BBQ Chickpea Quinoa Salad

This recipe is adapted from a BBQ Quinoa Salad recipe given to me by my friend Nicole S. No left overs made it in the fridge. It was a "Are you gonna eat that? Cause if not, I'm gonna eat it." kind of meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. cooked quinoa (about 1/2 c. dry)
• 1/2 c. grilled corn (or frozen and cooked)
• 1/2 c. black beans
• 1 can BBQ roasted chickpeas
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 4 Tb BBQ sauce
• 2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and pour into a bowl. Add 1 Tb. olive oil and 2 1/2 to 3 Tb BBQ sauce. Mix well. Pour chickpeas on a pan (you can line it with foil for easier clean-up) and roast for 15 min. Stir, then cook 10 min. more.
2. While the chickpeas roast, cook the quinoa. Put the 1/2 c. dry quinoa and 1 c. water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer about 15 min. until quinoa has absorbed all the water.
3. Toss the quinoa, corn, beans, chickpeas, avocado, scallions, and BBQ sauce together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Slow Cooker Bean & Cornbread Casserole

(Picture from That Was Vegan?)

This recipe was sent to me by Katie M. She found it at That Was Vegan?  She says it was "a nice, easy, cheap, tasty, make-ahead, crock-pot meal. Oh and SUPER filling!" 

Ingredients:

• 1 large green or red bell pepper
• 1 large sweet or white onion
• 3 cloves garlic (or more, if you’re a garlic fiend!)
• 1 can (16oz) red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can (16oz) pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can (16oz) black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 8-10 oz tomato sauce
• 16 oz diced tomatoes with chilies
• 1/2 can cream corn
• 2 t chili powder (I used a “NM” blend, but any kind will work)
• 1 t pepper
• 2 t salt
• 1 t hot sauce
• 1/2 cup yellow corn meal
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1 1/4 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1 T sugar
• 3/4 cups non-dairy milk
• 1 egg replacer mix of choice
• 1 1/2 T vegetable oil
• 1/2 can cream corn

Directions:

1. Chop onions and bell peppers, and mince garlic cloves.
2. Spray inside of slow-cooker with non-stick spray.
3. Sautee onions, peppers and garlic in water in a pan until tender, then add to the slow-cooker.
4. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1/2 can of corn, spices and hot sauce.
5. Cover, and cook on high for about 1 hour.
6. In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, then stir in  the milk, egg replacement, oil and the rest of the corn.
7. Ladle over the bean mixture in the slow-cooker, making it nice and smooth.
8. Cover again, and cook for about another 1.5 hours, but sometimes my cornbread takes a little longer to cook all the way through. (ETA: This could take up to an additional 30 minutes, but you can slice into the cornbread to see if it’s cooked)

Makes 5-6 servings

Notes about this recipe:

1. I am afraid of making things too spicy so I only added a fraction of the hot sauce called for. It turned out mild and could have used a teensy bit more kick but was still yummy.
2. Also, it says to use your choice of egg replacer to the amount of one egg; one real egg works just fine too.

Pumpkin Soup

(Picture by Karen Madsen)

This recipe was sent to me by Brittanie S. She says it's a family favorite. And it's just in time for Autumn!

Ingredients:

• 2T Olive oil
• 3 C vegetable stock (I use chicken broth or base)
• 1 15 oz can drained black beans
• 1 c heavy cream (we often use whole milk instead)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 med. onion, chopped (or sub 1 to 2 Tbs dehydrated onion)
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 15 oz cans pumpkin puree
• 1 T curry powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Saute onions; add broth, tomatoes, beans, and pumpkin. Bring to boil. Reduce Heat. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer.

Serve with tortilla chips, optional: sour cream and chives.

Vegan Black Bean Soup

(Picture from Allrecipes.com.)

This recipe was sent in by Katie W. She found it at Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes  

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots and garlic for 5 minutes. Season with chili powder, cumin, and black pepper; cook for 1 minute. Stir in vegetable broth, 2 cans of beans, and corn. Bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, process remaining 2 cans beans and tomatoes until smooth. Stir into boiling soup mixture, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I'm not a huge fan of celery so we leave that out. 

2. I usually use chicken broth instead of the veggie broth and stewed tomatoes just because that is what we have on hand.

3. I add a can of hominy since my husband loves the stuff. 

4. The best part is that you can pretty much make it all out of canned goods so it's great for food storage too.  

5. It's really great by itself with or without cheese, with or without tortilla chips and also really good on salad.

Sweet Tater Black Bean Burgers

(Picture from Edible Perspective.)

