Healthy Gallo Pinto

I love Gallo Pinto. It's something I grew up with. Don't discount this as a simple side dish, it's good with breakfast, lunch and dinner. :)

This dish can be Nicaraguan, Costa Rican and El Salvadorian, it is the same simple dish carried on with different names such as Casimento too. This hearty, healthy and filling dish is your basic rice and beans. The beans in this case are red, and the color of the beans on the rice gives gallo pinto, or "painted rooster," its name.

* 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
% 1/8 cup butter or olive oil
* 1/2 diced yellow or white onion
* Optional - 1/2 cup Pico De Gallo (Recipe posted)
* Large Can of black, red or pinto beans
* 1 Tblesp Ground Cumin
* 1 Tblesp Cayenne
* Salt / Pepper to Taste
* Two- cups of cooked steamed brown rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high flame. Add the onions, garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through.

Add beans with half the juice in the can, this prevents the dryness and addition of more oil. Cook these together and add the spices, mix together.

Add in the brown rice, mixing together as they fry in the skillet. Make sure they don't stick to the pan, but get cooked together and all the juice is absorbed by the rice.

Gallo Pinto is one of my favorite dishes, I recently used this to stuff peppers. It was AMAZING, to be continued in another blog post.

XOXO, Beks