Beans, Beans, Good for Your...Dessert???

I have tried a lot of odd recipes in my life but I usually know before I begin pretty much how it is going to taste and feel.  I read this recipe on the blog Chocolate Covered Katie and was intrigued enough to make it, but had absolutely no earthly idea how/if it would work, much less how it would taste.  So, of course I decided to experiment using my book club as Guinea Pigs.  I told them this was a trial and asked for complete honesty but did not reveal the secret ingredients until after they had tasted it.  Without further ado I give you Black Bean Brownies.

                                                                                            Black Bean Brownies


1 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed very well
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Blend until you think it is smooth and then blend some more.  Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan.  ( Or if you are like me an 8 inch round cake pan)  Cook for 15-18 minutes.  Let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut.  Makes 9-12 brownies.


I have eaten several vegan and or gluten free desserts before and thought they all tasted like sweetened muck with no real form or anything remotely close to whatever they were intended to be.  Sorry but if I eat frozen pureed bananas, and you call it ice cream it is still nothing more than frozen banana mush.  I tried these with the same skeptical attitude.  I have to admit I was blown away.  Though the consistency is different than a flour based brownie, the taste was very similar.  In fact these were  a denser chocolate flavor and very fudgy.  It is something I will make again, just because it is much healthier than a traditional brownie.  Since it uses coconut oil in the recipe there is a very subtle coconut undertone, but it is slight and does not overpower or take away from the chocolate flavor.  If anything it enhances it.  You could make this with another vegetable oil or margarine I would think but can't tell you how it would be since I have tried this only once.

These keep well in the fridge, but you do want to let them warm to room temperature before eating.  If you eat them cold the chocolate chips are hard and it makes the whole bite feel a little funny in your mouth.  I did not try rewarming them, but should have.  I think it would be a little better than room temp.  I served them completely plain, but will admit to taking a bite of this one after I snapped the photo.  It was not bad at all with a dollop of whipped cream.

So from here on I will keep an extra can of black beans in the pantry just in case brownie fever hits.  Try for yourself and you just might find it a little easier to justify eating brownies.

Leftover Leftovers

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are still eating and eating and eating the remnants of the day. A person can only eat so much turkey and dressing and green beans and pecan pie and roasted vegetables and, and, and, until you just want to quit eating anything  to have some relief from the same food.  Right  when I was cleaning the kitchen after Thanksgiving, I did what I always do:  removed all the meat from the turkey then boiled that carcass.  This year I got well over 20 cups of fantastic turkey broth which was deposited directly into the freezer in 5 cup bags.  Today I grabbed one so it would defrost in time for supper.  Most of the leftover turkey was frozen in individual packs with just enough in each  for a single meal for 2.  We will have it at least once a week until Christmas, at which time I will NOT cook another bird.   Even with the individual meal packs we still had enough left to eat about 4 times since Thursday.  I noticed there was about 1 cup of very scrappy bits left in the bottom of the zip lock bag.  Broth, turkey bits, leftover roasted carrots, mushrooms and onions,  and a few sweet potato slices.  Sounded like a soup night.

Leftover Leftover Soup

5 cups turkey broth
1 cup leftover turkey bits and pieces
1 cup leftover roasted vegetables ( I had carrots, mushrooms and onions)
1 small leftover baked sweet potato cut in slices
1/2 cup leftover cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to taste
Few shakes, thyme, parsley and a pinch of ground sage
1/4 cup pearl couscous* ( also called Israeli couscous)

Toss everything but the couscous in a large pot and bring to a boil.   Turn heat to low and let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Since everything is already cooked, the simmer just allows the flavors to meld.  After 30 minutes put the couscous in the pot and cover it.  Keep it on low for about 5 minutes and then cut the heat off but leave the cover on the pot.  Serve immediately with or without oyster crackers.  As you can see  in the picture I added a dollop of fresh leftover cranberry relish to mine.  The Hub decided to leave it off his.  I thought it added some flavor but I am a sucker for fresh cranberry relish.  He liked it fine as it was.

