One for dinner, one more for the freezer

Tonight we're having another of my endless variations on beans and grains, Spanish-style barley with Scarlett Runners, and with that mixture I'm stuffing bell peppers for another freezer-friendly post-baby dinner.

The barley is from our grain CSA, beans from Phipps, and various vegetables from Full Belly. Served tonight with green beans from our CSA box, we've got a local dinner for now, and stuffed into peppers from Happy Quail, topped with a little cheese from Spring hill, we've got a local meal later. This recipe makes a HUGE batch of the barley and beans, but they freeze well and would make a great lunch.

Spanish-style barley with Scarlett Runner beans

1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 t salt
1 t paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 canned chipotle chile pepper and 1 t. adobo sauce
2 c. whole barley
2 c. crushed tomatoes (I used the tomato sauce that I made earlier in the week)
4 c. vegetable broth
2 c. Scarlett Runner beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 T oil
2 c. corn (fresh, frozen, or canned)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 big handful of green beans, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 scallions, diced

Saute onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil. Add spices and saute another minute. Add barley and stir to coat with the onion and spice mixture. Add crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hr. 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, cook soaked beans in the pressure cooker. Cover the beans by 2 inches with water and add 1 T oil to prevent foaming. Cook under high pressure for 12-14 minutes.

Once the barley is cooked, add the beans, corn, green beans, tomatoes, and scallions; stir gently to combine.

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I now have a moussaka, tamale pie, 3 quarts of tomato sauce, 1 quart of tomato-bean soup made from the tomato sauce, and the stuffed peppers in the freezer. I'll be doing my big batch of meatballs later in the week and the turkey early next week, baby willing, and hopefully will have 15-20 dinners ready to go.