Black Bean and Salsa Skillet

I'm always on the lookout for new dinner ideas that are quick, easy and of course tasty. I found this one on $5 Dinners earlier this week and decided to give it a try. It turned out really well -- we all liked it and it made such a big pan that we had enough for 2 nights of dinners!

Here's the recipe in case you'd like to give it a try. It's very carb heavy as is, but if you're trying to cut carbs, I think it would still be excellent w/o the rice. Or if you don't mind the added carbs, it could even be served as burritos. Or with tortilla chips on the side. I modified the recipe to reflect what I used.

Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey (I used turkey.)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup white rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 can black beans, drained (or 2 cups cooked)
1 cup salsa – mild, medium or hot! (I used mild to make it kid friendly and we just added Texas Pete to our own.)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin (I love this spice!)
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (I just used chedder, but I bet the Mexican variety would be excellent!)

1 package frozen corn

Directions
1. In a large skillet or saucepan, brown the ground meat with the chopped onion. Drain, rinse and set aside.

2. In the same saucepan, add the rice and water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the browned meat, black beans, salsa, undrained diced tomatoes, ground cumin, garlic powder and salt and pepper, to taste. Once boiling together, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until rice has cooked through. (NOTE: If you wish to use brown rice or instant rice, let cook for the time suggested on the packaging.)

3. Once the rice has cooked through, uncover and simmer to let any remaining liquid cook off.

4. Top with shredded cheese.

5. Serve Black Bean and Salsa Skillet with a side of corn. Enjoy!