This recipe was suggested by Lydia W. She found it at Edible Perspective. (Take a peak over there if you like having picture steps to go along with your recipes.)

Ingredients:

• 15oz black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3c cubed sweet tater, cooked and skin on [~1.5lbs]
• 1/2c frozen or fresh corn
• 2/3c finely chopped onion [1/2 medium onion]
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2c cooked quinoa
• 6T rolled oats, partially ground
• 2T sunflower seeds
• 1/2t salt
• black pepper
• 1t cumin
• 1t oregano
• 1/4t coriander
• 1t chili powder
• 1/4t cayenne [optional]
• 1T olive oil 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375* once you finish cooking the quinoa + potato.
2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl until paste-like.
3. Add in the rest of the beans and give a very light stir/mash to combine.
4. In a large bowl, mash the sweet tater.  Each cube should be mashed, but you don’t want it creamy.
5. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, coriander, chili powder, cayenne [if using] and olive oil, until combined.
6. Mix in the onion, garlic, corn, black beans, quinoa, sunflower seeds, and ground oats, until just combined.
7. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
8. Form into balls, between your hands and flatten into 1/2”-3/4” thick patties.  This should make 8 medium/large patties.
9. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper [or lightly greased pan] and bake on each side for 15min, flipping once, half-way through.
10. Remove from oven and serve! 

*If you want to refrigerate or freeze them, let fully cool on a cooling rack.  Place in a sealed container for the fridge, or wrap in saran, then foil, then in a bag for the freezer.  If reheating a frozen burger, let it thaw completely.  Re-heat in a greased pan, over medium heat for ~3-5min per side, until hot throughout.
*To make the ground oats – Pulse your blender on + off, until you have the consistency about half way to flour.
*Instead of ground oats, feel free to sub – millet flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, whole wheat flour, etc.
*To pan cook – Heat a pan to medium and lightly grease.  Cook on each side for 5-8min, flip + cook another 5-8min until golden brown.
*For the grill – Bake burgers for 15min on one side, flip burgers once and bake another 10min.  While baking, preheat your grill slightly above medium [~350-375*]  Grease the grates and cook burgers for ~3min per side.

Yields 8 burgers

Notes about this recipe:

1. Left out oil, sunflower seeds & corn.
2. Added some liquid smoke.

Black Bean Burgers

I found this recipe over at Annie's Eats. It was yummy. I personally love those frozen bean burgers you can buy, and these were definitely a good homemade replacement! The author says she slightly adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup panko
• 3 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 shallot, minced

Directions:

Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the panko with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and mix with a fork to blend. Add the mixture to the skillet and toast the panko, stirring frequently, until light golden brown. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Place 2½ cups of the beans in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or a fork until mostly smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, 1 tablespoon of the oil, cumin, salt and cayenne. Whisk to blend. Add the egg mixture, toasted panko, the remaining ½ cup beans, bell pepper, cilantro and shallot to the bowl with the mashed beans. Stir together until evenly combined.

Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions, about ½ cup each. Lightly pack into 1-inch thick patties. (At this point the patties can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before cooking.) Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully lay half of the patties in the skillet and cook until well browned on both sides, about 8-10 minutes total. Transfer the cooked burgers to a plate, tent with foil, and repeat with the remaining oil and bean patties. Serve warm. Makes 6 patties.

Notes about this recipe:

1. Watch that panko! It cooks quick!
2. I made my burgers a little smaller and less than 1/2 inch thick (I'm not a thick burger kind of girl).
3. Delish with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, mustard, ketchup...the works. I was going to eat mine with avocado but my avocado couldn't handle this lovely April heat and ripened super fast.

Black Bean Salad

This recipe was recommended by Marissa B. She says her and her hubby have been making this for almost 5 years now and it tastes just as good every time they make it.

The recipe is copyrighted so here is a link to find this delicious recipe at Food Network.

Taco Soup

I adapted this recipe from one my mom gave me. Super yum, super easy, super awesome crockpot meal.

Ingredients:

• 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 2-14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes, preferably no salt added
• 1-14.5 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• about 2 cups/16 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
• about 12-14 oz of water
• 2 cups/16 oz frozen corn
• 1 package of mild taco seasoning mix
• 1 package of ranch dressing mix
• Optional toppings: tortilla chips, green onions, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into a crockpot and stir.
2. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Garnish with your choice of the optional toppings.

