I spotted this stew here and it’s been calling to me ever since, waiting for the first really good chilly weekend to go simmering on my stovetop. Black beans, chicken, and corn make up one of my favorite flavor combinations, so I knew it’d be good. I had almost everything I needed and I didn’t want to go to the store, so I left out the cilantro. I also wanted to make a big, gigantic, huge pot to simmer away all weekend and let everyone eat at will while I flopped on the couch and ate bon-bons and watched TV, so I increased the recipe.
(I’m not really flopping on the couch eating bon-bons and watching TV this weekend. I wish! I’m picking pears and cutting up pumpkins and drying herbs. Which isn’t bad, either, now that I think about it.)
I super-sized the recipe to fill up my big cast iron kettle. I doubled or tripled some ingredients, but not others. When I make a big pot of stew, I go heavier on the beans than the meat. It’s cheaper that way and I have teenage boys to keep satisfied. (And shredded chicken spreads around in the stew really well, so it still seemed quite meaty.) I also didn’t have the chipotle chili salsa called for in the original recipe. Instead, I used chipotle chili powder and stuck with the tomatoes.
I used a quart of home-canned tomatoes. If you don’t have that, you can use an equal amount of store-canned tomatoes. (A quart is 32 ounces.) I used home-cooked (from dried) black beans–you can use a couple of cans of store-canned prepared beans, if you prefer. I used minced dried onions instead of a chopped onion to hide the onion from Morgan, and I added some sliced bell peppers and spiced it up with crushed red pepper flakes.
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How to make Spicy Black Bean, Chicken & Corn Stew:
5 cups black beans, cooked
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
1 cup sliced bell peppers
1 quart canned tomatoes
4 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
2 tablespoons minced dried onions
2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons lime juice
Put everything in a big pot and heat it up.
THESE ARE THE EASIEST DIRECTIONS I’VE EVER WRITTEN.
Okay, one more thing–you need some liquid to make the stew. I included all the liquid from the quart of tomatoes. I also included a small amount of cooking liquid from the beans, but not much, maybe about a cup. I added about 6 cups of water. This doesn’t have to be exact, just add enough liquid to get to a stew-like consistency.
I used a big cast iron kettle. You could also simmer this all day in a crock pot. And, of course, you need some grandma bread or cornbread.
It’s autumn. It’s the weekend. You need stew!
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Leah says:
That DOES look good! I can picture the kids dipping into it all day long. Slices of grandmother bread would go well with the stew too. YUM! You and Bee are good cooks, I know I’ve seen the recipes!
On October 17, 2009 at 5:43 am
Chic says:
Mmmmm I love food like that at this time of year. Well I know what I’m making for supper this weekend and maybe some Grandmother Bread too..haven’t made that recipe yet but have been waiting for the perfect meal to go with it. Ooooo the house is going to smell soooo good! Today is the day we get our dinky donkey…since the weekend meal is easy to make and no fuss I’ll have lots of time to go play with him!!! Thanks Suzanne….and have a wonderful weekend everyone!
On October 17, 2009 at 6:18 am
Karen says:
Here’s a tip for you (I’m so thrilled that I can repay the favor!). When you cook this, you can make an easy recipe even easier. It should not be necessary to precook and shred the chicken, which will fall apart in the all-day cooking process. When the soup is done, just take a fork to the pot, and the chicken will fall naturally into shreds, as long as you have sliced it across the grain. I make a chicken and white bean soup this way, and it never fails.
This one sounds really good, thank you!
On October 17, 2009 at 6:51 am
KentuckyFarmGirl says:
This sounds awesome and I am definitely going to make it.
You probably already know this Suzanne but if you have a lot of pumpkin to do, I have found such an easy way to do it without having to peel it and cut it up.
Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the guts, turn upside down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until the pumpkin starts to collapse when pushed on.
Remove from oven, flip upside down on a strainer and let drain while waiting for it to cool. Flip it over and start scraping. I use one of those scrapers that comes with the Jack-O-Lantern kit. The wonderful flesh will scrape right off the peel and it’s ready for canning, freezing or making pies, bread, etc.
Pumpkin freezing, scraping and baking has been the subject of my blog lately :D.
Thanks again for the wonderful stew recipe!
On October 17, 2009 at 6:57 am
monica says:
This sounds like something that could simmer all day while we are raking leaves. Apple crisp with a scoop of ice cream would be a nice finish to cool off all that heat in the belly, too! I think I would cut back the spices by half–Hubby has acid reflux and I will too after eating all that spice.
I love your recipes!! :eating: :shimmy:
On October 17, 2009 at 8:45 am
Lois Klein says:
Serve with taco chips/strips over the top and add shredded cheese that melts. Yum. Black beans are my favorite. I cook up a big crockpot of them and freeze a few as I also like to reduce meat when possible. Really good for tacos w/browned hamburger, or without.
On October 17, 2009 at 9:02 am
.Nancy in Iowa says:
Wow – another marvelous recipe even I can make! I love black beans, and I often add corn just for the heck of it. I’m going to see if I have these things on hand to make today! I know I’ve got most of it – even some boneless chicken breasts in the freezer.
Thanks!!
On October 17, 2009 at 10:23 am
Jenny S. says:
This is exactly what my husband and I have been looking for! I read your blog every day and it never fails to bring a smile and sometimes loud bursts of laughter. Thank you!
On October 17, 2009 at 10:47 am
Brenna says:
I just went to a farmers market this morning and I’m totally going to make this today. Soup for dinner!
On October 17, 2009 at 10:55 am
Melanie says:
I made Southwest White Chili, and cornbread. De-lish.
On October 17, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Mel says:
Sounds really good, much like my mexican soup. Wish, I had my mom’s Johnny cake recipe (sweet version of corn bread) that would go swell with your recipe.
:hungry:
Mel
On October 17, 2009 at 2:43 pm
kristen says:
Definitely good stew weather!
On October 17, 2009 at 4:52 pm
KentuckyFarmGirl says:
I just read your spiced cushaw squash recipe and realized that you bake it the same way I do my pumpkin…..don’t know why I would think you didn’t already know that with your wealth of useful information.
On October 17, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Charlene Teglia says:
I saw this this morning and had to go make chicken chili. NOM! :snoopy:
On October 17, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Angelia May says:
Yummy, that does look delicious and something my family would eat – the next time it gets cool – I’m going to give it a try 🙂
On October 17, 2009 at 8:08 pm
pam says:
Those are my kind of directions!
On October 20, 2009 at 11:08 am
Sheila says:
Mmmmmmmmmm I’m gonna try and make this tomorrow for dinner since I have some black beans and have been trying to find a recipe for black bean soup :hungry: .
On November 7, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Sheila says:
I couldn’t find chipotle chilli powder , but I have regular chilli powder , can I use that instead?
On November 8, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Sheila, yes!
On November 8, 2010 at 4:38 pm