The only downside is now I have about 2 cups of  soup so tomorrow I guess I will eat leftover leftover leftover soup for lunch.


* I used the couscous because I bought it on an impulse and served it one night like regular couscous. We really did not like it at all but it is perfectly fine as a soup filler.  I am going to have to make a lot of soup because I have about a pound and a half of it to use.

Ooh La La Y'all

A couple of  days ago I was in the back yard doing a few chores when I noticed the herb pots were going crazy.  I guess the temperatures have been mild and we have had enough rain to keep them alive.  I had been ignoring them just assuming they were finished for the year but they were flourishing.  I managed to harvest quite a bit of basil, mint and the most beautiful tarragon of the season.  After washing, I chopped the mint and basil and froze it in ice cube trays for use later, but the lovely tarragon scent begged to be part of that night's supper. Tarragon reminds me of the flavors of France so my first stop was a French cookbook.  The recipes sounded fabulous but required a lot more time than I was willing to invest in a Monday night dinner. What to do, what to do?  It had to be a quick fix, but I wanted it to be extremely tasty.  A couple of google searches later found 2 recipes that could be combined and tweaked into something  possibly delicious.

Tarragon Chicken with Dijon Sauce  (How is that for an inventive name?  The folks on Madison
                                                              Avenue are probably tracking me down as I type this)
4 small chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons tarragon, chopped fine

In a saute' pan, melt butter and add the olive oil.  Add the chicken breasts and slowly brown, turning once, adding the shallot when the breasts are turned. Salt and pepper as desired  Turn the heat to medium low and cook until the shallots are wilted.  Pour in the wine and cover the pan cooking on low heat until the chicken is just cooked. ( About 10 - 15 minutes depending on the breast thickness)

Mix the cream and dijon mustard and pour it over the chicken.  Stir it picking up any brown bits in the bottom of the pan and incorporating it into the cream mixture.  Sprinkle the breasts with tarragon, cover and let it cook on low for about 2 minutes.


I suppose you could serve it over rice, pasta, couscous, or mashed potatoes, but we live in the south and I happened to have grits handy so that is what I used.   Since we had some asparagus in the fridge along with a bag of small sweet peppers, the sides pretty much picked themselves.

This was a tasty meal.  I thought the consistency of the grits was a perfect bed for the cream sauce, and the wonderful light licorice flavor of the tarragon was a nice pairing with the sharp dijon flavor.  It would work with or without the wine.  I didn't notice any particular flavor it added, but it did give some needed moisture.  The same amount of chicken broth would probably work just as well.  I used whipping cream, only because it was available, but next time I will use a lighter cream.  It should work just as well and would lighten the recipe a bit.



This will become part of our meal rotation.  It really is tasty enough for guests, so if you are a tarragon fan and want to come over give me a call.  Just make sure you catch me before the frost hits and kills the gorgeous plants.

Another Pinterest Fail

Tonight was a little cool and The Hub was watching a ballgame ( I really mean sleeping) and I was really bored, so I started flipping through my Pinterest pins just to see if there was something I could do to amuse myself. ( Other than the much needed house cleaning I should do, of course!)

I thought about doing a project but everything seemed to require stuff I just don't have readily available.  Naturally the next step was to start  flipping through the pinned recipes.  I found this one and thought why not?  I like  an occasional Almond Joy as much as the next guy.   A quick look through the kitchen confirmed I had everything needed on hand so I began the very quick process of making....

Almond Joy Hot Chocolate

1 Cup almond milk
1/4 Cup coconut milk
1/3 cup chocolate chips ( milk or semi sweet both work)
a drop or two of pure almond extract ( if desired)
agave syrup as needed for additional sweetness

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  WIth a wire whisk stir until the chocolate is melted and the drink is hot, but do not boil.  Remove from heat and test for sweetness, adding a little agave if needed.  Makes 1 large or 2 small servings.  Serve hot!

