July 2014 – Makin' it Mo'Betta

Black Bean Brownies – Take 2

Kim

You’ve probably heard of making desserts with chickpeas, avocados and black beans. Have you tried any? I was on the chickpea train for a while, and now I’ve made black bean brownies for the second time. All of my avocados end up as guacamole, except that time I attempted to make chocolate pudding (you should read it, it’s comical), but I plan on giving it another shot (and follow a recipe this time). So anyway, I’m here to tell you, desserts can be made healthier AND still taste good. These brownies are a perfect example!

Fudge-y, chocolate-y, and no, they do not taste like beans at all. As a matter of fact, the only difference between black bean brownies and regular brownies is the texture. It’s not a bad texture, just a little different. They are moist without being too gooey and they are not crumbly.

This recipe came from the cookbook by Kelsey Kinser.

I was interested in reviewing the cookbook because my family definitely does not eat enough beans. Since beans are loaded with protein, vitamins, and minerals (and they are cheap!) I would love to incorporate more into our diets. Even if it is in brownie form!

I also want to try Kelsey’s Chickpea Cupcakes and plan on making the Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas very soon! Of course, if you are a more ‘traditional’ bean eater, there are salads, soups, burgers, etc. to choose from.

Black Bean Brownies from

(reprinted with permission)

Either you’ve heard of this recipe before and love it or you are scratching your head and thinking, “There is no way this is going to be good.” Trust me. It’s good. It’s really, really good. Also, this recipe benefits from the surprising bonus of being a gluten-free dessert option. So go ahead and try it. With about 5 to 10 minutes of actual active cooking time and a brief and inexpensive ingredient list (for which you probably already have everything already), you have nothing to lose and a delicious, fudgy, surprisingly guilt-free world to gain. Canned black beans are used in this recipe for convenience, and the point is to not taste that is made from beans so the quality of flavor is not as important, but feel free to substitute 2 cups of well-cooked black beans.

(Note: This recipe produces a more fudge-like brownie. If you prefer yours more on the cakelike side, double the amount of flax seeds and water.)

Serves 9 to 12

1 (15.5-ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups of well-cooked black beans)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (coconut oil can be used but will result in a slight coconut taste)

2 1/2 tablespoons of fresh ground flax seeds whisked into 3 tablespoon of warm water*

1⁄4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1⁄4 cup and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (sifted if need be)

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coffee (optional but worth it; can be left over from the morning)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

walnuts or dairy-free chocolate or carob chips for topping (optional)

*Blogger’s Note: if not vegan, can use an egg in the place of flax and water

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using either a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except for toppings. Blend well, stopping at least once to scrape down the sides of the blender carafe and blending again. You do not want any large chunks of beans in this batter. It should be very smooth.

Pour batter into 8- by 8-inch glass baking dish. *Blogger’s Note: I suggest spraying pan with cooking spray.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife poked into the center comes out clean.

Cool for at least half an hour before cutting and serving.

*I added chocolate chips to the tops after removing from oven

Do you have any “unconventional” desserts that you and your family enjoy? My kids have actually enjoyed my bean desserts, and considering how uber picky they are, that’s saying a lot! (If interested in checking them out. – Biscoff Cookie Dough Dip, Double Dark Chocolate Cookie Balls, Deep Dish Cookie Pie)

I was sent the above cookbook for review. No compensation was received, all opinions are my own.

This recipe was featured at:

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Delicious 5-Minute Chocolate Frosting

Kim

Over the years I’ve tried several different variations of frosting. Most are the same basic ingredients with slightly different sugar to cocoa ratios and varying amounts of added liquid (some call for milk, some cream, etc.). Finally, I think I’ve found THE one. This will be my quick and easy go-to recipe from now on because of its great chocolate flavor and super creamy, easy, spreadable consistency.

I love that it whips up in just a few minutes, with just a few ingredients.

And it’s creamy and spreadable..but not so soft that it slides right off!

You can take 5 minutes to whip this up with butter, sugar, vanilla, cocoa and milk or you can buy the canned version with palm oil, high maltose corn syrup, distilled monoglycerides, polysorbate 60, and the list goes on.

The key to a great frosting is not only the texture/consistency, but even more important…the flavor! The amount of desired chocolate flavor is going to vary from person to person. I love dark chocolate, but some of my family prefers milk chocolate. For us, I found the perfect compromise by combining regular and dark cocoa powder.

5 Minute Chocolate Frosting

1 cup butter, softened

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup cocoa (I used 3/4 cup regular Hershey’s cocoa and 1/4 cup Hershey’s Dark)

4 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup half and half (mine was fat free, can also use milk of choice)

In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter and vanilla. Mix until creamy.
Add cocoa. Mix until blended.
Add 2 cups powdered sugar and half of the creamer (or milk). Slowly mix together (to prevent having sugar all over your entire kitchen!) Mixture is going to get thick.
Add remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and remaining milk. Stir until well blended and creamy.

