Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken and Jen's Spicy Black Beans

I need to play catch-up on the ol' blog today. We have been insanely busy, so I did not get to document the last couple days worth of meals. This post is about the dinner we had on Thursday night. My In Law's, and my two nieces that are visiting again from Reno, came over for some dinner and swimming. The girls spent the night, so they could get a little extra time playing with their cousin (my son). With a house full of three kids, I am happy that I had time to pull together a dinner at all. My niece, Kate helped me in the kitchen; which was a nice treat for me. It was fun to have an eager helper, and I put her to task peeling carrots and doing other miscellaneous kitchen duties. I served this chicken with a side salad, glazed carrots, and black beans. Dinner turned out great, and I was happy to have my family here.

Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken

For my black beans, I did another variation. They were a little too spicy for the In Law's, but they are lovable wimps when it comes to spicy food. ;)

I was really pleased with the results, so here is what I did...this recipe made a lot of beans.

Jen's Spicy Black Beans

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of butter
3 cans of rinsed and drained black beans
1 onion, diced
1 can of green chiles
3 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 can of (original) Rotel tomatoes, with juices
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp of Ancho chile powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water (only if needed; due to evaporation)
1 Tablespoon of lime juice

Directions:
Melt butter over medium heat, in a large sauce pan. Add onions and green chiles, with a pinch of salt. Saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add can of Rotel tomatoes with juices and garlic. Saute for another 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn. Add beans, cumin, coriander, onion powder, garlic powder, Ancho chile powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer with lid on until beans are heated through, approximately 15 minutes. Make sure liquid does not evaporate entirely. If needed, add a little bit water. (I did not need to add any water this time.) Splash with lime juice, stir, and then serve.