Cuban Black Beans and Rice

I got this off of recipezaar.com and used some of the modifications suggested in the comments. It is the quick, lazy way to make this dish and it makes about four to five servings.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (red works, too)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (undrained)
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 package Sazon Goya without annato (substitution I used: 2 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. chicken boullion, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (you can use cooking wine, too)
2 cups cooked white rice
pre-cooked ham steak (optional)

Directions
Heat oil in a medium sauce pan, sauté onion,green pepper, and garlic. Sauté until tender, about 5-10 minutes.

Add in remaining ingredients and stir until boiling, reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced, about 20 minutes. You can smash some of the beans to add to the flavor. Serve over white rice.

In order to make this more of a main dish, I diced a dinner ham steak and tossed it in.

Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

I found this on allrecipes.com.

1 (32 oz) package frozen hash brown potatoes
8 ounces cooked, diced ham
2 (10.75 oz) cans condensed cream of potato soup
16 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix the hash browns, ham, soup, sour cream, and cheddar. Spread evenly into the baking dish and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for one hour or until bubbly and light brown.

Roasted Beets with Feta

I'm a sucker for Feta cheese, so when I had some beets from the farm share to use, and I saw this recipe...

4 beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil, and place onto a baking sheet.

Bake beets in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once done, remove from oven, and allow to cool until you can handle them. Peel beets, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

While the beets are roasting, whisk together shallot, parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and red wine vinegar in a bowl until blended; season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.

To assemble the dish, place the warm, sliced beets onto a serving dish, pour vinaigrette over the beets, and sprinkle with feta cheese before serving.

From allrecipes.com