Happy Insides

We have to say that we were pretty shocked that we had yet to blog about this recipe yet.  It is one of our favorite weeknight meals.  It is easy, healthy, and inexpensive to make.  We usually end up making it about once a month, which for us is quite frequent. 

We found this dish on one of our favorite food blogs Cara's Cravings.  We have eaten a ton of her recipes and enjoyed every one we made.  We definitely recommend it as a great source for new eats.  One of the things that originally sold us on the dish was the giant fan of avocado across the top of the dish.  You can almost always guarantee that if a dish uses avocado (even if just for garnish) we will end up trying it.  It did not disappoint and while the avocado may look like garnish we would definitely recommend that you NOT skip it.  It really adds a nice creaminess and great flavor to the rest of the dish.  It is pretty integral in our opinion.  Along those same lines don't skip the cilantro garnish either.  We are also of the mind that cilantro makes many things better.  

Southwestern Egg & Black Bean Skillet
Adapted from Cara's Cravings
Makes 2 Servings
1 t. olive oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 c. frozen corn
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. chili powder
1 10 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (we use Rotell Original or with habanero) 
2 large eggs
1-2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
chopped cilantro and sliced avocado for garnish

1) In a skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until it begins to be translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, corn and black beans and cook another 2 or so minutes until the garlic is fragrant.  Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. 

2)  Add the diced tomatoes with green chilies to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Remove the cover and make two small indents into the beans.  Carefully break an egg into each indent and then replace the cover.  Continue to cook covered for another 5 minutes until eggs are set and depending on your desired results (runny yolks or fully cooked).  Serve with feta cheese, avocado and cilantro.

Read More......

Months and months ago we were having some people over for dinner and were raking our brains with what to make.  Jason suggested we try our hand at Pozole so we did.  Before that point in time Cassie has never had hominy.  Sure she had heard of hominy and had a sketchy idea of what it was, but had never tasted it.  From that Pozole on though Cassie can officially declare herself a hominy fan.  When we found this recipe we knew we were going to have to give it a try.  It did not disappoint.  It was definitely a lot better tasting than our photo shows and we urge you to give it a try. 

Green Chile and Hominy Casserole
Adapted from Elly Says Opa
Serves 4-6
2 Poblano chiles
1 T. canola oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 jalapenos (1 seeded), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped 
2 t. lime juice
2 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
salt and pepper to taste
sliced scallions

1) Place the Poblanos under a preheated broiler till their skin begins to blister and blacken.  Turn to make sure all sides are blackened.  Place the poblanos in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let them sit about 10-15 minutes.  When the poblanos are cool enough to touch begin to rub the skin off of them.  Once you have all the skin removed, remove the seeds and dice them. 

2)  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a cast iron (or other oven safe) skillet heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and let cook 3-5 minutes until it begins to soften.  Add in the jalapeno and cook another minute or two.  Add the garlic and let cook 30 seconds. 

3)  Remove the skillet from heat and add the diced poblanos, black beans, hominy, sour cream, Greek yogurt, cumin, cayenne, cilantro, lime juice, half of the cheddar cheese and salt and pepper.  Stir well to combine.

4) Top with the remaining cheese and place in the oven.  Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling.  Top with the scallions and serve.

Read More......

When one hears of fudge made with black beans and avocados one will usually wonder how good that is going to taste.  Surprisingly it is pretty darn good.  We found this recipe and since Cassie will immediately go for anything that has avocado in it we knew we were going to have to give it a try.  The results were great.  It is a very tasty and pretty darn healthy treat that is great for a chocolaty dessert of even guilt free enough for a weekday snack.  We have actually taken to making these on a weekly basis as a snack to take with us to work.  Delicious, pretty healthy, full of protein, and easy to make.  Can't get much better than that.  These are very tasty fresh, but honestly they get even better when you let them sit overnight.

To make these you would usually use an 8x8 pan.  We used a round 9 inch cake pan since we don't currently have an 8x8 pan.  What can we say?  We just don't make very many brownies.  Since we found this recipe we will definitely be buying an 8x8 pan soon.  You can use either pan.  They both work great, but a square pan makes it easier to cut into uniform servings.    

Black Bean and Avocado Fudge
Adapted from  Branny Boils Over
Makes 12 Servings
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 egg whites
1/4 c. agave nectar
1 small ripe avocado
6 T. cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 t. vanilla extract
6 t. evaporated cane juice

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your baking pan with parchment paper (8x8 or 9 in round)

2) In a food processor combine black beans, egg white, agave, and the avocado.  Puree until smooth making sure there are no chunks of beans or avocado.

3) Add in the cocoa powder, salt, vanilla and evaporated cane juice and blend until everything is well mixed.  Scrape down the sides of the food processor if necessary.

4) Pour into your parchment lined pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool, slice and enjoy

Read More......

