Mar. 25 - Black Bean Pie

A MOMS Club friend of mine (hey Barb!) is a vegetarian and made me a killer black bean pie after Luke was born. It was so delicious that I wound up eating the whole thing myself (though not in one sitting!). I've been wanting to make one for myself for awhile now, but the boy doesn't understand the whole vegetarian thing and unless there's meat, he's not too interested. We had leftovers in the fridge, so I figured he could fend for himself while I enjoyed my black bean pie.

It's simple to make, but a rather lengthy cook time. Prep work was about 5 or 10 minutes of chopping up veggies and then 15 minutes of simmering them stove top before transferring them to a pie crust and cooking for an hour. It looks like an easy one to make ahead and freeze or refrigerate, however, so you could always try that. Here's the recipe:

Black Bean Pie
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
2/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (9 inch) unbaked 9 inch pie crusts
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion and green pepper until tender. Sir in beans, salsa, red bell pepper, chili powder, cayenne and black pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Spoon half of the mixture into one of the pie crusts and cover with half of the cheese.

Repeat with remaining beans and cheese. Top with remaining crust. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. I'd also let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes before cutting into it so that it has a chance to firm up.

Next time I make it, I think I'll add in some garlic and maybe some corn. It was delicious, but it needed just a little more "oomph." Or maybe I should just have Barb make it next time ;-)