Food

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray  1 spray(s), garlic-flavored
• Uncooked onion(s)  1 small, chopped
• Garlic clove(s)  1 medium clove(s), minced
• Uncooked white rice  ½ cup(s), converted variety recommended
• Fat free chicken broth  1½ cup(s)
• Canned tomato puree  14½ oz, roasted-variety
• Canned kidney beans  15 oz, drained and rinsed
• Reduced-fat cooked crisp bacon  2 slice(s), crumbled
• Canned chipotle sauce  2 Tbsp
• Dried oregano  ½ tsp
• Table salt  ½ tsp
• Black pepper  ¼ tsp
• Cilantro  1 Tbsp, fresh, chopped
• Uncooked scallion(s)  1 Tbsp, chopped (green part only)

Instructions:

1. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic to skillet and sauté until slightly softened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place rice, broth, tomato puree, beans, bacon, chipotle sauce, oregano, salt and pepper in a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker; add sautéed vegetables. Cover and cook on low setting for 3 1/2 hours; stir in cilantro and scallion just before serving. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Notes:

Start this dish on a weekend morning and you'll have lunch waiting for you. But don't keep the beans and rice simmering all day, as the consistency will suffer. Converted rice is sometimes recommended in slow cooker recipes since the grains do not clump together as much as they do with regular rice. You can, however, use regular white rice if you prefer.