Black beans and rice

Saw these at mels kitchen cafe and had to try them.  I love black beans and rice.  I like my black beans with cumin, and I wanted a bit more black beans, and a bit less rice, so I changed up the recipe a bit.
This was good.  Benjamin ate it with no complaints and actually asked for more.  That is always a good thing.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 red bell pepper (can use green, I just only had red today.)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced (I used 1 Tablespoon minced)
• 3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 2 cup  chicken stock (could use vegetable stock to be vegetarian)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (if desired)
• 1/2 salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Sour cream (if desired)

Directions

Melt butter in a large saucepan.  Add onion and saute.  Seed and dice red bell pepper while onion is cooking.  Add red bell pepper and garlic and continue cooking until veggies are soft.  (This is when I drained and rinsed my black beans)  Add tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme, bay leaves, oregano and cumin.)  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.  (45 min.)  Add salt, pepper and cilatro if using.

Serve over rice, top with a dollop of sour cream if desired.  (I mixed mine all together and it was delicious.)