This is supposed to taste like a molten Almond Joy.  I just didn't get that while drinking it.  You can taste the different components of almond, chocolate and coconut but not in the good way an Almond Joy delivers it.  I poured it into 2 demitasse cups because it looked a little rich.  Mistake number 1:  The cups were in the china cabinet and were cool.  I should have run hot water in over them to warm them. After a couple of quick sips the chocolate cooled quickly.  Mistake number 2:  I did not make fresh almond milk.  According to all the food blogs I should have, but I had a quart of Silk Almond Milk in the fridge so I used it.  If you are interested in making it fresh look here: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/rawfoodsrecipes/r/almondmilk.htm    Mistake number 3:  Drink this as quickly as possible.  To say it thickens fast is an understatement.  I left for about 2 minutes to change over a load of clothes.  When I got back the hot chocolate  consistency was more like a thin pudding than a beverage.  That is when I just tossed the whole thing.   The only thing that really worked in the whole process was the demitasse cup, saucer and spoon.  I guess I will have to try some other  after dinner hot drink another day just to enjoy using them.

If anyone tries this and likes it please let me know what I did wrong.  I really did want to love it.  Fortunately I can use the almond milk in cereal and  the leftover coconut milk will become Thai coconut soup for  tomorrow's lunch.

Soup's On!

I thought it had been a while since I last posted here and then I looked at the date and it has been several weeks.  Don't think I have been so lucky to eat out every meal the entire month of October because I haven't.  I have just tried very little new and/or different food.  It seems like we have been eating a lot of previously frozen soups and entrees.  I guess I am cleaning the freezer of all of our past meals, getting ready for an onslaught of holiday leftovers ?

I was browsing through the old Junior League  "Magic" cookbook trying to find a different type of soup.  We eat boatloads of soup during the fall and winter.  It  is probably my favorite thing to eat  ( other than chocolate of course) and I keep a container in the freezer for all the odd bits of vegetables we have leftover from meals.  When it is full I toss a little leftover chicken in it and we have some variation of chicken and veggie soup.  But I wanted something different and more substantial, plus I didn't have quite enough in the  freezer container to make  a dinner soup.

Thanks Junior League for the idea!

Tamale Soup

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 16 ounce can stewed tomatoes

2 cans undrained pinto beans

1 can creamed corn

1 can beef bouillon

2 jars Derby hot tamales or 2  16 ounce cans of any brand, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Brown beef, add onions and peppers and cook until the vegetables are nicely wilted.  Drain the meat vegetable mix and put into a large pot.   Add all ingredients except for the tamales and simmer for about an hour.  Add the tamales shortly before serving .  Put a lid on the pot and without stirring allow the tamales to warm on top of the soup.  Serve and enjoy.

If you have been reading this you know I use recipes as guides only.  I had some frozen already browned beef so I used it. ( Check off another item from the freezer!)  I only had 1/2 of a bell pepper, but I also had a small jalapeno so I used it too.  I had portions of 3 different types of onions in the fridge so this had a combination of sweet and sharp onions. 

Instead  of the stewed tomatoes I used a pack frozen this summer.  They were not cooked, just blanched and frozen, but I figured they would be stewed by the end of the cooking process. ( Maybe 2 cups of tomatoes?)  

 I did use the canned pinto beans.  I have been boycotting canned foods because of the  toxic inner plastic lining.  Fortunately Organic Harvest carries a brand that has no lining and the beans are organic. Add to it that they were on sale____bonus!  

I can't find organic creamed corn, so I kind of cheated on this on.  I took a can of regular niblet corn ( organic and non GMO corn)  and added a tad of milk and cornstarch to it, heated it to slightly thickened and dumped it in the pot. ( And for the record, since I am avoiding all GMO corn I do buy organic cornstarch) 

I have never even heard of canned bouillon so obviously I didn't use it.  I had a carton of vegetable stock I used instead.   I used the whole carton and it was about 2 cups of broth.  It probably thinned the finished product out a little but it's soup.  The soup didn't care, so neither did I.

