Huevos y Frijoles

My lust for black beans is making me do crazy things with them. This morning I made a black bean omelet that made me salsa dance all over the kitchen. Try it:

1. Defrost a pack of your single serving vacuum sealed black beans. Add a little chopped jalapeno to your beans. Warm them in a little pot over medium heat.

2. Beat two eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk.

3. Chop up a little fresh cilantro.

4. Drop some butter in an omelet pan on medium heat. When it melts, pour in the egg mixture.

5. Cover the pan.

6. When the egg mass is no longer runny, spoon beans onto one half of omelet.

7. Sprinkle with cilantro and jack cheese.

8. Flip the other half of the omelet over the delicious bean mixture.

9. Wait for the cheese to melt.

10. Eat the heavenly omelet.

Can you think of a more delicious omelet? What's your favorite type of omelet?

Suzie

Black Beans

Psst...I have a secret. A secret crush - on black beans.

A great source of protein, antioxidant rich black beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, black beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

They're also super filling and ridiculously delicious. They're my new BFF. Well, maybe even BF.

I have not taken any pictures while cooking them. I'm sorry. You're going to have to envision these black beauties on your own.

1. Soak a bag of black beans over night per directions on the bag.

2. Chop one onion, one jalapeno and three garlic cloves.

NOTE: This veggie trio is also known as a sofrito. It's a great base for all kinds of soups, stews, etc. Often, the jalapeno is replaced with a bell pepper, depending on what you're going for.

3. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

4. When the oil is hot, add your sofrito, salt and pepper.

5. When veggies are soft, after about five minutes or so, add the beans stir them around and heat them for about two or three minutes.

6. Add water according to the directions on the bean package. Usually about 8 cups per lb.

7. Let beans simmer over medium heat with the lid open a tad for two hours. Longer if beans are still hard or there's two much liquid left.

Now, you're probably wondering what the heck you're going to do with all these beans. That's where your food saver comes in. Cut single serving sized bags, and vacuum seal and freeze single servings. Then heat them up as a small meal or side dish at any time.

Enjoy!

Suzie Black Bean Lover

Stromboli

Having a party? Stromboli is a great and easy appetizer that's bound to please the masses. Just roll it up, bake it and slice it up. Its cheesy, yummy goodness brings on big smiles.

You can make the whole deal easier on yourself and use store bought pizza dough. I'm not going to tell you not to, but I'll give you the tools to go fresh, just in case you want to roll old school:

1. Sprinkle the yeast into a medium bowl containing 1 1/4 cup warm water and stir until yeast dissolves.

2. Add 2 cups sifted flour and stir until blended.

3. Add another 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour and blend until too stiff to stir with a spoon.

4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for 10 to 15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

5. Place the dough in another bowl greased with a small amount of oil. Turn the dough once so that the top is oiled.

6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place for about 45 minutes--until the dough rises to about double its original size.

7. Once it rises, roll it out on a floured surface. (Dough on an unfloured countertop = mess.)

8. Then layer your filling in it. It can be anything you want. For example, you can use pepperoni and cheese or spinach sauteed with garlic and cheese.

9. Once you stuff it, roll it up.

10. Whip up one egg and a little water then paint it on your stromboli. This will give it a nice, glossy, hard crust.

11. Pop it in the oven and let it bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the crust looks brown.

11. Slice it up and enjoy!

So what will you stuff your stromboli with?

Suzie

Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Spread

On Easter, I realized that I didn't have enough appetizers for the friends who were coming over for dinner. So I dug into my freezer and pulled out a hunk of goat cheese left over from a party and waited for it to soften.

When it did, I rummaged through the pantry to see what I could add to it. I found sundried tomatoes and a sleeve of crackers.

Then I went out to the garden and cut some parsley.

I chopped the sundried tomatoes and parsley, mixed them in with the goat cheese, added some cracked black pepper and set it out on the table with the crackers.

I figured you can't go wrong with sundried tomatoes and parsley, can you?

The empty bowl was proof. Try it for an easy and different kind of cheese and crackers!

Suzie

Suzie's Mac and Cheese

WARNING: THIS MEAL IS NOT HEALTHY.

Aren't disclaimers fantastic? No, seriously, this meal contains processed foods and is totally not good for you. But since yesterday was a holiday and the people beg for it, I made mac and cheese.

You can too. Here's how:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Empty 4 cans cheddar cheese soup in a pot on medium heat.

3. Add about a cup of milk. Stir.

4. Squirt about three tablespoons brown mustard in the cheese sauce. Stir.

6. Add one package (two cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the sauce.

7. Boil two lbs large elbows until they are al dente.

8. Drain noodles.

9. Butter large baking dish.

10. Add half sauce mixture to baking dish. Stir in half the noodles. Repeat with second half.

11. Top with another package shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups).

12. Bake about 30 minutes until top is cheesy crunchy.

13. Enjoy! Because you should only eat it once a year. ; )


What are your once a year favorites?

Suzie

Granny's Meatballs

Oh yes, here it is, the holy grail of recipes. And I'm sharing it with you. These meatballs are swoonworthy, drool inducing, crave causing little pockets of wonder. Try them for yourself.

First, heat some marinara sauce in a large pot on the stove.

1. Put equal parts ground beef, pork and veal in the biggest bowl you can find. I suggest using 1 lb of each for about 30 meatballs.

2. Smash two bags of store bought seasoned stuffing (in the bags) with a mallet. (Okay, I will admit, Granny did not use stuffing. She used day old bread. But my day old bread meatballs never taste as good as hers, so I've twisted the recipe a bit.) Pour them over the meat.

3. Add one egg per lb of meat.

4. Chop a bunch of fresh parsley and add it. I mean the whole bunch. Parsley is the secret fresh zing in these meatballs.

5. Add about a half a cup of shredded parmesan cheese.

6. Chop eight garlic cloves. Toss 'em in.

7. Finely chop one onion. Throw it in the mix.

8. Add salt, pepper and dried Italian seasonings.

9. Moosh it all together with your hands. Then form the mixture into balls.

10. Heat oil in a pan on medium high on the stove top and brown meatballs.

11. Plop them in the sauce.

12. Let them cook about an hour and a half.

13. Enjoy!

How is this recipe different from how you make meatballs?

Suzie

PS - For other yummy recipes check out Simply Delicious Sunday.