bodyclock and the Omnivore’s with his very own.  Meaning…crack of dawn = breakfast.   And he’s pretty insistent about it. Scratch that.  He’s unrelenting.  I think infants sleep later every morning than Mr. Fancypants here does.

So why do I love Saturday and Sunday?  Ohh…staying out late and partying!  Um, no.  Mr. Fancypants Appleton has totally nixed that by virtue of the 4am hunger crisis alerts.

So here’s the scoop.  I have plenty of time to eat lunch and dinner at home.  No reheated leftovers.  No Subway sandwiches on the fly (not that I would do that, but you would, so I’m just trying to bond with you here).  Real, thoughtful, delicious food.

So this weekend, I made this for lunch:

And then, lo’ and behold, dinnertime came around and all I wanted to do was eat the same thing I had for lunch.  I threw all my culinary opportunities out the window and just relived my noontime meal.  It was that good.

One Year Ago: Wok this Way

Grilled Cornbread Shortcakes with Pepper and Onions (serves 4, adapted from Mollie Katzen)

for the cornbread
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
3 T SmartBalance butter, melted
2 T honey
1 egg

Combine dry ingredients.  Sift together.  Combine wet ingredients.  Fold wet into dry, mixing just enough to moisten.  Spread into an 8″ square baking dish (sprayed with nonstick spray) and bake at 350* for 20 minutes until lightly browned ontop.

for the topping
3 bell peppers, any color, sliced
2 cups onion, sliced
1 cup black beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t salt

Cook sliced onion over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add bell peppers and continue cooking 3-4 minutes.  Add spices and black beans.  Add minced garlic and yogurt.  Cook 2-3 minutes.  Keep warm.

assembly
Cut cornbread into fourths (1/4th per serving).  Slice each portion horizontally.  Grill or toast.  Place grilled cornbread on a plate and top with one quarter of the pepper sautee.

4 servings
Calories 456.7
Total Fat 10.1 g
Saturated Fat 2.6 g
Cholesterol 55.4 mg
Sodium 161.7 mg
Potassium 720.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 77.6 g
Dietary Fiber 10.2 g
Sugars 14.3 g
Protein 17.6 g