Black Beans and Roasted Potato Bowl

My husband's job requires him to have dinner meetings from time to time.   On nights when he is at one of these dinners, I am the only one here to deal with dinner time, or what my friend and I call "the witching hour".  If you have young children, or have had a toddler you will completely understand what I mean.  If not, here is what the witching hour is: Somewhere between 4 and 6pm babies/ toddlers/ kids seems to get louder, crankier, more hyper, more demanding than at any other time of the day.  This is the time of day the toddler is getting into EVERYTHING- climbing on things, emptying my cabinets, stealing crayons and attempting to write on stuff  ( like walls).  When Daddy is here he  keeps the little one entertained while I make dinner.  When he's not here, I need quick easy meals that require very little attention.  We still have to eat a healthy dinner after all!
A few weeks ago I came up with this easy dish on the fly.  I had black beans in my cabinet, fresh potatoes from the farmers market in my fridge, and a spice cabinet full of spices to play with.  So I put it all together and made a really tasty, filling, easy dinner for myself and my oldest daughter. The middle one and little one had chicken tenders (don't judge), some of the potatoes, and veggies.  I didn't know it would turn out so good so I didn't take pictures.  When I made this again a few nights ago I made sure I had my camera on hand.  With the help of my 8 year old we recreated this delicious meal (with a few changes and a lot more spice).

Black Beans and Roasted Potato Bowl

Ingredients:

• 4-6 medium white potatoes- diced
• 1 can black beans
• Olive Oil
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 jalapeno diced (remove seeds for less heat)
• 1/2 red onion- diced
• juice of 1half of a  lime
• 1 teaspoon Hot Mexican Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• Trader Joes South African Smoke Seasoning (optional)

Preheat your oven to 430F. Spray your cooking sheet with your favorite cooking spray.  Dice your potatoes, toss with olive oil and seasonings of you choice.  Roast in the oven until done. (I usually broil mine for the last few minutes to help crisp them.)

This is the best seasoning blend ever!  If you haven't tried it ( and you live near a Trader Joes) you really must try this!  It's awesome on just about anything.

While the potatoes are roasting: Saute your onions until they are slightly softened.  Add your jalapeno and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add your drained and rinsed black beans, tomatoes, lime juice and your seasonings. Let simmer until the liquid is mostly gone.

If you don't have canned tomatoes, you can use fresh diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, or even some salsa.  

Serve the black beans over the roasted potatoes. 

This recipe was really pretty spicy.  The first time I made this I did not use the jalapeno so it was a lot milder ( and I ended up adding sirarcha ).  It's totally your preference as to how hot you want it. I love it with the potatoes instead of  rice because it makes it so much heartier and more filling.  Plus if you season your potatoes you get even more flavor.

After I made it I realized this was a totally gluten free, vegan meal. It's actually free of most allergens. While this version is vegan, I think I may try it with a fried egg on top one of these days.