Refried Black Bean Burritos

I decided to make these since I was cleaning out the cabinets and found a bag of black beans that I had bought a few months ago. I decided to cook them in the crock pot and it is super simple to do. I like using the crock pot because you just add your ingredients, and it cooks it for you. No supervision required except timing it. If you don't have a crock pot feel free to make these the old fashioned way on the stove top or use a couple of cans of black beans. I used this recipe to make my beans. For the refried beans, I pureed the beans with a few dashes each of Chipotle Hot Sauce, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Cumin, and Southwest Seasoning, which is Emeril's recipe....BAM! XD....LOL. Anyways, use about 1/3 cup refried beans per burrito,  a little salsa (your favorite or leave this out), and cheese of choice, about 1-2 tbsp. or a half of a cheese slice (it is what I had). Roll up. I made 8 burritos and I have a little bit of beans left over. Bake for about 10 minutes if you like your burritos crispy or microwave to warm. These are great for lunches. This is the recipe that I based these burritos off of.

Chili and Cornbread

BRR! 12" of snow fell on the ground here, and the temperatures are under freezing.  With all of this cold weather, I decided to make a pot of chili, based loosely on this recipe as I will be making it with what we have on hand. I love this recipe for cornbread. It is sweet and delicious. It is unlike any cornbread I have ever had and it is the only recipe I use now. Again, I love to use shortening in this cornbread recipe and cookie recipes but if you like to use butter or margarine, feel free to substitute. I usually use applesauce as the egg replacer in the cornbread but alas I am out  of applesauce so I am using homemade Ener-G egg replacer, which worked awesome in this recipe. I even used some whole wheat flour in the cornbread recipe and it was still tender and so yummy. If you want to make your own Ener-G, click here for that, and a list of other egg replacers from Chef Deb and applications for them. Here is the recipe that I made for the chili, with cheap-o stuff I happened to have and the measurements on the herbs/spices are approximates. This chili is delicious, cheap and filling. I will definitely be making it again and again.

Black Bean and Kidney Bean Chili

1 tbsp. oil 

2 large garlic cloves, pressed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can of dark red kidney beans, undrained

1 (14 ounce) can of black beans, undrained

1/2-1 tsp. cumin

1/2-1 tsp. onion powder

1/2-1 tsp. oregano

1/2-1 tsp. paprika

1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. sage

1 (14 ounce) chopped tomatoes with chilies, undrained

Place the oil in a large stock pot, cook garlic over medium for about 1 minute, add the onions and cook until translucent. Maybe about 3-5 minutes.  Add all other ingredients, along with 2 cans water. Cook about 30-45 minutes over a low simmer. Enjoy.

Black Bean Brownies

Black Bean Brownies? Brownies with beans in them? Are you serious? Why yes, yes I am. I have been meaning to make these for a long time and what made me think of them was Chris telling me about Jessica Seinfeld's book with all low-fat recipes, including sweets. While looking around on the internet, I found  this recipe which had a lot of positive feedback. I noticed that it had some flour added to it, which ultimately made me choose this one, since most of the others did not have flour and a lot of feedback was of "pudding" brownies. However, it does seem to be half of the people either hating or loving the recipe (and some of them say they can taste the beans). Kind of like durian, I suppose...I tried that once and I couldn't get past the smell.....If you have tried it you will understand why there is a $500.00 fine for having one in a hotel in Asia. Here is an interesting read about durian on  Wiki ....look at all the different things said about it's taste.....LOL. Like I said, either you love or hate it.

Andrew Zimmern hates it, and Anthony Bourdain loves it. So is this the "durian" of brownies, maybe. And will you be an Zimmern or a Bourdain...Who knows? Just like your mother always said "You never know until you try".Can be vegan-ized with some applesauce or other egg replacer. I am thinking about making a pan and sending it to my MIL, but making it as the original recipe was written, without the flour in it since she is diabetic and with Splenda instead of sugar. But I digress....Here is the recipe.

Black Bean Brownies

1 15 ounce can black beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry
3 large eggs
3 tbsp. oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla extract (I used 2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. baking powder ( I used 1 tsp.)
1/2 cup AP flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (optional, but I think it tastes best with the peppermint extract)
1/2 cup chocolate chips, divided (I just sprinkled some on top of the cake/brownies)
I added 1 tbsp. instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp. hot water



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8"x8" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place the black beans into a food processor, and process until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, flour, salt and peppermint (if using). Add 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips, pulse to chop up and distribute evenly. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing. Slice into 16 brownies.

Each brownie contains 120 calories, 5g fat (1.5g saturated, 0.3g omega-3), 95mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g protein.

Made the way I made this, it turned out more like a cake. A good cake. A cake that I would make again. Chris and I both enjoyed it, and we ate it slightly warm. However, I will try it again without the flour, and again with 1/2 tsp. baking powder and flour as written. Chris had another piece this morning, and the verdict is it tastes a bit better warm but still delicious cold.

 

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