Black Bean Soup

***Cook's note: Cut back on the carrot just a bit so you can achieve that really pretty black color for the soup.***

Ingredients:

1 TBSP olive oil
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3/4 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onion
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (3.5oz) can green chilies
3 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
juice of 1 lime


Optional toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, and chopped cilantro

Directions:

Place a large stock pot on the stovetop and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in the juice of one lime.

Place soup in blender or use an immersion blender. Puree soup until completely smooth.

Makes about 8 cups of soup. 1 cup of soup without toppings is 125 calories, 2 grams fat, and 8 grams of fiber.

Mini Carrot Cake Cups

Cups
1 yellow cake mix (9 oz)
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, peeled

Filling and Garnish
6 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup thawed frozen whipped topping
chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Combine cake mix, allspice, egg, and oil in bowl. (Note: Most cake mixes are about 18 oz. This calls for 9 oz. I used 1/2 of a regular cake mix. However, I think the small boxes of Jiffy cake mix are about 9 oz.) Stir until ingredients are moistened. Batter will be very thick. Grate carrots and stir 3/4 cup into batter. Set aside any remaining carrots for garnish, if desired. Divide batter evenly among mini muffin cups. Bake 11-13 minutes or until cups feel firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in shipped topping. Spoon cream cheese mixture into ziplock bag.

Remove pan from oven. Press tops of cups with lighly floured mini-tart shaper to make slight indentations. If you don't have a mini-tart shaper, another object in your kitchen may work. Cool in pan 3 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan and cool another 5 minutes. Trim corner of cream cheese-filled bag. Pipe filling evenly into cups. Garnish cups with chopped walnuts and remaining grated carrots, if desired.

Carmel Rice Krispie

This tastes just like carmel popcorn - super good!

2 cubes butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup Karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Bring to boil over med heat and boil 3 min. Remove and add milk. Stir well and boil 3 more min. Pour over 12 or 13 cups of Rice Krispies. Mix well and put in greased 9 x 13 pan or cookie sheet.

Broiled Zucchini and Potatoes with Parmesan Crust

***Another Giada recipe...Instead of zucchini, I used 3 of the papaya squash and it was delish!***

4 small new red potatoes
2 TBSP butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 small zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until just tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool. When cool, cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks.

Place a medium satue pan over medium heat. Add the butter, garlic, thyme, and rosemary and heat until the butter melts, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, season the cut surfaces of the zucchini and potatoes with salt and pepper. Carefully place the vegetables in the melted butter. Cook until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the browned vegetables on the baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with the parmesan cheese. Broil until the cheese is golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce

Do you have too many tomatoes in your garden or leftover tomatoes from Boutiful Baskets that you're not sure what to do with??? This simple and flavorful sauce has literally a hundred uses. I used it over parmesan crusted chicken, but you could also use it as a dip for chicken fingers, use it in place of pizza sauce on homemade pizza, toss it with pasta, etc.

1 lb tomatoes

1 onion

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp thyme

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half, and slice onion in large wedges. Place tomatoes, onion, and unpeeled garlic in bowl. Drizzle with half of the oil. Sprinkle with seasonings and toss to make sure everything is coated. Place tomatoes face down on cookie sheet with onion and garlic and cook for 2 hours. Turn the tomatoes over after the first hour. Remove from oven. Put everything in food processor (squeeze garlic from peel first), and pulse or puree to desired consistency with remaining oil. Can add 1-2 T of water to thin sauce out if necessary.

Note: Any type of tomato should work for this recipe. I have used romas and red vine tomatoes. This is also a great way to use tomatoes that are getting a little soft. I lined my cookie sheet with foil and lightly sprayed with oil for easy cleanup.

Potato and Bacon Torte

***This is my take on Melissa D'Arabian's recipe from Food Network, I made it for a work party the other night and it was a hit!***

Crust:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 sticks butter, frozen or very cold, cut into cubes
1 tsp salt
8-10 TBSP ice water

Pulse flour, butter, and salt in food processor, when the consistency of wet sand, start adding water one tablespoon at a time. Until dough is formed. Divide into 2 halves, and wrap in plastic. Let refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:

3/4 cup half & half
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, slightly crushed to release flavor, but still whole to be able to scoop out
About 3 new red potatoes, sliced thin
1 zucchini, sliced thin
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
3 strips bacon, cut small and cooked until crisp
1/2 Gruyere cheese, shredded

Put half and half, thyme, and garlic in a saucepan, simmer while prepping the rest of the ingredients to allow time for the flavors to seep.

Roll out one of the discs of dough to fit a pie pan. 1 layer of potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, use some bacon, then a layer of zucchini and a few onion slices. Repeat until pie is full. Remove thyme and garlic from half and half. Pour over the veggies in the pie. Top with the shredded cheese.

Roll out second half of dough, top the pie, crimp the edges. Brush with egg wash. Make three slits for steam release.

Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.

Zucchini Cakes

I found this recipe on a cooking blog that I follow called The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I thought it would be great to try with all of the fresh zucchini I have! They were really yummy. It satisfies my craving for fried food without feeling too guilty since it's full of zucchini!

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini
1 TBSP minced garlic
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese (I just used mozzarella since that's what I had)
2 whole eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Wash and cut the end of one large zucchini. Shred it using the large holes of a cheese grater. Squeeze the shredded zucchini with a paper towel until you've removed as much liquid as possible.

Place zucchini into a medium sized bowl. Add minced garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, salt, and pepper. Stir with a fork until well mixed.

Head olive oil (about 1/4 inch deep in bottom of skillet) to a medium heat. When the oil is hot enough drop a glob of the zucchini into skillet and flatten a bit. After about two minutes, turn the cakes over and cook other side until golden brown. About another 2 minutes.

Serve with marinara, ranch, or just eat plain!