South of the Border Pie

This is such a wonderful, versatile dish!  You can serve it as a side dish with your next Mexican dinner, mix in some shredded chicken and it's a main dish, put some tortilla chips on the side and call it an appetizer or use it as a filling next time you make burritos.  It tastes amazing and will definitely be a hit!  Now let's talk about the name.  I debated whether or not to rename this recipe.  The original recipe instructs that you bake it in a pie dish, hence the "pie" part.  Other than that, there is no resemblance to a pie, whatsoever.  I always double the recipe (because I'm feeding a crowd and this is a great dish for leftovers) so I can't even fit in a pie dish.  We have loyally called it by it's given name for so many years though that my kids wouldn't know what I was talking about if I called it by any other name.  And so the meaningless name continues on.  Whatever you call it, you must try it!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

2 TBS olive oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

4 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1 chopped green onion

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.  In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Stir in chili powder, cumin and salt, cook for 1 minute longer.  Turn off heat.  Add rice and beans. let cook slightly.  Add cheese and mix completely.  Pour rice mixture into 9x13 greased cooking dish.  In a small bowl, whisk milk and eggs together.  Pour over rice mixture evenly.  Sprinkle top with green onion.  Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until center is set.

As a Freezer Meal

Prepare rice and bean mixture, as directed.  Add shredded chicken if desired  Do not add the eggs, milk or green onions.  Put rice mixture in a greased pan (I suggest using a foil pan so you don't have one of your regular baking dishes stuck in the freezer).  Cover tightly with 2-3 layers of plastic wrap and tin foil.  When ready to use, let it thaw.  Remove plastic wrap and foil.  Mix the eggs and milk together and pour over rice mixture evenly.  Sprinkle top with green onion.  Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until center is set.