Black Bean Goodness

So yesterday I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer and in an effort to be thrifty, I rummaged through my meager "pantry" in an attempt to find something that I could turn into dinner. What I found was a can of sardines, some canned tomatoes, black beans, and lots of random rices! Of all the options the black beans looked the most promising...so I was off to Pinterest to see if I could dig up a recipe to make some burgers. Eureka! I found a low fat recipe, and because I'm crafty, switched it up a little bit because I don't know about you, but this girl doesn't have "artificial smoke flavor" readily available! Here's the deliciousness that I came up with:

Black Bean Burgers!

Black Bean Burgers

Makes 4

3 PPV per patty

1 tbsp chia seeds, smashed with mortar and pestle
3 tbsp warm water

1- 15oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed

2 gloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. old fashioned oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Cooking spray

1. In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds and water. Let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens. 
2. In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and mix well with your hands. Divide the goo into 4 equal patties and place flat on a plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.
3. Spray a large pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high. Cook patties until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Best eaten the same day you make them, but they are ok microwaved the next day for lunch :)

All-Purpose GF Flour Mix & A Little Cornbread!

As you may have seen on Facebook or Instagram I received a fabulous gift in the mail this week! Someone sent me a copy of the latest Gluten-Free Girl cookbook (check out her blog here: Gluten-Free Girl) and so far the cookbook is genius!!! Since it was SUPER HOT outside today, naturally, I decided to bake! Oh...and to make black bean chili! I wanted some delicious cornbread to go with my chili but I didn't have any of the good all-purpose gluten free flour mix that I like. Luckily for me, Gluten-Free Girl Every Day has a recipe for an all-purpose flour mix! I had to get crafty because the recipe calls for potato starch and I'm allergic to potatoes...so I used arrowroot instead and ended up with super delicious, fluffy and delicate cornbread. I doused mine with butter and honey and watched an episode of Psych to wrap up my Saturday! Here are the recipes for both the flour mix and the cornbread!

Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

300g sweet rice flour
400g millet flour
300g arrowroot starch (or potato starch)

Pour all of them into a large bowl and whisk until well mixed. Store in an airtight container.

Sweet White Corn Cornbread

1 1/2 c. GF all-purpose flour
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. white cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 square pan with either butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Whisk to mix.
3. In a 2 cup measuring cup mix milk, eggs and oil. Pour into the flour mixture and whisk. Add melted butter and whisk until all lumps are gone. Pour into prepared pan. 
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned on top and toothpick comes out clean. Top with butter & honey! 

Cali-Persian Fest!

Many thanks to the June issue of Bon Appetit and my lovely friend Hannah for a weekend of RIDICULOUSLY amazing food! We ate like royalty! The menu included Shirazi Salad, Shallot Yogurt, Jeweled Rice, Grilled Saffron Rack of Lamb and Rose Water Shortbread Cookies! The recipes are all from Bon Appetit but the inspiration to actually make all of this dreamy food was a visit from a my dear friend, who came to take care of me post-surgery. All of the recipes in the Cali-Persian article are AMAZING!!!! If you don't have this issue run, don't walk, to the closest store and get it! You will be in love!!!! I'm only going to share one of the recipes here because it uses rose water and it is a delightful dessert that is gluten free! Happy cooking everyone!

Rose Water Shortbread Cookies

½ tsp. ground cardamom

1 ½ c. white rice flour, plus a little for rolling if needed

¾ c. powdered sugar

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 tsp. rose water

1 tsp poppy seeds

1.     Whisk cardamom and 1 ½ c. rice flour in a medium bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Add egg and rose water and beat to blend.

2.     Reduce mixer speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients (dough will be stiff). Cover and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.

3.     Preheat oven to 300F. Scoop level tablespoonfuls of dough and using lightly floured hands (I didn’t need to flour my hands!), roll into balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 ½” apart. Using a fork or another utensil that can make a decorative pattern in dough, flatten balls to a ¼” thickness. Sprinkle cookies with poppy seeds.

4.     Bake cookies until firm but still pale, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool. (Makes about 3 dozen cookies)

For the love of pumpkin!

I am completely in love with fall!!! I love the smell in the air, the crisp leaves underfoot, the bright orange, yellow and red decorations & the piles of pumpkins spilling out of every shop front! I especially love pumpkin pie...topped off with a good dollop of fresh whipped cream...YUM! I am also a HUGE sucker for anything labeled "Pumpkin Smoothie"! Unfortunately most of the smoothies out there in the world have about ten billion calories and would totally thwart all of my weight loss efforts. Being bitten by the pumpkin bug earlier this week, I played with a few recipes and came up with one that is delicious and pretty darn nutritious! Happy fall!!!!