If frosting is not at desired consistency:

-too thick? add small amounts of milk until desired consistency is reached

-too thin? add small amounts of powdered sugar or cocoa until desired consistency is reached

Recipe adapted from

NOTE: I made a double batch to frost this 4 layer cake, however, I had a lot leftover. It freezes great! Place leftover frosting in a sealed container in the freezer, when ready to use again allow to thaw and then mix well to “fluff” it up again!

My son was very specific on what kind of birthday cake he wanted for his 6th birthday. He wanted four layers, chocolate cake, chocolate icing, with M&M’s and Kit Kats on top! He also picked out his Lego candles. Nothing fickle about this kid…he knows exactly what he wants! What can I say…my boy has his mama’s heart and generally gets what he wants!

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3-2-1 Skinny Mug Cake

Kim

Many of you may have seen this before…I’ve seen it several times on various blogs. I first tried this out about a year ago, and I have no idea why I haven’t written about it before.

I think it’s because I can never get a good picture…mug cakes are generally ugly. I’m also usually in a hurry to stuff something sweet in my face if I am making a cake in a coffee cup in the microwave! You know, desperate times and all.

I can’t say that I love these cakes, or that they are anything gourmet, but I can say that when you are craving something sweet in a hurry, and do not want to totally bust the calorie bank, these fit the bill. I really like them for the convenience…my children love to make them, and my girls can make them by themselves. That way, when they want a sweet treat, and I don’t want the temptation staring me in the face, they can go make themselves a cake. They are satisfied, and there are no leftovers sitting on the counter torturing me with their existence.

(See…the photos aren’t very good. Gotta work on that I suppose…which you know, means making more cakes!) My kids have had a good time coming up with variations…adding hot fudge (pictured, which is why it looks so gooey), peanut butter, nutella, etc.

The “skinny” part comes in because they are low in fat..you are combining a pack of regular cake mix (any flavor) with a box of angel food cake mix…that’s it! Store the combined dry mix in a container or plastic bag and use “as needed”…which is often in my house. It gets the name 3-2-1 because you need 3 T. of mix, 2 T. of water, and 1 minute in the microwave. Super fast, super easy.

3-2-1 Skinny Mug Cake

1 box of cake mix (favorite brand and flavor)

1 box of angel food cake mix

Combine 2 cake mixes in a large container or gallon size bag. When you want a cake, get a coffee mug or microwave safe bowl, add 3 Tablespoons of cake mix, 2 Tablespoons of water. Stir until just combined. (Can also add in a tablespoon of hot fudge sauce, peanut butter, chocolate chips, etc.) Microwave for 1 minute. Add cool whip or frosting if desired.

*The best I could calculate, the mug cakes were approximately 4 Weight Watchers Point Plus points without any additional add-ins.

Do you have any single serving treats that you enjoy? Feel free to leave links or a recipe!

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One Dish Chicken Dinner

Kim

Talk about winner, winner, chicken dinner! This is going to sound too good to be true, at least it did to me. It’s a meal – meat, potatoes, vegetable (yes, I know potatoes are technically a vegetable…but let’s just go with it) all thrown into a dish and baked in the oven with very little ‘hands on’ time. Oh! And it taste good! Four out of five food critics that reside in my house enjoyed this meal, and that’s sayin’ something around here. (And by food critics, I’m not even kidding…my girls have seen way to many episodes of Chopped. They will literally critique my meals sometimes. Gotta love it.)

When I first saw this on , I was skeptical. I expected my potatoes and green beans to be swimming in chicken ‘juice’ and that my green beans would end up mushy and overcooked. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case at all. There was very little grease in the pan, the green beans were just fine (I used canned green beans) and the potatoes and chicken were perfectly cooked and well seasoned. The original post I saw used an entire stick of butter, which would have produced more grease, but I only used a few pats…I didn’t see the point in a whole stick, but others seem to really like it that way too. It’s up to ya.

One Dish Chicken Dinner

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

8-10 small red potatoes (I’ve used Idaho potatoes as well); halved

1 can of cut green beans

1/4 cup butter (more or less as desired)

spices of choice (I sprinkled on some dried basil, oregano, onion powder, parsley, herbs de provence,)

*original recipe calls for a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix. I’m not a big fan of ranch seasoning, so I did my own thing.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place raw chicken down center of 9 x 13 dish.

Dump green beans (drained) down one side as pictured.

Place cut potatoes down the other side.

Season as desired (entire dish), and place pats of butter randomly over entire dish.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour.

