Pesto Bean Soup

Need a new soup recipe?  This one is fantastic and super easy, and on top of that it's vegetarian and still quite hearty.  Seriously, I loved this soup so much I was eating it for breakfast all week long when I made it.

Pesto Bean Soup
1-2  tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 can canned cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed
2-3oz kale (about 2-3 cups), chopped
1/3 cup (or more) dairy-free pesto (the recipe yields about a 1/3 of a cup)

Directions

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat and saute the carrots, celery, and onions for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add in the broth and beans and bring to a boil, then cover, lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Stir in the kale and pesto and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This post was shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Whole Food Fridays.

Chana Saag Aloo (using Kale)

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Indian food.  I love the warming, aromatic spices and how it changes a simple dish into an amazing dish.  One of my favorite Indian dishes is Saag.  I already have two saag dishes on the blog (here and here), so why a third?  Well, I have tons of kale in my garden right now, so this recipe uses fresh kale, instead of frozen spinach.  And I think this one is my favorite so far. :)

Chana Saag Aloo
3 tablespoons canola oil 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely diced 
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4-5 cups a fresh kale, chopped and steamed (about 10oz)
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (or more depending on how thick you like your saag)
2 cups cubed potatoes, cooked and drained,
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 

Directions
Heat oil over medium heat; add garlic and onion.  Cook until soft.  Stir in spices and cook for a couple more minutes.  Add in the kale and stir well, cook for a couple of minutes.  Add in the coconut milk and heat on low for a few minutes, then place the mixture into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, stir in the potatoes and chickpeas and serve over rice.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, Whole Foods Friday, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Southwestern Quinoa Pilaf

This recipe is the result of me not being quite in the mood for my stuffed peppers... actually, being in the mood for them, but I just didn't feel like stuffing peppers or making up the salsa.  So, I just combined everything in the pot with the quinoa and it worked out nicely.

Southwestern Quinoa Pilaf
1 tablespoon oil of choice (olive, grapeseed, canola...)
a pinch of whole cumin seeds (~8 seeds)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Anaheim peppers, blistered and peeled (go here to see how to do this), then chopped
1/2-1 jalapeno, blistered and peeled, then chopped (this just depends on how hot you want it)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lime juiced
2-3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 can beans of choice, drained and rinsed (I used kidney beans)

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them toast for a couple of seconds. Add in the garlic and onion and cook for a 1-2 minutes, until the onion begins to sweat. Add in the quinoa and stir to coat it in the oil and veggies. Add in the water and salt. Bring to a boil, add in the peppers and tomatoes, then cover and turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and most of the water is absorbed.  Add in the lime juice, cilantro and beans and mix together.

This recipe was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, and Whole Foods Friday.

Lentil Chili

My family has a favorite chili.  It's incredibly easy, and uses mostly pantry/food storage items, so it's ones of those meals I can easily throw together.  But, there have been a few times where I thought I had hamburger to use for the chili, and I didn't...so, I decided I needed a back up chili for those times.  So, this chili is based off of The Pioneer Woman's recipe, but is totally vegetarian and definitely made with food storage in mind.  It's basically contains only shelf stable items (except the garlic and olive oil, which could honestly be left out), which makes it a perfect food storage meal, or a meal that you can whip up when you haven't been to the grocery store for a while and have nothing in the fridge. :)

This chili is incredibly delicious, and very hearty and feeling, you won't miss the meat at all, I promise! 

Lentil Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dry lentils, rinsed and sorted through
2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and chilies (Rotel)
3+ cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can (14 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook garlic for a couple of minutes until it softens.  Add in letnils, tomato sauce, Rotel, water, and seasonings. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add in beans and cover and simmer for another 1-2 hours, or until the lentils are tender.  Add additional water as needed.


This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with Avocados and Avocados from Mexico

I love avocados and am always looking for an excuse to add it to my food.  So, more often than not I'm google 'avocado recipes' and looking for new sites that have ideas.

The folks at Avocados From Mexico have just launched a new recipes section on their site "Recipes From Avocado Lovers" to give foodies (like me) who love avocados, the opportunity to upload their favorite avocado recipes, download ringtones, wallpapers and other fun items to show their avocado love and discover other fan favorite avocado recipes.




So, not only can you look for recipes, you can add your own, which I did with the recipe below. Here is the link to add your recipe, too:
Submit a recipe to the Recipes From Avocado Lovers website from Avocados From Mexico

Now on to my recipe.  My family absolutely loves The Pioneer Woman's chili, but I've been wanted to make a veggie chili for awhile, so I set about to do just that.  You can definitely change up the veggies in this recipe, instead of sweet potatoes have zucchini and mushroom, etc.  And you can change the beans, as well.  But this is one good chili, and the avocados definitely help add creaminess and tone done the heat.  So, don't think this is an optional topping...avocados add a lot to this dish!

