Shannon and Dawn James
We have a huge interest in food, fitness, healthy living and daily indulgences. This blog follows our yummy eats and finds!

Corn and Black Bean Burgers

1 15 oz can of black beans - drained and rinsed - soak up water with paper towels
1/2 onion
1/2 bell pepper
3 garlic cloves - I used minced garlic
1/4 cup of corn
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 TB Cumin - or more
1/2 TB Chili powder - or more
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

This made about 4 patties. I used 100% whole grain Earth Grain - thin sandwich buns. I broiled them to toast them.

In food processor combine onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add beans and pulse several times to mash beans. Stir in remaining ingredients - with bread crumbs and egg being last - you may need to add more bread crumbs. One recipe said to add egg last so that you can taste your mixture prior to adding it, in case you want to add more ingredients. I made into patties than refrigerated. Cooked on George Foreman.

Hungry Girl Muffins


I got this from the Hungry Girl cookbook.

1 Chocolate Cake Mix - I used Pillsbury - Fudge
1 can pumpkin (found by the canned fruit)

Mix and place in muffin tin.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I think I overbaked mine a bit, but they still were moist. I think next time I will add cinnamon to this recipe. I couldn't believe how they raised.

You can also make a cake. Add 2 eggs, 1 can pumpkin and 1 cup of water. This is VERY YUMMY and moist.

Bread Machine Whole Wheat Pizza Crust


I made this for supper tonight. It was my first bread machine whole wheat crust - it turned out better than I thought. It is not crispy - maybe if it was cooked longer than it would get that way. But I like mine soft.

Place ingredients in bread machine.

1 cup + 4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Makes 2 12 inch or 1 16 deep dish. I just placed the dough on a cookie sheet.

Bake 400 degrees - 20 minutes. I placed sauce, pepperoni, onions and green peppers on - baked for 15 minutes than added cheese.

Dawn's Meatballs

1 egg
onion
1 lb hamburger
1/3 cups x 3 stove top stuffing
Ketchup
BBQ sauce

Sauce:
Onion
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup BBQ sauce

375 degrees - 1 hour 10 minutes - cover last 20 minutes

Macaroni Salad

1 can sweet and condensed milk
2 cups of Miracle Whip
1/4 cup vinegar - apple cider
1/2 cup sugar
1 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
2 large carrots shredded
16 oz curly macaroni - Rotini

Cook noodles - rinse with cold water.
Add ingredients - mix.

Cheesy Corn Bake

2 TB butter or margarine
4 tsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup milk
6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
1 (3 oz) pkg cream cheese, cubed
3 (10 oz) pkgs frozen whole kernel corn, thawed (I use one package)
3 oz ham, diced (I do not use the ham)

In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter
Stir in four and garlic powder
Add milk all at once
Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thickened and bubbly
Stir in cheese
Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until melted
Stir in corn and ham
Transfer mixture to a 2 quart casserole dish
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

1 pound ground beef
1 (12 oz) jar picante sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can chopped green chilies, drained
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 (6 oz) can french fried onions (I use more than recipe calls for)
12 jumbo size shells. . . for stuffing - cook and drain pasta according to package directions.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, drain. In a bowl, combine picante sauce, water and tomato sauce. Stir 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into the ground beef and add the chilies, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/2 can french fried onions; mix well. Pour 1/2 of the remaining sauce mixture on the bottom of a 9"x12" baking dish that has been sprayed with pan release. Stuff cooked shells with the meat mixture. Arrange filled shells in baking dish and pour remaining sauce over shells. Cover with foil and bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese and onions; bake uncovered for 5 minutes longer.

Meta's Southwest Chicken Pasta

It stole this recipe from Jodi Dearmond's blog http://dearmondrecipes.blogspot.com/ - I was delicious! Spicy - you could really taste the chili powder!

Ingredients

1/2 - 1 lb. grilled chicken, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (I used Best Choice - Petite Diced Tomatoes and Sweet Onion)
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped (I used mined garlic)
1 T. chili powder
1/2 T. cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pasta (Angel Hair, Penne, Rotini) I used whole wheat Rotini

Method

Saute onions and garlic in butter and olive oil until soft (I did not use oil). Add sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings. Add chicken and serve over pasta.

Dawn's Spaghetti Sauce

1 sweet onion
1/4 c. green peppers (I actually just threw in some frozen diced green peppers)
Garlic (I just threw in about two spoonfuls from a container of garlic that I purchased from Sam's)
1 TB sugar
1 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1 can tomato sauce
12 oz can of Tomato Paste
1 can - Best Choice - Petite Diced Tomatoes and Sweet Onion
Basil
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Brown Hamburger - in one pan.

