Black bean casserole

I'll admit. Being a vegetarian can be hard. Sometimes, I find myself lacking imagination and motivation to come up with dinner ideas. Those are the days when I'm likely to pop a B12 just to make sure I'm staying on top of things.

Contrary to somewhat popular belief, being a vegetarian doesn't mean that all I eat are vegetables. We need to obtain our protein from some source, typically from beans, eggs, and alternative grains. Luckily for me though, I am not a full fledged vegetarian, but actually am what is called a "pescetarian".

The inclusion of fish and shellfish in my diet is helpful for maintaining my B12 levels, which at one point had dipped to a low enough level for my doctor to ever so not-subtly suggest the addition of vitamin supplements in my diet.

Eating as a vegetarian can be great. It opens up so many other options people don't normally thinking about, like using beans as the main protein of the meal. 

I did just that for dinner a couple weeks ago, with my black bean casserole. Taking a simple beef/fish casserole dish, and making it vegetarian by the replacement of meat products with beans.

I didn't have much in my fridge since it was the end of the week. I grabbed some sticks of celery and carrot, the leftover of my bell pepper and onion, and the remains of my pint of grape tomatoes. I also cooked up some fresh rice for this.

Just dice everything up, mix it all together, and layer it in a casserole dish. Because I'm a cheese-aholic, I always top things with a generous heaping of cheese.

If your casserole is a little low on the vegetable side, or even if it's not, serve it with a side salad and a nice tall glass of cold beer!

Black Bean Casserole 

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely minced
2 cups rice, cooked
3 cups block cheese, grated 

1. Cook rice. Let cool until warm.
2. Mix beans, vegetables, rice and 1 cup of cheese together in a casserole dish.
3. Top with remaining 2 cups of cheese.
4. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.