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with Avocados
2T oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chopped sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 14-16 oz can tomato sauce
1 can Rotel tomatoes with peppers
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup masa flour
1/2 cup warm water
1-2 avocados, diced

Directions
Heat oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan.  Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes, until softened.  Add in garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes.  Stir in the sweet potatoes and cook for another few minutes. 

Add in the salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder, tomato sacue and rotel and mix well.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes.  Add in black beans and cook for at least another 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. 

In a small bowl mix together the masa flour and the warm water, and the flour mixture to the chili and cook until thickened.

Top each serving of chili with avocado.

This sponsorship is brought to you by Recipes from Avocados From Mexico who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Vegetarian Chicken Salad for Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger

It's Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger time.  Book of Yum is hosting it, check out the page here.  I chose Kalinda from Wheat Free Meat Free to adopt this time.  I love her blog, she has such great meat free ideas that I love to incorporate into my cooking.

When I saw her vegetarian chicken salad, it was like having a light bulb come on...why had I never thought of using chickpeas in place of chicken?  I had to make some of her salad right then, and I enjoyed it in so many ways...on Schar crispbread, on lettuce, with my pita bread, and straight out of the bowl. :) Every single way I had it, it was amazing.  It is the perfect replacement to chicken salad.

 This salad is light, but filling.  And it is perfect for lunches, brunches, showers, pot lucks...anything really.  Thanks, Kalinda for such a brilliant, healthy idea!

Barbecue Beans (i.e. Famous Dave's Wilbur Beans)

Before our diet change one of our favorite restaurants to frequent when visiting my mother-in-law was Famous Dave's.  I know they have gluten-free options, but we still haven't been back since the diet change.  My favorite side dish from there is one I'll never be able to enjoy there again--their Wilbur Beans.  But, there are a ton of copy cat recipes out there, and modifying them is quite easy.  And that's exactly what I did, so we could enjoy them with our Christmas dinner this year.  And really, these beans could be a meal on their own, with a bit of cornbread, you'd definitely have a meal. Also, they get better each day, really these are the best leftovers ever!

Gluten-Free Barbecue Beans

8 oz thick sliced bacon
8-16 oz sirloin steak (depending on how much meat you want in your beans, we used 16 oz)
Steak seasoning for the steak (I use Famous Dave's Rib Rub Seasoning)
8 oz smoked sausage (just check and make sure it's gluten-free)
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon diced jalapeno
2 (28 oz) cans Bush's original baked beans
1 (20 oz) bottle barbecue sauce (find one you really like the flavor of, because that's what your beans will taste like, I use Famous Dave's Texas Pit Barbecue Sauce)

Directions:

Fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the drippings.Cruumble bacon and set aside.

Sprinkle steak with seasoning and grill over high heat until cooked to medium. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside.

Slice sausage length wise into quarters and then into cubes, set aside.

Saute onions and jalapeno in reserved bacon drippings in a skillet until tender. And in sausage and cook for a few more minutes.

Stir in bacon, steak, beans and bbq sauce. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasinally. 

The flavor is enhanced if stored covered in the refrigerator for at least 8 to 10 hours and reheated just before serving.

Seasoned Black Beans

We have beans and rice a lot in my house, because it's easy and because my little one will actually eat it.  He's not a picky eater, he just wasn't eat a lot...but rice and beans he will, so I like to see him eat a nice full plate at least once a week. :) This week I had some peppers I needed to use up, so I threw them in, along with some cumin and such and they turned out so good.

Seasoned Black Beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 T chopped onion (or more, depending on how much you have)
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons or more chicken stock
chopped green onions, optional

Directions
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add in onion and the peppers, cook for 3-5 minutes, or until softened.  Add in garlic and cook another minute.  Stir in black beans, cumin, salt, and the chicken stock.  Cover and simmer until ready to serve. Top with chopped green onions.

Black Bean, Corn and Quinoa stuffed Anaheim Peppers

I got a dozen anaheim peppers this past weeks in my Bountiful Basket and wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them, so I roasted and peeled them, and stuck them in the fridge.  But, they didn't stay in the fridge for very long, I saw this recipe and knew I had to stuff my peppers with it. I really didn't change the recipe much, I used my homemade fresh salsa in it (which I think makes a huge difference) and I warmed up the mixture once everything was combined.  I then stuffed my peppers with it and heated those up for a few minutes, easy peasy. :)  This is actually really incredible cold, it may be my go to salad at potlucks from now on, it's really awesome.  I have the recipe below, but all credit goes to Parents magazine, it is an incredible recipe and really easy, too.  And, for all of you that rolled your eyes when I said I made my own salsa for this, it took less time to make the salsa than it did to cook the quinoa (I know because I made it while the quinoa was cooking and I prepped the corn, black beans, and cilantro, too).

Black Bean, Corn and Quinoa Stuffed Anaheim Peppers

3/4 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup salsa (here's a link to my homemade fresh salsa)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

12 anaheim peppers

Directions

Rinse quinoa under cold running water. In a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup quinoa with 1-1/2 cups water. Heat to boiling over high heat. Stir in salt, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Once cooked, add in corn, beans, lime juice and cillantro and heat through.  (If you are using this as a salad, you don't need to heat, just serve).

