This is a fairly easy recipe and good to make when you want something warm and you’re feeling lazy. Most people think of beans & rice as a traditional side dish for Latin-American dishes, but it works well on its own with a small salad or veggie on the side.

What else can I say? I guess the Italian spices make it “Italian,” but the whole deal is fairly close to other recipes I’ve seen. I once tried to substitute red beans, and it worked ok, but not as good as black. Also, and keep in mind I haven’t tried this, I think you can throw the bean mixture in a blender and turn it back out into the pan for “refried” beans. Again, that’s just theoretical conjecture on my part.

Oh yeah, a little reminder on salt: since the bacon is already salty, be sure not to toss too much in during the final cooking. A little dash will… you know.