Bean Burgers

We tried making our first ever meatless burgers last night.  They sure were healthy... and that's good.  They really weren't too bad considering there was no meat at all, just a lot of beans.  I think they just needed a bit more flavor.  Here's the recipe we used.

Bean Burgers

Black beans are extremely high in cholesterol lowering fiber. They also are comparable to grapes and cranberries for their anti-oxidant properties. When eaten with whole grains, such as brown rice, they make a virtually fat-free complete protein.

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz. can of black beans, mostly drained & mashed until smooth (other beans work, too)
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup low-fat cheese
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Form into patties and place on a slightly greased cookie sheet (or onto a frying pan or skillet).
3. Broil (or fry) until one side is brown & slightly crisp.
4. Carefully flip and broil (or fry) the other side until also brown & slightly crisp.
5. Enjoy with all the usual hamburger fixings.

*We opted not to put the onions in cause I hate the sliminess of them.  So we substituted onion powder.  I think maybe it could have used some garlic of sorts.  Oh we also didn't use the cumin, maybe that's why they lacked flavor, haha.  Forgot about that part.  But really, here's my suggestion - buy some salsa verde to put on them and you're set to go.

Sweet Potato Tacos

This hasn't been used in forever!  Maybe I'll add some of the recipes we're trying out.

Tonight, on the menu, was Sweet Potato Tacos.  Jamo was not thrilled and didn't have high hopes for it.  Something about it didn't have meat... and was full of vegetables.  But let me tell you, it is now going into the menu rotation.  So here it be...

Sweet Potato Burritos or Tacos

Sweet potatoes are filled with carotenoids, vitamins A, B6, C, potassium, manganese, and fiber.

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, grated or diced into small cubes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. curry
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups black beans, heated
• Grated low-fat cheese
• Salsa
• 1 avocado sliced
• Tortilla shells – for either burritos (large) or tacos (small)

Directions:

1. Add olive oil to a large skillet and add the onions, sauté until translucent.
2. Add garlic, curry and cumin. Sauté until fragrant.
3. Add sweet potatoes and chili powder. Mix thoroughly. Sauté for a minute or two, stirring
   continuously.
4. Add 1 – 2 Tbsp. of water, cover and cook until sweet potatoes are tender (about 5 to 7 minutes).
5. Heat beans, grate cheese, slice avocado.
6. Warm tortillas for 5 minutes in the oven or toaster oven.
7. Add sweet potato mixture and beans on to the tortilla shells.
8. Sprinkle with cheese. Add salsa and avocado. Enjoy!

*Note - I didn't use nearly as much onion as it said.  I also probably halved the curry and cumin amounts (I'm cheap and I wasn't sure how it was going to go).  It had a nice subtle hit, not overpowering.  So I would say do it to your own taste.  Also, we used little soft taco shells, they worked great.

Brownies/Blondies

HI! :)
I haven't posted on here yet and thought what better way to introduce myself to the group than sharing the main dish that I can make... Brownies!!


My name's Kate and I live in Kamille's same apartment complex.  My husband and I have been married for a year and a half and have a pretty little girl who's 6 months old.  There's not much more I can say about me, but I love photography, making crafts, and spend a lot of my time as a stay at home mommy learning new things.  My latest favorite is crochet and am still learning a lot about it!


Well, here's my recipe - it's an old family favorite that my mom taught me and until about a year ago, this was the only thing I could really cook :)


Brownies - Mom Smith
Servings: 12
This recipe can also be halved and baked in a 9X9 inch pan or a 9X13 pan with half the thickness.  In that case, use just 1 egg.


1 cup margarine, melted
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa, heaping
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder


Melt margarine in a large saucepan, then remove from heat.  Add sugar and cocoa (make sure they're heaping tablespoons!) Mix well, then add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well in between to avoid getting portions of cooked, unincorporated egg in your batter.  Beat in vanilla.  Sift together all dry ingredients, then add to the batter.  Mix well, pour into a 9X13 pan.
Lick the spoon and scrape out the bowl while you wait for the brownies to cook in a preheated 350 degree oven!  Brownies are done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out just a little bit gooey.



**Side note:  While serving my mission, I made this recipe into a personal size microwave-able recipe because I didn't have an oven.  It turns out great and only takes a few mins.


1/4 cup margarine, melted in a mug
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder


Microwave approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes - always watching.  It comes out more gooey than the baked version - but still tasty enough to fulfill a quick chocolate craving!



For what my family calls Blondies (aka White Brownies or "Sunnies" as my mom calls them) simply omit the Hershey's cocoa from the recipe and combine and bake as before mentioned.  They are a delicious option for when you're either out of cocoa or not craving chocolate!