Meanwhile, place peppers under a hot broiler and cook, rotating every few minutes, until skin is blistered and blackened.  Place the peppers into a large brown paper bag and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.  Wearing gloves (I use the yellow rubber kitchen gloves) peel the skin off of the peppers, and make a slit in the side of each one.  Remove the seeds and the membranes from each, then set aside.

To stuff the peppers, place a few tablespoons of the quinoa mixture in each pepper and set in a baking pan.  Once all are stuffed cook at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

This post is featured on the Real Food Weekly and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Sweet Pork (or Chicken) with Refried Beans

Okay, this is an old standby recipe, and I can't believe I haven't put it on here yet.  It's basically a easy copycat recipe for Cafe Rio's or Costa Vida's Sweet Pork.  And its incredibly easy.  It works with about any meat...I usually use pork, but if I happen to not have any in the house (like this time), I use chicken thighs or breasts, or a beef roast. I thought I would attempt to make homemade refried beans and corn tortillas to go with it and it worked out pretty well. I didn't have dried beans in the house, and this was a spur of the moment thing, so these are more of a shortcut refried beans, because I used canned black beans. With the corn tortillas, I simply followed the directions on my Masa flour...I know I can improve this recipe, they were tasty, but kind of fell apart, like corn tortillas tend to do.

This post is linked here for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays on Simply Sugar and Gluten-free.

Sweet Pork (or Chicken or Beef)
3-4lb pork shoulder roast, or country style ribs (or equivalent amount of chicken or beef)
1 jar salsa (I actually usually use Pace Picante Sauce)
1 cup brown sugar

Place meat in a slow cooker. Mix together salsa and brown sugar and pour over meat.  Cook on low 8-10 hours (unless you have chicken then do 6-8 hours).  Shred and serve over rice or with corn tortillas.

Shortcut Refried Black Beans
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup onion (optional)
1-2 cloves garlic (optional)

1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Place drained beans into a saucepan and cover with 4 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 2-3 hours. Drain beans, reserving the liquid.

In a heavy skillet heat oil.  Stir in onions, cook until transparent, add in garlic and cook another minute.  Stir in beans and seasonings.  Mash thoroughly with a potato masher. Stir in enough of the cooking liquid to make a pastelike mixture. 

White Chili

It's raining...fall is definitely here, so I need some soup or chili or something.  I found this white chili recipe and figured today would be a perfect day to try it out.  It was wonderful, it's not quite as thick as a chili, so its more like a green chili chicken soup, but still, absolutely fantastic.  The recipe is also below, just in case the link ever stops working, or you are like me and just don't feel like clicking on the link. ;)

White Chili

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used just under 1/4 teaspoon myself)
3 15-ounce cans great northern beans, rinsed
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used chicken stock for a deeper flavor)
4 cups diced cooked skinless turkey, or chicken
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chiles, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Stir in beans and broth; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Add turkey (or chicken) and vinegar; cook for 5 minutes more. Yields 6 servings.  The soup freezes well, also.

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

Okay, from my previous posts you know I have veggie haters in my house, but most of them like beans...so I thought I'd sneak in some veggies with the beans and maybe we would have success.  Well, everyone tried the soup, so it was an improvement over past meals.  I really enjoyed the soup, and it's really not hard to make.

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained (reserve about 3/4 of one can)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

1 teaspoon  ground coriander

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1/8  to 1/4 teaspoon  cayenne pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

12 ounces cooked, smoked turkey sausage

Directions

In a large saucepan combine beans, broth, water, onion, celery, coriander, salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Blend soup mixture with immersion blender or in a regular blender (if you're like me and don't have an immersion blender) Stir in remaining beans and the sausage; heat through. Makes 4 servings.

Ba, Ba, Brownies!!!

I figured that was a funner name for these brownies than what they were originally named...Black Bean Brownies. :)  I think my boys are more likely to eat Ba, Ba, Brownies, don't ya think?  I actually made these for my youth group at church.  We have a couple of girls that are gluten free/casein free, so this recipe was perfect (and I get to enjoy them, too!)  I had gotten a few different Black Bean Brownie recipes, but I ended up settling on this one, it's from the The Meal Makeover Moms and was super easy.

Ba, Ba, Brownies!!! (GF/CF)

One 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed very well
3 large eggs
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional (I actually didn't add this one)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided (now if you want to keep this casein-free, you need dairy-free chips, amazingly enough the Kroger value semi-sweet chips are dairy-free...so buy the cheap ones, but always, always, always check the label)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8" baking pan and set aside.

2. Place the black beans in a blender or food processor (If you are doing it in a blender you will need to add the eggs before blending), and process until smooth and creamy.  Add eggs (unless you already did, with the blender), oil, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, peppermint if desired, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth.  Stir in 1/4 cup of chips.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, and sprinkle with the rest of the chocolate chips.

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