Baked Beans and Rice

Dear Turkey,

I always have potential beans and rice recipes floating around in my head. Sometimes they come to me in dreams. True story.

Since I love beans and I love baking, I have been wanting to make baked beans for a while. And while I truly love the baked beans from the can, I was thinking of something more Mexican-y. I was also attracted to the put-it-in-the-oven-and-leave-it concept.

These baked beans turned out really easy and tasty. They have that extra sweet and savory depth that comes from baking (and roasted garlic), but they still have that Mexican punch. I loved finding big chunks of roasted garlic and smashing them around in my rice; if you think that's weird, slice the garlic.

Baked Mexican-Style Beans (and rice)

Ingredients:

- 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

- 2 large shallots, peeled and halved

- 4 T olive oil

- 1 t salt

- 2 T cumin

- 3-4 T honey

- 10 slices of jarred jalapeños 

- 1 big can of black beans (I used low sodium...I know...), undrained

- 1 tiny can tomato paste

Instructions:
- Place the onions, shallots, oil, salt, and cumin in a baking dish with a lid, like a corning-ware or a dutch oven, and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, covered.
- Add the remaining ingredients, and more cumin if you'd like, and bake another hour or so, same temperature, covered. Season to taste.
- Serve with rice, cheese, and corn tortillas.

Enjoy,
Tofu