Santa Fe Chicken
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 sliced green onion (I used 2)
2 pieces of chicken (uncooked, and can even be frozen, although I defrosted mine a bit)
1 8 oz can green chiles or 4-6 tbsp prepared salsa
1/2 bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces (I used a whole one).
1 15oz can corn kernels (I used frozen)
1 14 oz can tomatoes, diced, drained (I didn't drain)
1 6 oz can olives, black, sliced (I omitted).

For the chimichurri:

1 bunch parsley, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Put the parsley in a small mixing bowl. Whisk in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper, and salt to taste. Let it rest for about an hour to marry the flavors together.

When you're ready to eat, heat a cast iron skillet on high for a couple of minutes and sear the steak to your liking. Allow the steaks to rest after cooking. Leave the steaks whole or slice them if you prefer, then top off with a generous helping of the chimichurri.

You can use any cut, but there's no need to go too high end because the chimichurri does most of the work. I usually opt for flank steak, seasoning it liberally with SnP and searing it to med-rare.

Freely adapted-- I keep boned chicken breasts in the freezer for quick but delicious meals.

Easiest is to slice them into bite-sized pieces, but you can also slice them horizontally if you know how, pound them thin, sprinkled 'em with S&P and a thin coating of flour, then saute quickly in a pan that isn't non-stick for no more than 2 or 3 minutes a side.  Do not overcook!  The chicken will continue to cook from its own heat after you take it out of the pan.

Remove, keep warm on a plate, deglaze the pan with a bit of wine (any kind), or orange juice, cranberry juice, apple cider, whatever you have on hand plus some low-salt chicken broth.  Cook down rapidly until it gets thicker and almost syrupy.

Serve with rice or noodles or with a potato side dish, drizzling the small amount of intense pan sauce over the chicken.

If you want to go the cream route for a rich but divine sauce that's particularly fabulous with rice, add some heavy cream to the reduced pan sauce and bring to a boil to thicken.

Another variation is to use zuccini or asparagus.  Quarter the zuccini lengthwise, then slice into 1/2-inch chunks, or slice the asparagus into 1 or 2-inch pieces.  After you've cooked the chicken and removed it, put a bit more butter in the pan and saute the vegetable lightly.  Take out the veg, deglaze the pan with wine and chicken broth as above, add cream, then throw the chicken and veg back in the pan and reheat.  WHen you're cooking the veg, add whatever dried or fresh herb you like.  I like tarragon with the asparagus and basil with the zucchini.

 http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=crock%20pot&SortBy=Rating&Direction=Desce nding

Unfortunately I allowed my Harpers subscription to lapse last year so I'll have to pick March up on the newsstand.

In the appointment of Geithner and others we see a sharp contrast with the past.  When FDR appointed Joe Kennedy to head the new SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission not the SouthEast Conference) many people wailed that he'd put a fox in charge of the hen house.  But Joe knew every trick in the book and did his duty to country not the good ol' boys and got the new SEC off to a great start.

OMG, the comments on that post! I was laughing so hard, it made me cry. Here's one sample:

"Thus the bipartisanship.

I'm sorry to inform you, nothing Obama does is a mistake.