That’s it. One hour and remove the foil and viola! Dinner is served!

Recipe adapted from

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My Bahamas Vacay

Kim

My husband and I have been married for 15 years. For our 12th, 13th, and 14th wedding anniversary…my other half was out of town! It was for work and couldn’t be helped, but celebrating your wedding anniversary via Facetime just isn’t the same. So, we had said that this year, since my husband was going to be home, we would try to do something special…and we did! We spent a few days in the Bahamas. It was gorgeous!

I’m not much on flying, but seeing this from the plane helped!

As well as plenty of ginger ale. (And I couldn’t resist Biscoff cookies, regardless of how queasy I felt!)

The main entrance of the hotel. The grounds were beautiful.

Why, yes! I’ll be happy to hang out here…

or here…

The birds like the pool too!

The most popular food I saw…conch! Conch fritters, conch stew, conch chowder..my husband tried the fritters. He said they were ‘fine’. So…I don’t know what to do with that. I didn’t try them. I’m not an adventurous eater, especially with seafood.

Especially when the seafood looks like that! They said it was a mussel. Again, my husband ate it. He said it was ‘alright’.

This was more my speed. A Cajun Fish Sandwich – not as spicy as I was hoping but pretty good.

It paired well with a Corona…which, what doesn’t?

This was a meal I could identify all the components (as opposed to the soup we were given when seated. It was something with goat!) This was an amazing grilled steak. Everything was delicious…it was perfectly seasoned and cooked. The salad was basic but delicious. The potatoes were good, even the drizzle on the plate was fantastic! I was in love, and it was just a very small steakhouse and bar in the Port Lucaya Marketplace. I wish I knew the name of it, but it was fabulous.

I did get a little more adventurous at the ‘Traditional Bahamian Buffet’ offered at the resort one night. Sorry for the blurry cell phone pic, but it was interesting. The Curried Seafood Chowder was good, even though I know I was eating lots of different things that I would rather not think about. They had a dessert called Guava Duff with Rum Sauce that was very good. I didn’t get a pic, but found it online .

To burn off some of those calories, we walked around the grounds and saw where they were setting up for a wedding…

Not a bad spot to get married in! I wanted to crash the reception but my husband wasn’t down for that idea.

Here is another gazebo where the spa offers outdoor massages.

We also had the opportunity to swim with dolphins! It was so much fun! Dolphins are amazingly intelligent animals.

More intelligent than I am, because I’ve already forgotten which command I was giving this dolphin.

What about you? What fabulous vacations have you been on? I need to make a vacation bucket list!

Blueberry Greek Yogurt Muffins

Kim

I cannot tell you how many muffin posts are on this blog…well, I could, but it would take entirely too long to count them all. We love them. The kids always want some form of chocolate muffin, and even though I’m a chocolate freak, my absolute favorite muffin is blueberry. The other day I was really craving them…

Real blueberry muffins. No frills, no added crumb topping (even though I love those too), I just wanted a really good, really blueberry muffin.

I went searching through my and found that had blueberries, Greek yogurt and whole wheat.

They were so healthy, I didn’t feel guilty about slathering on a little butter 🙂 Or eating more than one. Or two. Or…let’s not talk about it, let’s just say craving satisfied.

Blueberry Greek Yogurt Muffins

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can use a mix of all purpose and whole wheat too)
1/2 cup sugar (may want a little more if blueberries are not very sweet)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of salt
1 heaping cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)
1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

pecans, coarsely chopped (optional, for tops)

raw sugar (optional, for tops)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Generously grease a muffin pan, or use cupcake liners. Spray the liners well with non-stick spray if using. (*important*)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, applesauce, milk, egg, and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix just until combined.
Fold in blueberries. Mixture will be thick.
Fill muffin cups 3/4ths full.
Top with pecans and raw sugar if using. I sprinkled a little wheat germ on mine as well.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and done.

(Made 18 muffins)

Recipe Source:

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Bubble Up Garlic Cheese Bread

Kim

Quick, easy, and cheese-y. That makes it quite popular in this house. All you need is a few basic ingredients-

My kids love all of the “Bubble Up” or “pull-apart” recipes we have tried, and this was no exception. I have made Bubble Up Pizza, Bubble Up Taco Casserole, Ham and Cheese Biscuit Pull Apart Casserole, and Blueberry Maple Pull Apart Breakfast Bake…what can I say, we like biscuits.

Just cut up biscuits and cover them in butter, cheese and a little garlic powder.

And watch how fast it disappears! At least it went away quick here. My kids love some bread and cheese!