We have mentioned before how much we like our grocery store, Natural Grocers.  They sell really quality products and always have tons of great meal ideas in there store.  This meal came from their magazine they were giving away Delicious Living.  In the February 2011 issue they have a section on cooking with cocoa.  This instantly drew our attention and when we saw the black bean soup we knew we had to make it.  It just sounded way too good. 

Read More......

Mexican food is serious comfort food around our house.  We both grew up in areas with lots and lots of good Mexican food (Texas and Southern California).  In fact the debate about what is better, Tex Mex or more authentic Mexican food, is a pretty common around our household.  Jason being the Texan of course thinks Tex Mex is better while Cassie holds that authentic Mexican food beats out Tex Mex any day.  We will probably never reach an agreement on this subject.  One thing we do know is that we both love enchiladas and were very excited to find this healthy enchilada recipe that can be a made anytime rather than just waiting for a special occasion.  Also the sauce from this recipe was wonderful.  It will now be our go to recipe for enchilada sauce.  

Kale and Pinto Bean Enchiladas
Adapted from Cate's World Kitchen
Serves 4

1 t. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, with or without seeds, diced
1 t. cumin
2 small zucchinis, finely diced
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. cilantro, minced
1 recipe enchilada sauce, below
12 corn tortillas
1 c. grated jack cheese
salt and pepper

1) Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, garlic, onion, and jalapeno.  Cook for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften.  Add the cumin, zucchini and salt to taste.  Cook for another 3 minutes and then add the kale.  Stir until the kale has wilted.

2) Remove from heat and stir in the pinto beans, some black pepper, the cilantro, and a few spoon fulls of the enchilada sauce.

3) To assemble the enchiladas heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Warm each tortilla in the skillet for about 30-60 seconds per side until soft and pliable.  Fill the warmed tortilla with the kale and pinto bean mixture and then form into a roll.  Place in a oven proof dish with a layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom.  Repeat this step until you have 12 enchiladas.  Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and then sprinkle the cheese on top. 

4) Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted and begins to bubble.  Serve warm.

Enchilada Sauce
1 large poblano pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can of whole fire roasted tomatoes and their juice.
1 t. agave nectar
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1-2 t. lime juice

1) Cut the chili in half and place it cut side down in a pan.  Place the chili under the broiler in your oven for about 10 minutes until the skin is charred and bubbly.  Cover with cold water and soak for 15 minutes.  Dice the chili finely. 

2) Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the chili, onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes, stirring.  When the onion has softened add the tomatoes, agave, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste.  Use a spoon to mash up the tomatoes as they soften.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.
3) Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.  Using an immersion blender puree mixture until it is smooth.  This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.  The sauce is best when it has sat for a few hours to let the flavors really meld. 

Read More......

A few months ago Cassie participated in a swap with some online friends.  You were supposed to pick some local stuff from your area and send it out to your swap partner so they could learn about and get a feel for where you live.  Cassie's swap buddy was from Cincinnati.  We received a lot of really great stuff, but one of the things that we enjoyed most was a few cans of Skyline Chili.  We are both really big chili fans and we really enjoyed the twist of seasonings in the chili.  After some hunting on the internet we were able to find a good copycat recipe and with some more tweaking of our own we were able to make it easier and a little healthier, but still really delicious.  We decided to make this meal for the first time to break our fast on Yom Kippur.  We didn't want something that was going to be really involved while we were really hungry.  We figured something we could just throw in the crockpot in the morning when we weren't too incredibly hungry yet would be ideal.  This chili was very easy to adapt to the crockpot.   

Read More......

For our dinner tonight we made a vegetarian taco salad. Admittedly neither of use were super excited about this meal, but it turned out to be delicious! The flavors are so good together that you don't miss having meat in the meal at all.

The recipe originally called for brown rice, but we substituted it with quinoa as it cooks much quicker than brown rice and both of us just like it a lot better. It was a great swap that really complimented the salad. We also omitted the salt as the tortilla chips were plenty salty for the meal. Our final swap was to substitute spinach for regular lettuce leaves.

Vegetarian Taco Salad
adapted from Eating Well Magazine June 2010

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 c. corn kernels
4 large tomatoes
1 1/2c. cooked quinoa.
15 ounce can of black, kidney or pinto beans rinsed
1 T. chili powder
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 c. cilantro chopped
1/3 c. prepared salsa
2 c. shredded spinach
1 c. shredded Jack Cheese
2 1/2 c. coarsley crumbled tortilla chips
lime wedges for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and corn; cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown. Coarsely chop 1 tomato. Add it to the pan along with rice, beans, chili powder and 1 t. of oregano. Cook stirring frequently until the tomato cooks, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Chop the remaining 2 tomatoes and combine them with the cilantro, the salsa and the remaining oregano in a medium bowl.
3. Toss lettuce in a large bowl with the bean mixture. Add the cheese and the salsa mixture. Top each serving with a portion of the chips. Garnish with limes. Squeeze some of the lime juice on the salad at the table.

Serves 6
Per Serving: Calories 395, 17 g. of fat, 52 g. of carbs,14 g. of protein, 9 g. of fiber

Read More......