Rice & Black Bean Salad

 I love all the vegetables and flavors in this salad.  It's light but filling.  This is a wonderful side salad that would compliment any grilled meat.  

Serves 6-8 people.

Lime Vinaigrette

1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp. fresh herbs, such as oregano, Italian parsley, chives, or a combination

3/4 cup olive oil

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

 In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and mustard.  Add the garlic and herbs, and whisk in the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Use immediately or refrigerate, covered for up to 3-4 days.

Rice & Black Bean Salad

2 cups canned black beans, drained

2 cups cooked long-grain white rice

Kernels from 2 ears of cooked fresh corn

1 cup Lime Vinaigrette

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne

3 Tbsp. minced cilantro leaves

1 red onion, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 gold or orange bell pepper, diced

1 poblano chile, diced

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

Let the cooked rice and corn cool to room temperature.  Put the beans, rice and corn in a large bowl and toss together lightly.  Make the dressing:  In a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette, cumin, cayenne and half the cilantro.  Spoon half of the dressing over the rice mixture and toss lightly.

Put the onion, zucchini, bell peppers, and poblano in a medium bowl, pour the rest of the dressing over and toss.  Let both the rice mixture and the onion mixture rest for 30 min.  

Add the onion mixture to the rice mixture.  Toss together lightly and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the rest of the cilantro over the salad and serve immediately.  The salad can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days; bring back to room temperature before serving.  Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

I found this recipe this past winter.  I've made it several times, but never took pictures or posted it.  I changed a few things from the original recipe to make it just the way I like it.  It makes a great and filling lunch or dinner. Serves 4.

1 cup of diced ham

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped carrots

3 minced garlic cloves

6 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 tsp. BBQ dry rub

1- 14oz. can of diced fire roasted tomatoes

1- 10oz. can of diced green chilies (drained)

2- 14oz cans of black beans (drained and rinsed)

In your stock pot over medium heat saute the chopped onion, bell pepper, carrots and minced garlic for 4-5 mins. in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Add the chopped ham.  Add a 1/2 tsp of your favorite BBQ dry rub.  It gives the soup a little smoky flavor.  Stir ingredients together.  Add the vegetable broth, fire roasted tomatoes and green chilies.  Stir together.  Bring soup to a boil and then turn down the heat.  Let it simmer for 1 hour.  Add the black beans.  Simmer for 30 mins.  

Pull 3 cups of the soup out of the stock pot and place in a food processor.  Pulse until beans are mashed.  Add it back to the stock pot and stir together.  Let the soup simmer for another 30 mins.  Then serve.  You can serve this with cheese on top or green onions.  Whatever you like.  You can also make this soup without the ham.  It's up to you!  Enjoy!

Roasted Chickpeas

You want an easy, delicious, healthy snack, do you?! Well, it's your lucky day :) 

These Roasted Chickpeas are so good and fast to make! They are a great snack to have while you watch your kids baseball practice or game..... or even just an afternoon treat. Hope you enjoy them.

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. of paprika

1-2 tsp. of garlic salt

Pinch of chili pepper

Dash of olive oil

Toss the chickpeas lightly in olive oil, then mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Spread chickpeas out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 30-40 min. (shuffling every 10-15 min.) They will be crunchy when you take them out and as they cool they will become more crunchy! Enjoy!!

Baked Egg Rolls

1lb ground Chicken, Turkey or Venison
1/2 head green cabbage
1 cup sliced organic carrots
1 cup sliced organic portabella mushrooms
1 package of egg roll wraps
Soy sauce (reduced sodium)
Olive oil

Pre heat oven to 400, cook chicken completely, add chopped cabbage and veggies, add soy sauce to taste. Cook until veggies are tender. Fill egg roll and wrap. Lightly brush baking pan with olive oil and tops of egg rolls too. Bake at 400 until golden brown (15- 20 min.)  Note: can find egg roll wraps in produce dept of any grocery store. Make sure wraps are made with wheat and egg whites!

Enjoy!

Kale Chips

SERIOUSLY??! 

Who would of thought baked Kale would be so DELICIOUS and FABULOUS?! Not me, haha..... but honestly these have now become a staple in our home! Super simple, super yummy, even my 3 year old eats them... hello, miracle!

1 bunch of fresh (organic) Kale

*I get mine from the farmers market but almost every grocery store carries Kale near the fresh lettuce*

  2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Sea Salt

Pre heat oven to 350, wash and gently dry your Kale, take the leafs off the stem and tear into bite size pieces,  in a bowl drizzle the olive oil and sea salt, mix together so each leaf has some oil and salt, Put onto a baking sheet (not over lapping each other), place in oven for 15 min. and they are done! 

That's it, So simple!! They will be crunchy and healthy!!!! I store them in a zip lock bag, perfect for that chip craving! I hope your family enjoys these as much as I do!

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Veggie Pasta Salad

This is a great lunch, snack or side dish pasta salad! It's refreshing, easy and very healthy....Try to use only organic produce or local grown produce but it's great to try all sorts of combos depending on what you have in your fridge! (Black olives or some reduced fat feta would have been nice too if I had some handy)

• large 1/4 cup dry whole wheat pasta (cooked)
• 1/4 cup canned organic white beans drained (no sodium added)
• 1/3 of a cucumber chopped (skin on for more nutrients)
• 6 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 thick slice of red onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Instructions

Cook your dry pasta and allow to cool (or run it under cold water). Throw all ingredients together and enjoy. I made this the night before and the flavors really seemed to mix together in the fridge overnight- yum! Enjoy!!

Homemade Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

 This is a wonderful and EASY bread recipe. 

Try to use all organic ingredients if possible, the quality and nutrition value will be better but I know some people do not have organic stores close by. After making this bread I'm not sure I will ever buy store sandwich bread again. This recipe makes 2 loafs, the bread freezes great! 

Enjoy!

• 8 to 8-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast (or 2 envelopes)
• 2 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup oil

Combine 3-1/2 cups flour, undissolved yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Heat milk, water, honey and oil until very warm (NOT boiling - it should just be a bit warmer than lukewarm). Gradually add to flour mixture; beat 2 minutes at medium speed with electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1 cup flour; stir until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. With spoon or clean hands, mix in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. (NOTE - I only used about 7 cups of flour instead of the whole 8 to 8 1/2).

Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes (NOTE - I kneaded about 2 minutes). Cover kneaded dough and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough in half. Roll each half to 12 x 7-inch rectangle. Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam sides down, in 2 greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pans. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 to 60 minutes.

Bake in preheated 375oF oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until done (NOTE - Mine took about 30 minutes). Remove from pans; let cool on wire racks.