Southwestern Noodles

We struggled on what to call this recipe. This is actually just thrown together based off of what is in our pantry most of the time. We only used one pot, which was a nice change of pace for us. We're going to add this to our "week-night meals that don't stink" list.


Here's what you need:
1 lb ground beef (you can substitute ground turkey, chicken or venison)
1 stalk of green garlic (or 1 shallot and 1 clove garlic)
1 can diced tomatoes (get the low-sodium ones!)
1 small can of green chiles
1 can black beans
about 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
about 1/2 cup of light sour cream
Zest & Juice of 1 lime
1/2 box of penne 
Kosher salt & black pepper


Here's what you do:
Start your water boiling for your pasta. Whenever you get to a boil, drop the pasta and cook according to package directions.


Start by browning your ground beef completely in a 12" skillet. 

While that's browning, slice up your green garlic, or garlic/shallot.

Add that to the pan with the browned beef.

Drain your can of tomatoes and add those to the mixture.

Next, add the green chiles.

Rinse your black beans, and dump them into the skillet as well.

Now, add the cumin. We were very precise with the measuring, as you can see.

Let that cook together until your pasta is ready, then dump the pasta in and give it a stir. Be careful, because your pan is going to be quite full at this point.

Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes. Right now, you're just letting all of the flavors combine.

Once that's done, pour into a large bowl, and add the sour cream, lime zest, and lime juice.

Mix to combine everything.

There you have it. This whole process took about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!