Notes about this recipe:

1. You can fudge on the bean amounts. It's up to you and how much of each bean you prefer.
2. The soup also tastes good without the ranch packet.
   
3. If you are using a regular taco seasoning package (not mild) but don't want it too spicy then just add half the package.
   

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

This recipe comes from Good Life Eats. Very delicious and filling (my husband even said so himself).

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced (deseed if you like)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoons chili powder
• 15 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 8 ounces vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon Morton Season All Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 2/3 cup diced sweet potato
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 37.5 ounces canned black beans, drained but not rinsed
• 1/2 cup fire roasted salsa
• 2 bay leaves
• 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• toppings for serving: Monterrey jack cheese or feta and cilantro

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and saute for 5 minutes, until tender and golden. Add the garlic and poblano pepper and saute another minute, until fragrant. Add the cumin and chili powder and saute another 2 minutes.

Lower heat to medium-low and stir in the crushed tomatoes and broth (reserve 1/4 cup of broth), scraping to remove any browned bits in the pan. Add the remaining ingredients except the cornstarch and toppings.

In a small bowl whisk together the reserved 1/4 cup of broth and the cornstarch until smooth. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the chili pot. Stir until well mixed. Bring chili to a boil for 2 minutes and then lower heat to low. Simmer over low heat uncovered for one hour. Then, simmer covered with a lid for 30 minutes.

Serve topped with your choice of toppings.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I served it up with cornbread muffins (using 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white flour).
2. I didn't used crushed tomatoes, I used chili ready diced tomatoes.
3. I just used 1 whole sweet potato (which was a little more than 2/3 c.), and I only used about 28 oz of black beans (about 1 1/2 cups).
4. I cut the chili powder in half, and it was still a tad spicy so next time I might only use 1/2 of the poblano pepper or 1/2 the salsa (I had used a medium spice salsa).

FYI: Black Beans

Picture from http://nutritionholistic.com/2008/12/health-benefits-of-black-beans/

What is it?

Black beans are a legume. They are oval shaped, with a black skin and whitish flesh.

Why should I eat it?

Black beans...

• are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
• are a good source of protein, thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus, and maganese.
• are a good source of dietary fiber and folate.
  

What should I know about using it?

• Most packaging will tell you to rinse and sort your beans before soaking and cooking.
• Dried beans should be soaked before being cooked.
• Pre-soaking black beans overnight will significantly reduce cooking time. Cover with 2 inches of water and allow for expansion in the container. Drain and cover with fresh water before cooking.
• Quick-soak method: cover beans with water, bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 2 hours. Drain, cover with fresh water and continue cooking.
• If you need to add water during the cooking process make sure it is hot water. Cold water will cause your beans to split.
  

Information from:

• http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4284/2
• http://www.food.com/library/black-bean-192
• http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/blkbeantips.htm
  

Sweet Potato Enchiladas

This recipe was shared with me by my sister-in-law, Crystal, and I tried it out using some of her adaptations and some of my own adaptations. The original recipe comes from Mindika Moments.

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 4 or 5 green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• About 14-15 oz of cooked black beans
• About 12-15 corn tortillas
• 1 19oz can red enchilada sauce
• Shredded cheese (any kind you prefer, and as much as you prefer)
• Optional toppings--sour cream, cilantro

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into big chunks. Cook until tender (around 15-30 min.).
2. Meanwhile, chop green onions. Combine all the spices in small bowl. In a separate, larger bowl place the 4 oz. of cream cheese.
   
3. When sweet potatoes are done, drain and add to the cream cheese. Mash together.
4. Add the green onions, spices, and black beans to sweet potato mixture.
   
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your 13x9 baking dish.
   
6. Put a scoop of filling into a corn tortilla, along with about 1 Tb of red enchilada sauce and a sprinkle of cheese. Close and place seam down in the baking dish. Repeat with each tortilla until there is no more room in your dish for more enchiladas.
7. Pour remaining red enchilada sauce over all the enchiladas, and then sprinkle with cheese.
8. Bake for about 45 min (or until the enchiladas are bubbling and the cheese is beginning to brown).
   

Notes about this recipe:

1. I made half of mine without cheese and it was still yummy!
2. I had extra filling, so depending on how much filling you put in each enchilada you may want to grease another baking dish to cook the extras.
3. In the future I may try adding corn to the filling as well, just to see what it would taste like.