I wanted to share a few recipes with some staple food items that you’ll hopefully have around your house! If you’ve followed me for long, you know I hardly ever follow recipes by the letter. I will list the basic ingredients below, but just know that even these can be substituted or adapted! Use what you have, and get creative! I happened to find plantains at Whole Foods, but the meal is still delicious without them.

Spicy ground beef

1 Tbsp Avocado oil
1 lb ground beef
¼ onion diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed 
1 15oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes (I love fire roasted for a little bit more punch)
1 tsp cumin*
½ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp salt 

*If you don’t use fire-roasted tomatoes, you may have to increase/adjust the spices just a bit!

Heat up saute pan to medium-high heat and add oil 
Add ground beef and brown for ~10 minutes
Add onions and garlic, and cook for ~2 mins 
Add can of tomatoes and seasonings and let cook for ~10 minutes. You want most of the liquid to cook down 
Once the tomatoes have cooked down a little bit, take off the heat and serve!

Beans

2 15 oz cans of black beans* 
¼ onion diced 
4 garlic cloves 
2 tsp hot sauce (I used cholula) 
1 bay leaf
½ tsp cumin 
¾ tsp salt
pepper to taste

Heat a small pot to medium heat
Add beans in liquid to pot
Add the rest of the ingredients except salt, and turn to medium-high
Cover and let simmer for at least 30 minutes 
As the beans release more liquid, take the lid off and let simmer uncovered for ~30 minutes, continuously stirring 
Add salt and pepper 
When the liquid has cooked down a bit, take off the heat and serve!

*If you have dried black beans, you can still make this recipe, just follow the instructions for properly soaking them first, and then continue with these seasonings. 

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup white rice
1 ½ cups of broth or water 
1 tbsp butter 
Juice of 1 lime 
Dash of salt 
Cilantro chopped 

Add rice, broth, butter, and salt to a small pot (heat the pot to approx. med-high) 
Bring to a boil and let cook for ~2 mins 
Decrease the heat to low and let simmer for ~20 mins 
Juice lime into the rice and continue simmering for ~10 mins 
When liquid is reduced, remove from heat and add chopped cilantro 

Bonuses: Sweet Plantains and Pickled Red Onions

Sweet Plantains 

2 Plantains (sliced in ~ 1 in rounds) 
2 Tbsp butter 

Heat saute pan to medium and add butter 
Add plantains to pan and cook ~5 mins on one side until they have a nice golden brown color 
Flip plantains and cook on the other side
If the slices are thick, use your fork to add pressure and flatten them a little so the centers cook 
Cook for ~3-4 more minutes until plantains are soft and cooked through Enjoy!

Pickled Red Onions 

1 large red onion, sliced thin 
3 limes, juiced 
~1 cup of white vinegar 
1 Tbsp salt 

Add sliced onions large mason jar (I use a 24 oz jar) 
Add lime juice and salt to the jar and shake up the jar a bit
Add ~ 1 cup of vinegar (enough to cover the top of the onions) 
Shake up the jar and refrigerate for ~ 4 hours before serving