Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Lime Rice

I got this recipe from one of my new favorite food blogs: Iowa Girl Eats.
This recipe was so easy and everyone loved it!  

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, minced2 garlic cloves (I probably did 4 cloves)salt and pepper2 teaspoons chili powder1/4 teaspoon cumin2 cans seasoned black beans, drained but not rinsed (She used Trader Joe’s Cuban-style beans, but I just used regular)1-1/2 cups water1 cup chicken broth4-5 dashes green Tabasco sauce (I omitted for the kids)
Toppers: sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream (avocado is key!)

For the rice:
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 lime
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (I just used 3 t dried)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, then saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds, stirring constantly. Add chili powder and cumin then saute for 30 more seconds.

Add drained beans, water, and chicken broth, bring soup to a boil, then lower heat slightly and simmer for 15 minutes. Scoop 2 ladle-fulls of soup into a blender or food processor then blend until almost smooth. Alternatively use a hand-held immersion blender to process 1/3 of the beans in the soup pot. Add blended soup back into the pot then add hot sauce and stir to combine

For the Cilantro-Lime Rice: While soup is simmering, bring water, oil, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice, place a lid on top, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir to fluff then add lime juice and chopped cilantro.

To serve, scoop cooked rice into bottom of bowls then top with hot soup. Top with sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

I saw this recipe on another blog (for more tips on making this, check it out) and decided to make it for a pumpkin-themed dinner with my best gal pals. We all agreed that this is an amazing recipe and even JAY had seconds (he's not a sweets person) and declared it to be the best pumpkin dessert he's ever had. Yes folks, this is the real deal.

Note that this recipe tells you how to make it by hand, but I used my mixer. If I had to do it again, I would add 2 c all-purpose flour and then add small amounts until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Also, I bet this would be really good with chopped pecans in the filling- if you like that sort of thing. Also, when you spread the filling on the rolled dough, I would recommend not spreading it all the way to the far end (what will be the outside of the roll) because it kind of gushes that way as you roll and it will spread itself.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
roll dough adapted from King Arthur Flour
makes approximately 15-16 rolls

INGREDIENTS:

Roll Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (not hot, about 110 degrees)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 cups (approximately) All-Purpose Flour
1 1 /4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Filling:
1 stick butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each of allspice and ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2-3 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Let rest for 5 minutes before stirring. Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add remaining flour (all purpose), a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and increase if necessary. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Roll the dough into a log the long way; it'll stretch to about 20" long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices. In order to cut down on drag, it helps to rinse the blade in hot water, and wipe it off, between slices. Place slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan (or in two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans). Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Bake the rolls till they're brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center, about 20-30 minutes.

While rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and lemon juice to a small food processor. Blend until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending in between, until well mixed and desired consistency is reached. (I used 2 cups powdered sugar)

Frost warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting and serve immediately.

For night before prep: Prepare the rolls up to the point where you roll and place in the pan. Then, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove the pan from the fridge and proceed with the instructions where you left off. Rising time may be slightly longer than noted in the recipe due to the dough being cold vs room temp.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Very yummy and easy. And check out my whole wheat bread! I am so proud of it. Sunday I tried to make bread. It was super hard to knead and it never rose. I was so upset. So today I tried again, a recipe from the Lions House cookbook. I've always had good luck with that cook book. And to my surprise my bread turned out. I also used a different attachment for my mixer, maybe that was the trick.

Well here is the recipe for the soup:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans 28 oz. diced tomatoes or 4 cans 14 oz. diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 to 1 onion (chopped)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic (minced)
pinch of baking soda
1 tablespoon fresh basil (chopped) or 1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups cream

DIRECTIONS:

Mix tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, butter, onion, garlic, baking soda in a pot. Simmer for 1 hour. Then heat cream in a small pan, stir to avoid burning or use a double boiler. Add cream to hot soup mixture.

Ensalada de frijoles con Maiz Asado/ Bean & Corn Salad

Serves 8 Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 5 min

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
¾ C chopped onion
1 C frozen corn or a 15 oz can, drained
1 tsp ground cumin
2 C black beans (cooked) – I used about 1/3 cup of cooked lentils & reduced the black beans
1 T mayonnaise (about) (guess where I got the recipe, yup, online, but 1/2 C! is not necessary.)
2 plum tomatoes seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper – I used a sweet- hot yellow pepper, chopped fine, (for kids, just use pepper)
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Squeeze over ¼ of a lemon or 1/2 lime
¼ tsp salt or to taste

Cook the garlic, onion and stir until turning transparent, add the corn and cumin and continue 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender, stir in remaining ingredients. Serve warm or chill.

I served on corn tortillas with a sprinkle of parmesan and grated jack cheese. Put under broiler til just melted. This would be great over hot or cold rice, or served on lettuce as a salad chilled.

It’s a definite pleaser. VERY FAST!

(Even if you cook your own beans, just start them with the lentils after lunch, bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes, let stand an hour, drain and recover with water and bring to a boil, cook on low – they’ll be just right around 4-5pm, have everything else ready and add the beans, then lemon and mayo.)

Zesty Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

I just discovered this linked from someone's blog to someone else's blog. I love that you can put the chicken in still frozen and there's only a few ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
12oz bottle barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

Shred chicken and eat on buns or baked potato.

Note: this can be frozen in ziplock baggies and later thawed in the fridge over night. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet.

Super Quick Black Bean Soup

I found this recipe on another blog a long time ago and HAD to try it because it just sounded too quick and too easy. It really is good though and with chips and cheese, it's surprisingly filling.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans black beans, undrained (i’d like to dry draining and rinsing sometime to get rid of 40% of the salt.)
1/2 c salsa
1 T Chili powder
1 c broth (I used chicken)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dump everything into a pot and bring to boil
2. When it has simmered a little (not much), blend it with your stick blender, or pour into a blender to puree.
3. Serve with avocado slices, cheese and tortilla chips!

Eggplant, anyone? Elder D thought we were having hamburgers! Nope, eggplant patties. He brought home an eggplant from the ferria (because it was cheap) and it was beautiful. Never fixed it before, so went online to look. Remembered the method and ingredients and put together my own thing.

Peel the eggplant, and cut into a 1" dice, seeds and all. Boil to soften and then mash. (This can be done ahead). Add salt and pepper, I used basil and marjoram, onion and garlic and fresh cilantro. Then add broken crackers (til it will lightly hold together). Then mold into patties and fry in a little oil - be sure the oil is hot before putting them in the fry pan. This is MUY good, satisfying and filling! Served with mashed potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes with lemon and olive oil and chicken strips sauteed in the same pan I used for the patties. Watermelon for dessert. Mmmm.