After letting it simmer for about 30 minutes I tasted it and found it to be a little boring.  A quick look in the spice cabinet was the remedy.  I have no idea how much I added but would start at 1/2 teaspoon of each and adjust to taste:  Chili powder, ground cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, dehydrated garlic ( should have used real garlic at the beginning)  paprika,  ground chipotle, and a dash of pepper.  With literally just a few shakes of a few jars the soup took on an entirely different personality.

My MISTAKE and I will not make this one again.  I used canned ( yeah I know I railed against canned earlier) Hormel tamales.  Next time I will run up to The Cool Corner and buy 3 tamales to slice.  The canned Hormel tamales tasted exactly like what they were_____canned tamales.  Buy decent ones from the start.  I think it will make all the difference in the world.

Not only will I make this again, but The Hub specifically asked me to get everything needed so we can have it again next week.  Winner!  I love when someone makes a meal request.  I like cooking but sometimes hate deciding what to cook!

For the two of us, I halved everything and it was enough for both of us for dinner plus about a cup for a future lunch.

Now does anyone have any ideas for using leftover Trick or Treat Hershey Bars?

Grab And Go Morning

The Hub wakes each morning at about 5 with a spring in his step, raring to see what adventures the day will bring.  I  usually go to sleep a couple of hours before he wakes, so I am not apt to rise and cook him breakfast.  In all of our married life I would guess the number of pre-work hot breakfasts I have made him would number somewhere in the 50's...maybe.  If only Pinterest had been around longer my numbers might be in the 100's by now.  While trolling the food and drink category I spied this recipe for an easy pre-made breakfast omelet muffin.  Despite the confusion over what to actually call it I followed the link to My Kitchen By the Lake.  There was the answer to the residual guilt I have felt for all of these years, sleeping instead of cooking. ( If you really believe I have felt guilt over not waking at 5 a.m. when normal people should be sound asleep,  I have some prime land on the edge of a swamp I would like to talk with you about purchasing) 

Breakfast Omelet Muffins

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 cup broccoli florets ( or other vegetable)

8 large eggs

1/4 cup milk or half and half

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil ( That is 1 1/2 teaspoons Beloved Sister )

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated parmesan cheese as desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Brown the sausage in a saute pan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and stir in the vegetables to wilt.  Whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season as desired.  Spray a 12 count cupcake pan with pam ( even if it is nonstick).  Spoon the sausage/veggie mixture evenly in each cup.  Ladle the egg mix over  each cup.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Pop in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes.

Let cool and pack in a single layer in zip loc bags.  2 quart size bags worked fine. Put them in the fridge until time to eat. These are supposed to be equally good frozen and reheated.  I am not sure I am going to try that with this batch.

I only used the recipe as a suggestion.  Instead of sausage I substituted cubed ham and chose onions, mushrooms and peppers as the vegetables.  I sauteed them to a very wilted stage then tossed the ham cubes over and stirred until it was uniformly hot.  Probably unnecessary since I was going to bake it all but I wanted the veggies to be smothered in ham flavor.  In addition to the salt and pepper I added about 1 teaspoon of parsley flakes and 1 teaspoon mild chili powder.  We prefer Western omelets over traditional ones. ( OK I prefer them.  I don't like eggs and try to always disguise the egg flavor and texture.)  I had some sharp cheddar grated but forgot about it so I have sans cheese biscuit omelet muffins.  When they had cooled a little I took them out of the pan and put them on a wire rack to cool.  One of them was stuck so I am sure it was a divine message from above telling me to try it.  Honestly, it was delicious, and this is coming from someone with no regard for eggs at all.  They were light yet held together perfectly and the chili powder and veggies added plenty of flavor and texture to cover the egginess.    The cheese probably would have sent them over the top.  I will do it next time

I guess the true test will be in a few hours when The Hub is awake.  I plan to write him a note reminding him that I slaved all afternoon ( 10 minutes prep time)  just for him.  He will need to put them on a plate and zap them for 1-1 1/2 minutes, or take a couple to work and zap them there.  Whatever he does I will not know because I intend to still be asleep with the rest of the civilized world.