Hope you enjoy!
-Kate

Fettuccine alla Carbonara

This recipe is straight out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. We were going to have tacos tonight, but I forgot to pull the beef out of the freezer last night. I figured bacon probably thaws faster and if it is a little frozen you just leave it in the microwave longer. Trying to cook semi-frozen ground beef is disgusting, and since I sort of think cooking ground beef is disgusting anyway I decided to go a different direction. Steve claims this is the best pasta I have ever made. It will definitely be made again sometime. Disclaimer: Steve LOVES bacon.

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon cut into 1-inch pieces (I actually diced them)
6 ounces of fettuccine or linguine
1 egg, beaten
1 cup half and half, light cream, or milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley (I just used some dry parsley)

1. Cook bacon until crisp, drain. (I just microwaved it.)
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine egg, half-and-half, and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until egg mixture just coats a metal spoon (about 6 minutes); do not boil. Immediately pour sauce over pasta; stir gently to coat. (I didn't know what "just coats a metal spoon" meant, so I just cooked it until I was sure the egg was cooked.)
4. Add cooked bacon. Parmesan cheese, and parsley; stir gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is from The Essential Mormon Cookbook. I haven't changed it a bit. In my opinion it has the best mix of pumpkin bread spices I have ever had. I like a lot of chocolate chips, so I never measure those. I just poor them in until it looks like "enough" so I may use more than the 3/4 cup it calls for. The recipe is written for pumpkin bread, but it also works well for muffins. I like using it for muffins because you don't have to cook muffins as long as you have to cook bread.

Ingredients:
1/2 cups butter
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 can pumpkin (Now that I'm typing this up I realize that I lied. I do change the recipe. I feel guilty throwing out 1/4 can of pumpkin, and I have no other uses for pumpkin. I usually just use the whole amount and it works just fine, plus more pumpkin equals healthier, right. :))
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Procedure:
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix; set aside. In another bowl sift dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Beat until blended. Add chocolate chips. Grease one loaf pan or four mini loaves. Pour batter into pans. For one loaf, bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. For mini loaves, bake at 35o degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Makes one loaf or four mini loaves, or 12 regular muffins or 6 big muffins.

Roasted Potatoes

I am sure that all of you out there have roasted potatoes before, but I hadn't. I found a recipe for roasted potatoes on someone's blog. Theirs was complicated. Mine is not.

Ingredients:
4-5 red new potatoes cut in fourths (or eighths if they are kind of big)
olive oil to coat
1/4-1/2 packet of ranch dressing mix

Procedure:
Put the potatoes in a gallon bag and add enough oil to coat the potatoes, shake the bag. Then add 1/4-1/2 of a packed of ranch dressing mix and shake the bag again. Pour contents of bag on cookie sheet, and cook at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. About every 5 minutes you are going to want to move the potatoes around shake the pan, turn them over, stuff like that. I didn't do that, and some of mine burned to the pan.

These potatoes were delicious! They finished before the pork chops, and Steve and I ate them all before the pork chops were done. Yes, we are savages that occasionally eat "fork and knife" food on the couch with our hands. :)

Apple Butter Pork Chops

I found this recipe on this really cute blog called Our Best Bites (http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/01/apple-butter-pork-chops.html). Honestly I prefer pork chops cooked on the stove-top with water for moisture. Yep, regular old water. I just brown them on both sides add water and cover with the lid. As the water cooks off it forms a sauce from the salt and fat in the pork chop. It is delicious; however, Steve doesn't really like pork chops that way, so I thought I would try something new. I wasn't disappointed in the end result. The pork chops were very moist. It just isn't a recipe I will add to our favorites.

Sweet & Savory Apple Butter Pork Chops Adapted from Our Best Bites

4 boneless pork chops (about 1 lb. I just got a sirloin roast, partially froze it, and cut 4 chops about ½”-3/4” thick)
1 c. high-quality apple cider
¼ c. apple butter
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ tablespoons Creole or coarsely ground mustard
1 tsp. pressed garlic
1 caramelized onion


Brown pork chops in a hot pan. (If you look at the original recipe you will notice that I cut out a bunch of steps including oiling the pan. Pork chops don't really need any oil to get a good brown.) While the pork chops are browning, combine the apple cider, apple butter, water, garlic, and mustard. When the pork chops are done browning, add the cider mixture to the pan and cook for about 30 minutes until the pork chops are done. If you run out of liquid in the pan add more apple juice. (I didn't have to add more apple juice, but I only cooked two pork chops.) The sauce will thicken considerably. Put caramelized onions on top when plating.