Bubble Up Garlic Cheese Bread

1 can Grands Big Biscuits – cut into 1/8ths (could also use the Grands Jr and cut into 1/4ths)

2 T. melted butter

1 cup shredded cheese

garlic powder and oregano, too taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8 x 8 pan and place cut biscuit pieces in the pan. (They will be overlapping)

Brush biscuits with melted butter.

Sprinkle with garlic powder per desired taste (can also be omitted for plain cheese bread)

Top with cheese.

Sprinkle with oregano (optional)

Bake for 20-25 mins, or until the edges are browned and the center is done. (It takes longer for the center to cook through.)

Carrrbs! So good.

This recipe was featured at:

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White Chocolate Lemon Oreo Truffles

Kim

So…obviously I’m having a hard time in the ‘blogging regularly’ department. I’ll tell ya, when I was blogging everyday, I got fat. All that cooking, eating, and sitting was not a good combo. I’m still cooking and eating, but instead of using my free time here, it’s been at the gym. Much better for my waistline, not so great for this here blog. I hope you all will bear with me as I try to get a routine going again.

Anywho, in other news….I’ve been going through an Oreo ‘phase’. Specifically, an Oreo Truffle phase. It’s madness. My thighs seriously hope I’m almost over it.

I mentioned a while back that I received chocolate to try out, and as you can see, I’ve been loving it. (In case you missed it – Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pizza and Graduation Oreo Truffles)

When I accidentally-on-purpose bought these lemon Oreos, I knew immediately that coating them in white chocolate was the way to go. Hence, White Chocolate Lemon Oreo Truffles were born. Oreo Truffles are ridiculously easy, yet very tasty. The lemon and cream cheese is a really good flavor combo. Speaking of flavor combos…Oreo is getting a little cray cray with their Watermelon, Birthday Cake, etc flavors. HOWEVER, I have to say that the Peanut Butter Oreos are pretty dag-gone tasty. I’ve seriously been thinking of all the different things to make with them, but so far I have refrained. It’ll happen soon I’m sure…willpower never holds out for long.

White Chocolate Lemon Oreo Truffles

1 package Lemon Oreos

4 oz. (1/2 package) cream cheese*

8 oz white chocolate, melted (I used )

*I prefer to use 4 oz. as opposed to 8 like some people do, and I like the 1/3 reduced fat because the cookie/cream cheese mixture can get very oily.

Add package of Oreos to bowl of food processor. Pulse a few times to chop into pieces.
Add cream cheese to processor.

Blend Oreos and cream cheese until well blended. Mixture will be thick (like a cookie dough).
Roll into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet.
Chill in freezer while preparing chocolate.
Melt chocolate per directions (microwave or double broiler method).
Dip chilled oreo truffles into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper. Allow chocolate to set.

Are you on the Oreo train? I’ve actually heard some people say they didn’t like them. We are no longer friends. (I’m kidding!) I go through phases with them. I really wish I could go through a spinach phase, or a broccoli phase…

Chocoley Chocolate sent me samples of some of their products to try. No other compensation was received.

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Happy 4th and good riddance Hurricane Arthur!

Kim

Well, Hurricane Arthur decided to make an appearance just in time to ruin a lot of folks’ July 4th plans…lots of people left the beach, fireworks were cancelled/postponed, cookouts were abandoned…BUT Arthur is out of here and thankfully no major damage was done (that I know of). Some minor wind damage, and routine flooding, but nothing compared to what a hurricane is capable of, nor what we’ve experienced around here in the past. For that, I am grateful! I hope everyone else fared as well as my family and friends did. In light of all that, I didn’t make any goodies for the 4th, but here are a few quick and easy things I’ve done in the past, and may do before the weekend is over!

Red, White and Blue Kabobs – quick and easy…no oven required!

Patriotic Sweet and Salty Bark – also no baking/cooking required

Strawberry Spectacular – add blueberries to make it red,white and blue!

Red, White, and Blueberry Overnight Oats – okay, so probably not something you are going to serve a crowd, but hey, it’s patriotic 🙂

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pizza – there are so many variations for this easy fruit pizza..if you made this with white chocolate and added some red and blue sprinkles or colored sugar, or blueberries…could also use a sweetened cream cheese spread as the “sauce”, then top with strawberries and blueberries…yumm

Top this Weight Watchers low fat Cherry Angel Food Cake with light whipped topping and blueberries – and you have a treat without all the guilt…

And I guess there is more to life than dessert…
Hot dog - All the way
Whip up this 3 ingredient chili in no time at all – it’s quick, easy, and best of all…delicious! I’ve made this many times.

This lightened up Loaded Potato Salad makes a great side for any cookout too…

And you need something to drink to wash all this goodness down…

Southern Iced Fruit Tea

Pineapple Margaritas

What’s on tap for your weekend?