Baked Black Beans with Chorizo

I prepared this recipe with Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos and Strawberry-Avocado Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips for appetizers, Flank Steak Tacos with Cabbage Slaw and Chimichurri Halibut Tacos with Grilled Pineapple-Avocado Salsa for the main course, Blackberry Margaritas and Fresh Raspberry Lemonade (along with an apple-strawberry wine, a blueberry wine, and a key lime wine) for beverages, and Blueberry Crisp with nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt for dessert for our first Finer Things Book Club meeting ~ they were all a hit!

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced Spanish chorizo
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped seeded tomato
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chorizo; sauté for 2 minutes. Remove chorizo from pan. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Mash to desired consistency. Spoon bean mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Top with chorizo, tomato, and cheese. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Top with green onions.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 189
Fat: 8.4g
Saturated fat: 3g
Monounsaturated fat: 3.6g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.7g
Protein: 10.2g
Carbohydrate: 19.4g
Fiber: 6.2g
Cholesterol: 8mg
Iron: 1.7mg
Sodium: 307mg
Calcium: 142mg