Ground Beef Stir-fry with Kidney Beans and Spinach

This is a very easy weeknight dish. I make this often for the week-day lunch box. It is easy to pack, heat in the microwave at work, and eat. With the meat, spinach, and kidney beans, I try to pack in as much nutrition as I can, while making the dish a filler as well. I do not want to have hunger pangs at 3 PM and then gravitate towards those Grandma's cookies in the vending machine!

Ground beef stir-fry with kidney beans and spinach

Ingredients
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 14oz can of kidney beans
1 package of frozen spinach
1 large red onion
1 head of garlic
1-inch ginger
Whole garam masala (3 cloves, 2 bay leaves, 2 1-inch cinnamon stick, seeds from 2 black cardamoms)
Oil (olive / corn / vegetable)
2 Tbsp cumin and coriander powder (or any pre-mixed store-bought spice mix)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala powder

Preparation

1. Grind onion, garlic, and ginger into a fine paste.
2. Heat oil in a heavy sauce pan, add the whole garam masala.
3. Add the onion paste to the spiced oil. Saute for 3 - 4 minutes.
4. Add the ground beef and the spice powders (turmeric, cumin, coriander).
5. Saute till the beef, spices and the onion masala is well mixed. Make sure that the beef is no longer pink.
6. Wash the kidney beans well. This takes off the taste and smell of the bicarbonate in the canned beans.
7. Add the kidney beans to the beef, saute well. Be careful as not to break the beans.
8. Saute till the oil starts to leave the mixture.
9. Add the frozen spinach to the mix. You do not need to defrost it, the heat of the cooking process will cook the spinach as it thaws.
10. Mix well, make sure the spinach, beans and the meat are well mixed.
11. Sprinkle garam masala powder on top as garnish.

There you have it! An easy, quick and tasty lunch dish. I usually pack this on top of a bed of brown rice or quinoa or couscous.