Black Bean Brownies

These are the BEST brownies I have ever made. They may have one ingredient that is a bit uncommon but it is what makes them sooo good. The black beans add moisture and density but you really cannot taste anything but chocolate! Black beans in the brownies even add some great nutrients and fiber to a sweet dessert.

The Recipe:

  1  15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed very well 

  3 large eggs

  3 tablespoons canola oil

  3/4 cup granulated sugar

  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional

  1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  Pinch salt

  1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor (I don't have one so I used a blender) and process until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract as desired, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth.  Add ¼ cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.

Banana Bread

This is my all time favorite banana bread recipe. Every time I come home from being away my mom has a fresh loaf waiting for me to enjoy.  Nothing can beat this bread fresh out of the oven. It is warm and moist on the inside and slightly crunchy on the top. If is great with peanut butter, nutella, butter, or just plain. So bake it for breakfast, a snack, or dessert the next time you have a couple old bananas laying around.

The Recipe:

2 Ripe Bananas (cut into pieces)
1/2 Butter, chilled, cut into 6 pieces
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Add bananas and butter, process until finely 

 chopped about 20 seconds. 

 

 

Add remaining ingredients process for 10 seconds. 

Do not over process. 

Turn into greased 9x5 pan about 55 to 60 min.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Caramelized Mango Butterceam

This may sound like an interesting combination but sometimes thats the best right? Absolutely with these! It is always good to try something new and mix it up a bit. Beware with these though they are quite labor intensive and are not easily whipped up last minute. Also beware not too completely over indulge they are anything but healthy but I guess that's what makes them so good!

The Recipe:
Cupackes
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (3-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
Cooking spray
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons molasses

1. Combine the granlated sugar, fresh ginger, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the sugar has melted and the mixture thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let infuse for 30 minutes. Then strain the ginger syrup before using.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners and spray liners with cooking spray.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves into a medium bowl.

4. Whisk the melted butter, oil, brown sugar, eggs and molasses together in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.

5. Fill each paper liner to 1/4 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the tops liberally with the ginger syrup. Let sit in the pan for 5 minutes before removing. Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the Frosting:
With this frosting cutting the recipe in 1/2 should make more than enough 

2 cups (4 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened but still cool, cut into small pieces
2 ripe mangos, coarsely chopped
6 large egg yolks
Cooking spray
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup finely diced candied ginger, for garnish

*Caution* This frosting is not super quick and easy allow yourself time to make this!

1. Heat butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the mangoes and cook until caramelized and soft. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth.

2. Beat egg yolks at medium-high speed until creamy and pale yellow, about 5 minutes.

3. In a nonstick saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a full rolling boil without stirring and cook until it reaches soft-ball stage (238-242) on a candy thermometer. Immediately pour the mixture into a buttered measuring cup to halt the cooking.

4. Add a small amount of the syrup to the beaten egg yolks, turn on the mixer to high speed and beat for about 5 seconds. Continue stopping the mixer, adding syrup, and beating in the same manner until all of the syrup is incorporated and the mixture is cooled completely.

5. Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporated before adding the next piece. When all of the butter has been blended in, add the vanilla and some of the mango puree and continue beating until combined. Fold in candied ginger.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cupcakes have been a big trend for a while a now, and with good reason. There are endless different varieties, there are no utensils needed to eat them so they can easily be brought anywhere, and they are just so CUTE. These cupcakes are from Bobby Flay's Throwdown recipe book, thus they are amazing!! I made them in mini cupcake pans so they bake more quickly, they are great portion sizes.

The Red Velvet cupcakes are sweet, moist and a well known favorite to many people. Rich with sweetness yet the cream cheese frosting helps add a slight tart taste as well.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The Cupcake Recipe:

3 1/2 cups all purpose-flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt

1 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring

1 1/4 teaspoons distilled white or apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line jumbo or mini muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.

3. With an electric mixer, mix the sugar, oil, and buttermilk on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons water and mix well. Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time, scraping down the sides occasionally, beating until combined. Be sure not to overmix, or the cupcakes will be tough.

4. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set aside to cool.

