Beans and Rice … Rice and Beans

If any of you are familiar with The Dave Ramsey Show, you’ll know that he is an advocate of being thrifty while trying to get out of debt. One of his favorite sayings is that if you are trying to cut back on expenses you can cut your grocery budget by only eating “beans and rice … and rice and beans”. Today I’m going to show you how you can feel like you are eating a gourmet meal by adding just a few Thrive ingredients and a few items from your pantry to really make those rice and beans pop.

You can get these ingredients and full color recipe cards (7 complete recipes of 4-6 servings) as part of the Taste of Thrive Intro Pack or you can use what you already have on hand if you have all the Thrive ingredients (or sub fresh for what you don’t have). Want to get a Taste of Thrive Intro Pack FOR FREE? Scroll to the bottom of this post for a special offer!

Zesty Black Beans

Ingredients:
½ cup Thrive Onion Slices
¼ cup Thrive Green Chili Peppers
2 cups Thrive Instant Black Beans
1 tsp. Thrive Chef’s Choice Seasoning Blend
2 slices Bacon
1 tbsp. Garlic, minced
4 cups Water
¾ tsp. Chili powder
¾ tsp. Cumin
2 tbsp. Cilantro, fresh, chopped (or use Thrive Cilantro)
1 tsp. Cholula Hot Sauce
¼ cup BBQ sauce
1 tbsp. Lime juice

Instructions:
In a medium sauce pan, cook the bacon until brown and drain half the fat. Add in the garlic, Onion Slices, and Green Chili Peppers to toast lightly. Add in the water and rest of the Zesty Black Bean ingredients except for the cilantro and lime juice. Simmer for 15–20 minutes covered or until beans reach desired tenderness. Test simmered beans for tenderness. Sauce should be thickened. Add more water if needed. Add cilantro and lime juice. Simmer for 1–2 more minutes or until desired thickness and then let rest for 2–3 minutes.

I’m vegetarian and have made this with a bacon substitute and also just omitting the bacon and it is still delicious, so don’t be afraid to try it if bacon isn’t your thing!

Green Chili & Sweet Corn Brown Rice

Ingredients:
¼ cup Thrive Green Chili Peppers
½ cup Thrive Sweet Corn
2 cups Thrive Instant Brown Rice
¼ cup Thrive Red Bell Peppers
¼ cup Thrive Onion Slices
¼ cup Thrive Velouté (Rich Chicken Gravy)
2½ tsp. Thrive Chef’s Choice Seasoning Blend
1 tbsp. Butter
1 tbsp. Garlic
2¾ cups Water
2 tbsp. Cilantro, fresh, chopped (or use Thrive Cilantro)

Instructions:
In a small sauce pan, sauté the garlic in butter until golden brown. Add in the water and remaining ingredients
except the cilantro and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Take off heat and let stand for 5 minutes covered. Fold cilantro into the rice and fluff.

For a vegetarian substitution just use a few teaspoons of Thrive Vegetarian Chicken Bouillon and a little less water and you will get a lot of the same flavor with less calories and no meat.

SPECIAL OFFER

We are offering an amazing bonus in March for anyone who signs up to be a Thrive consultant on our team. If you are enrolled before March 31st we will send you a FREE Taste of Thrive Intro Pack when your first Q ships. It includes all the Thrive ingredients you need to make the two recipes above plus FIVE more delicious meals for your family!

We LOVE all the benefits that come from being a consultant: free food, great friends, learning to cook with Thrive, extra income. No matter whether you want to just share a little with family and friends or become a full-blown business owner there is something that Thrive can offer for YOU.

- Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://yourthrivelife.com