The Man In Brown Cometh

Don't you love the day when something you ordered finally arrives.  This morning as I was getting out of the shower I heard the doorbell ring.  Yikes!  At first I thought I was being Love Bombed by my mom, but then I heard the familiar sound of the UPS truck pulling out from the front of the house.   Since Son3 left for school and there are no picky eaters left I have been trying a few new things and bought a few new toys.

The first purchase was a food dehydrator.  I have been drying almost around the clock since I got it.  For the record 3 1/2 boxes of sliced mushrooms reduces to fit into a 1 cup container.  5 pounds of potato slices will fit in a quart freezer bag.  The list goes on and on.  I am really glad because I can take all of the fruits and veggies that used to wither and be thrown out and dry them instead.  My produce waste has decreased considerably.  I also learned I can dry all my vegetable peelings and  feed them to the chickens and pigs.  Of course I have no farm animals living with me in Suburbia, but it is good to know the next time a random pig shows up at my doorstep.

Today Brown brought me a tortilla press.  I had decided a while back to start making our tortillas.  We never use a full pack of them and about 1/2 of the package will dry out before I think about doing anything with them.  In addition to the food waste I have become an ardent package reader.  You would be surprised at what all is added to corn tortillas.  In their real food state they have just 2 ingredients, Masa Harina and water.  Masa is merely dried corn treated with lime and water, which is dried again before grinding finely and water is just water.  I had the Masa and a new press so it was inevitable that I would have to use it tonight.  Fortunately I had just pinned a recipe for Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Pesto.  It is from What's Cooking Chicago and you can find it right here http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/cilantro-lime-chicken-tacos.html.

     

Cilantro Pesto

1 cup cilantro leaves

2 1/2 tablespoons E.V. olive oil

2 tablespoons slice toasted almonds

1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese ( Parmesan may be substituted)

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 chicken broth

Mix everything in a blender or Magic bullet until it is well blended and a little creamy looking.  Set aside.

Slice  3 large chicken breasts into strips.  Salt, pepper and add a little garlic powder.  Spray a pan with Pam and quickly cook the chicken.  When it is cooked through ( about 5 minutes) add the pesto to the pan and heat through.  Place on top of warmed soft tortillas and tops with whatever additional taco toppings you wish to use.

Corn Tortillas

1/2 cup Masa Harina

1/3 cup water.  

In a mixing bowl, stir until it holds together and is smooth.  Roll 4 walnut shaped balls.  Remove 1 from the bowl and cover the remaining with a damp paper towel.  This step is important, so learn from my mistake rather than your own.  Press according to the instructions with the tortilla press.  Mine said to line both surfaces with plastic.  It made removal a piece of cake!  Cook on a hot griddle for about 40 seconds, turn and cook the other side for about 20 seconds.  when all 4 are cooked set aside until right before ready to serve.  Cook again  30 seconds per side. Easy, easy, easy!

I have been buying sales items for a while now and freezing them for later use.  I ran across cilantro a few days ago for 59 cents a bunch.  I think I bought 5 of them, washed and removed the leaves, then minced them and stuck them in old plastic ice cube trays and popped them in the freezer.  I did not dry the leaves before chopping so there was a fair amount of liquid  in them.  When they were frozen I took them out of the trays and put them in a ziploc bag.  I figured each cube is about 1/4 of a cup so I used 3 of them for the recipe.  I halved everything but decided I had rather have a little too much cilantro then not quite enough hence the 3 cubes.  Since I had moisture in the herb already I did not add the chicken broth.  We didn't miss it.  Other than that omission I followed the directions completely.  I took out a bunch of green onions to slice over the tops of the tacos but I forgot to do it so we only had a dollop of Daisy Light sour cream. ( Read the labels on your sour cream.  Daisy is the only one I will buy anymore).  personally The Hub and I like a little heat and when I make it again I will add 1/2 of seeded pepper just for the kick it will give.  I will also cut back on the salt a lot.   It was too salty for us.  It is a very fast entree.  I spent about 10 minutes prepping and another 10 cooking.  I am adding this to the quick dinner rotation.

Now back to waiting for another delivery!