The Recipe for the Cream Cheese Frosting:
You could even cut this in half depending on how much frosting you prefer. 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 (8oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar , sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Beat the butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, scraping the bowl down as needed. Beat in the vanilla. If too soft, chill briefly. Divide the frosting among the cupcakes. 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I love baking cookies. There are endless varieties, you can whip them quickly, most of the ingredients are always on hand, and you can easily bring them to a party, work, or send them across the country to surprise a friend. The problem is, like many desserts, cookies usually have loads of sugar and fat. So here it is, a great cookie that is little healthier than your standard cookie but with no compromise to flavor and great taste. The oats in this recipe is add fiber, walnuts with omega-3's, and egg whites cut down on fat. 

The Recipe:

Canola oil spray
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1/3 cup chocolate chips or raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 large egg white
3 Tbsp. coconut oil (you can use butter but it will take away from a little of the sweet flavor)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter (natural and unsalted)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 baking pans or cookie sheets with oil spray.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Mix in oats, chocolate chips and nuts.  

3. In a blender on medium speed, mix egg white, butter and sugar until smooth. Blend in peanut butter and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture into bowl with dry ingredients, mixing with spatula until well combined. Batter will be fairly stiff.

4. Drop batter by walnut-size spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart. Flatten them slightly with the back of a wet spoon, wetting spoon frequently between cookies, to make 2-inch cookies.

5. Bake 10 minutes.

Pad Thai

When I think about Thai food my mind goes straight to take-out! Call in your order, say your spice level and within ten minutes your on your way home with dinner. But why not make it yourself?  The best part about it is that you can customize it with anything you wish. The options on what you can put in pad thai are limitless. You can add a variety of vegetables, and use any type of protein you like: chicken, shrimp, beef, or make it vegetarian by adding tofu. Many of the ingredients were not in my cupboard and my initial grocery list was not too small but most of the ingredients can be found at any grocery store. Another plus is that you only use a bit of each ingredient so you will be stocked up on many common Thai spices to continue making a variety of your favorite Thai dishes without having to go to the store again. Overall it may seem a little more expensive than take-out but I feed 3 people and had leftovers not too mention all the ingredients in my cupboard still waiting to be used many times again!

Recipe: 

8 oz. uncooked flat rice noodles

2 TBS. dark brown sugar

2 TBS. soy sauce

1 1/2 TBS. fish sauce

1 1/2 TBS. fresh lime juice

1 TBS. sriracha or chili garlic sauce

3 TBS. canola oil

1 cup (2 inches) green onion pieces

8 oz extra firm tofu, or your preferred choice of protein

5 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

1/4 c. chopped peanuts

3 TBS. fresh sliced basil

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light magazine 

I added mushrooms and broccoli to add a few more vegetables to the entree. I sauteed them along with the onion, tofu, and garlic. The vegetables not only add extra great nurtrition into your meal but they also help to fill you up on fewer calories thus making this dish much healthier than ordering it from a restaurant. 

 1. Cook noodles and drain. Combine sugar and next 4 ingredients in small bowl. 

2. Heat skillet over med-high heat (or wok) add oil. Add onion, tofu and garlic and stir fry 2 minutes.

 

3. Add cooked noodles and toss to combine. Stir in sauce and cook 1 minute. 

4. Arrange 1 cup noodle mixture on each of 4 plates and top each with 1/4 c. bean sprouts, 1 TBS. peanuts and 2 tsp. basil. 

Butternut Squash-White Bean Soup

March is National Nutrition Month and the theme is COLOR! Adding a variety of foods in your diet specifically foods of various colors helps you to get all of the nutrients and important vitamins in your diet. Every color of food has different properties, each having disease fighting and health promoting properties. Studies show a plant based diet reduces the risk of chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, and many types of cancer. 

The weather is still not warming up and soups are not only a great way to warm you up in the winter but also a great way to increase your daily intake of vegetables. This soup contains high amounts of fiber, protein and vitamin A. The combination of sweet butternut squash and hot spices adds a great flavor and warms you up from the inside out. 

Butternut Squash-White Bean Soup Recipe:

1 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups (3/4 inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1.5 lbs)
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin 
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup whipping cream 
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (15oz) cans great northern beans (these are sometimes hard to find, you can also get white beans, try to get reduced sodium)  rinsed and drained. 
3 tablespoons unsalted pumpkinseed kernels, toasted

1. Add onion, celery, and garlic to pan, cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add squash, cook 3 minutes stirring occasionally.

-Don't worry about getting the squash soft by this point, it will continue to cook and soften as you add liquid ingredients.

 2. Add white wine; cook until almost all liquid evaporates. Stir in broth, cumin, red pepper, cinnamon, and cloves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients, leaving out seeds. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with pumpkinseeds.