Sauce
In another pan:
Saute onion and green peppers for 5 minutes. (I did not use any oil)
Add garlic - saute for 1 more minute
Add Chicken Broth (I originally only added 1 cup, but just poured more in to make the mixture thinner.
Add paste, sugar and tomatoes.

Used sauce on whole wheat pasta without meat. Added meat in some of the sauce for Shannon.

Black Bean Brownies

So I am obsessed with the Dr. Oz show! On his show a few days ago he had a guest named Kim Bensen who had lost 200 lbs. She shared with Dr. Oz one of her dessert recipes - brownies that had black beans. You can also find this recipe on her website http://kimbensen.com/ - but it is a little different. I made these brownies last night - and they aren't bad. You should give them a try. Calories - 176 per brownie (pan makes 12 brownies) that included the icing - which I didn't put on.

Brownies

Ingredients

1 - 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup agave syrup (cost a little over $6.50 at Wal-Mart)
½ cup self-rising flour (I used all purpose)
½ cup egg whites
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips (I used regular size but used only 4 TB)

Directions

In a food processor, mix all brownie ingredients (except chips) together. Chop on high, until smooth. Clean off sides and blend for another 20 seconds. Add the chips in and stir well. Spread into the 8x8 baking dish. Cook for 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 1 hour in dish at room temperature.

Frosting

Ingredients

6 oz fat-free cream cheese
¼ cup agave syrup
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp semisweet mini chocolate chips, melted.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Lightly spray a 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. With a whisk attachment on an electric beater and blend all ingredients until light and fluffy. Spread evenly over the top of the cooled brownies. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the 2 tbsp of chips with a 2 second spray of nonstick cooking oil. Using a spoon, swirl the chocolate on top. Allow it to set in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy. Don't forget to have seconds!

FunFetti Cake Mix Cookies

I LOVE these cookies!!! Makes almost 3 dozen cookies using a small cookie scoop.

1 Pillsbury FunFetti Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil

These do not flatten out very much - I had to press them down a little.

These are moist in the inside and a little crisp on the outside - PERFECT.

Bake 375 degrees for 11 minutes.

Stuffed French Bread




Here are a few pictures of the Stuffed French Bread. When we made this one, we added a can of rotel.

Cheese Ball

Mix all ingredients and form a ball. Refrigerate. Serve with Ritz crackers!

1 block of cream cheese
1 package of dried beef - cut up
Green onions - cut up
1/2 tsp of seasoning salt

When making this I wear plastic gloves and mix with my hands. Makes it a lot easier!

OROWEAT Sandwich Thins


I am so addicted to these sandwich buns! You can use them for hot or cold sandwiches as well as hamburger buns!

The whole “set”, top and bottom are only 100 calories, 1 WW, 1 gram of fat, zero cholesterol, 230 milligram of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of dietary fiber, 2 gram of sugar and 5 grams of protein.

You can purchase these at Wal-Mart in Junction City and Topeka. At Sam's in Topeka, not sure if Salina Sam's carries them yet. But you can get a 16 pack for only $4.56 at Sam's. They come in two packs of 8. At Wal-Mart they cost on sale $2.50 for 8. I know the Country Mart carries some brand of thins - but not sure if they are 100% whole grain!

Ways in which I use the buns! I love toasting them under the broiler for hamburger buns. They are also very good to make egg mcmuffins in place of the english muffin. I toast them on the skillet. Today I actually toasted them in the toaster for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - pretty good. And for a snack today - I toasted them again (which made the buns a little crunchy - and had Deli Thin Sliced Smoked Chicken Breast and lettuce - this was so AWESOME. I also have placed salami, pepperoni and onions on the buns and broiled them for a hot sandwich. Can't wait to have another.

They have other varieties besides whole wheat - I believe they had a honey wheat and a multi grain.

I hope you give them a try!

Spicy Chili Bean Cheddar Baked Burritos

So we were going to have soft tacos for supper, but instead we decided to throw in other ingredients and not use the taco seasoning. Turned out pretty YUMMY!!!

Meat Mixture:
1 lb ground beef with diced onions- (brown hamburger and onion)

Add the following:
Add more diced onions - to your taste
1 can of diced sweet onion and tomato (drained) (best choice)
1/2 can of cheddar cheese soup
1 can Bush's Chili Beans - Mild (sauce drained)
Fresh jalapeno - can be omitted

Spray baking dish so burritos do not stick.
Create burritos and place in pan.
Sprinkle with cheddar cheese - I used Kraft fat free cheddar cheese - baked a little weird, but was good!

Garnish with lettuce

This dish was a little spicy - but DELICIOUS!! We only made four burritos - and saved the rest of the meat mixture for tomorrow nights supper.