Pumpkin Smoothie
Serves 1

4-5 ice cubes
1/2 c. nonfat milk
1/3 c. pumpkin puree
1/3 c. nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 whole ripe banana
Several shakes of pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. maple syrup (optional!)

Put everything in your blender and hit the on button. Once it's all blended, dip a spoon in and taste it to make sure you have enough spice going on. Add more spice if you need it. Pour it into your favorite smoothie glass and enjoy!

2-3 Points Plus Values (2 without maple syrup, 3 with)

Hamburger Cornbread Casserole

My sweet friend Laura requested that I post something a bit more on the healthy side...and seeing as how she has a house full of cute kids to feed...I figured that this casserole would be fantastic! This casserole came about from a hankering for cornbread and a thawed out pound of ground beef as well as some random mushrooms that I used instead of beans to save the Weight Watchers points! I love that the casserole was perfect on a hot summer night but would also make a cold winter evening totally cozy! This is a great meal for a family or a house full of friends! 

Hamburger Cornbread Casserole

1 lb. ground beef, 95% fat free

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 portabella mushrooms, chopped

1 14oz. can diced tomatoes

1.5 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tsp chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 c. flour (I used gluten free but all-purpose is great)

1/2 c. cornmeal

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp canola oil

1/2 c. milk

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat an 11x7 in. baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic over medium heat until onions are just starting to get soft. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add the meat and cook until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes, chili powder and Italian seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Taste your filling and add salt & pepper if it needs it. Transfer to an the prepared casserole dish. 
3. For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon over filling; gently spread to cover the top. (You could add cheese to the topping if you want to be decadent!)
4. Bake, uncovered, for 14-18 minutes or until filling is bubbly and a toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6 servings.

Note: You can really go crazy with the filling in this! You could add corn, celery, fresh chopped tomatoes, beans, zucchini, spinach (cooked & drained) or any number of other deliciousness! It's super versatile so use whatever you have in your fridge! 

Apple Brown Betty

I've been sitting on my couch all morning staring at a giant pile of Granny Smith apples in my kitchen, periodically dreaming about the fabulous combination of cinnamon and apples that happens in a Brown Betty! Apples always make me think of fall...and I always miss my time in Maine when I think of fall. One perfectly crisp fall day I even went to an apple orchard and picked baskets and baskets of Empire apples. They were so sweet and crunchy that they made my taste buds sing and we cooked up some delicious treats from the glowing red baskets of apples! Fall in Maine is a dream...and I so miss the cold bite of fall air on my checks as the weather turns. As summer comes to an end I have found myself wishing that it were fall more and more! I lasted until about 11:30am until I fully gave in to my pinings for fall and whipped up some delicious individual dessert treats!

Individual Apple Brown Betty
Serves 8

Topping:
1/2 c. butter, at room temp
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. old fashioned oatmeal
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:
8 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced
1/2 grated nutmeg (as in 1/2 of one of the whole nutmegs!)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 8 small ramekin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a small bowl cream together butter, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in oatmeal. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl toss prepared apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon juice.
4. Spoon apples into prepared ramekins. Top each with oatmeal mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until apples are soft and topping is crunchy. Serve with whipped cream if you'd like but I just ate mine as is!

Here's to a little fall...in August!

Gluten Free HEAVEN!!!!

Tonight I was DYING for chocolate!!!! Rich, dark, mouthwatering chocolate! The kind you can only get at that fancy restaurant that you only eat at when you've won the lottery! That was the kind of chocolate I was in need of! Luckily for me...my cupboard was stocked with all kinds of goodness and, as a result, my tastebuds were blessed with the joy of this ridiculous dessert!!! Brace yourselves...the fat content is OFF THE CHARTS...but so is the flavor! Enjoy!!!!!

Flourless Chocolate Cake


1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for the pan
1 1/4 c. heavy cream, divided
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. creme fraiche
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar

1. Heat oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with cocoa.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter with 1/4 cup of the heavy whipping cream over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth; remove from heat. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder; whisk in the chocolate mixture.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, 35-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edge of the cake before unmolding. 
5. Using an electric mixture, beat the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, creme fraiche and confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Top the cake with whipped topping and your favorite berries! 

Serves 16 (8 PPV for my Weight Watchers fans)