southwestern bean casserole.

i'm sitting here in my pretty pink snuggie, trying to concentrate on a stack of cases involving workers' compensation notice requirements, but am not-so-secretly distracted by a nagging worry involving poor circulation and fingers as cold as icicles. not exactly the most eventful tuesday night. but anyway, i digress.

it's cold and foggy outside, which john eloquently described as "eerily peaceful" awhile ago. just one of those nights where curling up on the couch (minus the workers' comp stuff) in a snuggie is about the best idea around. and a perfect dinner on a night like this was... southwestern bean casserole.

it's not going to shock anyone that i have a slight touch of OCD-ish-ness, and this means that yes, i do like to plan out meals for the week before going grocery shopping. the motivation behind this is threefold: (1) it saves a lot of time by eliminating the 30+ minute "what are we going to have for dinner" dance; (2) it is the most effective way to reign in my food budget (i'm what my mother-in-law would describe as a "foodie;" i love to cook and i'm always up for buying exotic ingredients to try new dishes. left to my own devices at the grocery store, john and i would be poor beggars with very discriminating palates); and (3) it ensures that we always have the necessary recipe ingredients on hand. i happen to have a fairly extensive collection of recipe books, and one of my favorite weekend pastimes is spreading them all out and pouring through while searching for new ways to spice up fueger family dinnertime. cooking/sharing the dinner meal is my favorite part of the day. cooking was definitely a stress outlet for me in law school, and it's continued to be something i look forward to on a daily basis. i think its partially due to the fact that i can lose, or maybe even find, myself in cooking, and no matter how crappy my day might have been, spending the time to prepare something for john and i to eat as we share a conversation about our days is enjoyable and rewarding. it's also satisfying to know that john's more than proficient and willing to pick up the slack on the off chance i don't feel like cooking. i guess that's why cooking has yet to feel like a burden to me. but anyway, one of the cookbooks newly added to my collection is "the best of cooking light: everyday favorites," a christmas gift from john. tonight i made southwestern bean casserole. it was comfort food with a little kick. it would be a great go-to recipe when you're low on time (or need to feed a small crowd on a small budget; all the ingredients are reasonably priced and probably already adorn the pantry shelves of the economical chef). so, without further ado: here's the recipe. enjoy!

1 tsp. canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup canned, no-salt added cream-style corn, divided
1/2 cup drained canned chopped green chiles, divided
1/2 cup bottled salsa
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. gr. cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 (16 oz.) cans pinto beans, drained
1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt added stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 cup reduced fat shredeed Cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk (I always keep the powdered mix on hand; it worked perfectly, as usual)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat 1 tsp. oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 mins. Add 1/2 cup corn, 1/4 cup chiles, salsa and next 5 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 mins. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese; set aside.
3. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, and 1/4 tsp. salt in a med. bowl. Combine remaining corn, chiles, cheese, buttermilk, 1/4 cup oil, and egg whites; add to cornmeal mixtur, sitrring until just moist. Spread corn bread batter evenly over bean mixture. Bake casserole at 375 for 25 mins. or until corn bread is lightly browned.