by the late Eileen Mintz, The Mercer Island Reporter, January 2008
My friend and cookbook author, Norene Gilletz, is a master in the kitchen, designing recipes for easy and healthy cooking. Enjoy her Black Bean and Corn Soup.
NORENE GILLETZ’S BLACK BEAN AND CORN SOUP
My friend and writing pal, Norene Gilletz, just came out with “Norene’s Healthy Kitchen, Eat Your Way to Good Health.” In this book, she has over 600 fast and fabulous recipes; all are family and weight-loss friendly, as well as heart smart. She includes the calories, fiber, fat, protein, sodium and iron in each serving per person. Published by Whitecap, this is one of the BEST cookbooks around. I have all of Norene’s books in my collection and each one is a treasure. “Healthy Kitchen” is great reading too!
Yields 6 to 8 servings, about 12 cups. Keeps for four to five days in the refrigerator; reheats well. Freezes well for up to four months.
4 cups (2 19-oz. cans) canned black beans, don’t drain
2 cups (1 14-oz. can) canned stewed tomatoes, don’t drain
3 cups tomato or vegetable juice
2 TBS. maple syrup or honey to taste
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, seeded and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic (2 tsp. minced)
1 cup corn kernels, frozen or canned
1 tsp. chili powder, to taste
1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, to taste
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 TBS. olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a four to five-quart ovenproof casserole with cooking spray. Combine all the ingredients in the casserole and mix well. Another choice is to put all the ingredients into a six-quart slow cooker.
Bake soup covered for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the soup is too thick after baking, add a little more water. If using a slow cooker, cook for 6 to 8 hours on low, or 3 to 4 hours on high.
Serve hot.
Norene’s Healthy Kitchen – Eat Your Way to Good Health
by Norene Gilletz
Published by: Whitecap Books
ISBN 978-1-55285-802-8
CDN $34.95, paperback
8″ x 9″, 512 pages
colour photographs throughout