Black Bean Burgers

I found a better black bean burger than this. 
Go to this link.  It takes longer because it calls for brown rice, but it's worth it.
I made up a recipe for black bean burgers today. Pretty tasty!
1 can black beans rinsed, drained
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (mine were Italian)
1 egg

Pour rinsed, drained beans in a bowl and chop them with your Pampered Chef chopper or mash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients. Form into 4 patties. Grill in greased foil pouches. I did mine 6 minutes on each side.
I've also made them in the oven, still using greased foil packets. 350 degrees, 10 minutes on each side.

Chicken Caesar Pizza

Ingredients:
Caesar salad dressing
shredded cooked chicken, I used about 1 large chicken breast
1/2 onion
2 tomatoes
mozarella cheese
romaine lettuce

Start with your favorite whole wheat crust recipe.
Spread Caesar dressing on rolled out crust dough. Layer on thinly sliced onion, tomatoes, shredded chicken and chopped fresh spinach. Sprinkle on mozarella cheese.
Bake at whatever your crust recipe suggest.
Mine was 17 minutes at 425 degrees.
Top with romaine lettuce. I took pictures before the lettuce so you could actually see what was on the pizza.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Not low fat, but very tasty. Next time I might try it with lite mayo. This dish will be on the menu often. Everyone liked and and would have eaten more.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 203 | Total Fat: 11.4g | Cholesterol: 59mg

Chicken Tomatillo Soup

• 
  
• Shredded chicken meat (about 1-2 breasts worth)
• 4 c. chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 cup corn
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tomatillos, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, including liquid
• 1 heaping TB dried cilantro
  
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Top soup with:

• shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, mexican blend), if desired
• 1 avocado, diced
  
• sour cream, if desired
• tortilla chips

Add a little cooking spray to your soup pot and set over medium heat. Add onions and the tomatillos and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the onions have softened and are beginning to turn a light brown. Stir in the chopped garlic cloves and cook for another 2 minutes. Next, add the chopped tomatoes with liquid, beans, corn, chicken, cumin, paprika, cilantro, and finally the chicken broth.

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Top with sour cream, tortilla chips, chopped avocado and grated cheese.

This recipe swiped from Average Pantry Gourmet on Just A Mom, HA.

Chocolate Oat Marshmallow Chewies

¾ C Butter or margarine, softened                                 

1 C. Brown sugar                                                     

1 ¼ C. Flour

1 ½ C. Dry quick oats

½ tsp. Baking soda

½ tsp. Salt

4 C. Mini marshmallows

1 C. Milk chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together. Combine flour, oats, salt and baking soda; Add to butter mixture and mix well  Set aside 1 ¼ C. for topping.

Press mixture into buttered 13 x 9. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and marshmallows. Crumble reserved mixture over top. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes. Marshmallows should brown slightly.

(this recipe came from Sister Child from my old ward in Roy. I sent it to Vennesa years ago. We thought it was lost, but she was able to pull it off of her hard drive)

Spinach Salad and Dressing

I got this recipe from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook" I just added a couple things. It is so good!

1 bag baby leaf spinach

1 bag lettuce
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

1/2 cup chow mein noodles

2 cups fresh mushrooms

2 small cans mandarin oranges (drain and rinse)

Dressing: (I can't say it is healthy but it is tasty!)

2/3 cup vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons chopped onion

1 teaspoon dry mustard

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups oil

Mix all ingredients, except oil, in blender. Add oil slowly while still blending. Once it is mixed you can keep it for 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Add dressing to salad right before serving, top with the chow mein noodles and almonds.

I use about 1/3 of the dressing for this salad.

CARMEL APPLES

2 C brown sugar
1 C corn syrup
1/2 C butter
1 can sweetened condensed
1 tsp vanilla
12 granny smith apples
12 wooden dowels (6'' long 1/4'' diameter)
melting chocolate
Toppings:
  crushed cookies
  sprinkles
  candy pieces
  chopped nuts
  coconut

Wash and dry apples. remove stems and insert sticks. Set aside.

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth over medium heat.Add the sweetened condensed milk, continue to stir. Bring mixture to 245 degrees. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool mixture to 210 degrees and quickly dip apples.

Place dipped apples on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Let dry and then dip in melted chocolate. While the chocolate is still wet dip in toppings. Place back on parchment paper to dry, Store in refrigerator for up to seven days. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing.

Tip: I couldn't find the right size dowels, so I bought 12" inch length, cut them in half and then sharpened one end with the pencil sharpener so it was easier to poke them through the apples.

Fruit and Veggie Kabobs

Since I have all of these fruits and vegetables from the food co-op:

I have been trying to plan my dinners around what I have.

I saw this recipe and got the idea to do some kabobs.

I used these veggies and fruits:

Green pepper, mushrooms, orange pepper, mango, purple onion and pineapple.

Marinade:
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. pineapple juice
2 Tbl. Brown Sugar (a little more if you want it sweeter)

2 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper

If you have wood skewers soak them in water first.

Mix this all together and pour over vegetables. Let them marinate for a couple hours.

Put them on skewers and then you can grill them or I broiled them.

I put some foil over a cookie sheet and broiled them for about 10 minutes, turning them every couple minutes.

Serve with rice.

Crispy Bean and Corn Burritos

Sort of like a crisp bean burrito from Taco Time with less fat (and no mexi fries).

Crispy Bean and Corn Burritos

1 can Refried beans (I used the fat free kind)
1/2 can Green Chili Enchilada sauce
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
6 flour tortillas (mine were large, you could do more smaller ones)

butter



Combine the beans, enchilada sauce and the corn and heat on the stove top. While the beans are heating up spread a little butter on one side of each tortilla. When the beans are heated through put a couple scoops into each tortilla, add some grated cheese and then roll up tucking the ends in. (Butter side should be on the outside.) Put in glass baking dish, Bake at 475 for about 12 minutes, until tortillas are brown and crispy.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1/3 cup canola oil (original recipe called for shortening)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 heaping cup mashed bananas
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (originally white flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream first 3 ingredients together. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with bananas, beating well after each addition. Add choc chips.
Pour into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 bread pan. (I usually double or triple recipe)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.