Black Bean Brownies with an Avocado Icing

I've been on this gluten free dessert kick lately.  I don't know why... maybe because I like a challenge.   I saw a black bean brownie recipe with no gluten, just black beans and had to try it.  I wanted to come up with a fun way to frost these bad boys and what goes great with black beans??? Avocado!! Yeah!  Just need tortilla chips!

These were actually pretty good!  They aren't too sweet and you don't feel nasty after eating one or two... or a whole pan.  Enjoy!!

Black Bean Brownies

Serves: 16

Ingredients:

1 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed (or you can soak, cook and rinse 1 1/2 cup dry beans)

3 large organic eggs

3 Tbsp grapeseed oil (I used 2 and 1 Tbsp coconut oil)

3/4 cup organic cane sugar (I used 1/2 and then a few tablespoons of honey)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

Cooking spray for pan (again, I just used coconut oil)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x9 pan with coconut oil or spray.  Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour mixture into greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Avocado Icing

Ingredients:

1 avocado

3-5 Tbsp raw honey (you can adjust to taste)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until mixed, spread over cooled brownies.  (I did have chunks of green in my icing because I didn't mix it well enough... It's okay, it adds character.  

Make your own bean sprouts!

If you get grossed out by store bought sprouts, fear no more... just make your own!

A lady from my work sprouts her own beans and seeds and snacks on them.  She knows I have an interest in food and growing my own things so she set me up to make my own bean sprouts.  They are quite easy.  All you need is a large mason jar, a square of screening (or cheesecloth), a rubber band, and beans or seeds of your choice!

To start off, I made alfalfa sprouts and lentil sprouts.  They are both great on salads and sandwiches.  Or just as snacks!

Here is what you'll need:

1 jar (per seed or bean or whatever you're sprouting), 1 piece of screening or cheesecloth to cover the jar, 1 rubber band, about 1/2 cup seeds or beans (I actually only used about 1/4 cup of alfalfa seeds, but I used 1/2 cup green lentils)

Place the beans in the jar, cover with screening and secure with rubber band.  Pour cool water over the beans until it reaches a couple of inches over the top.  Soak in a cool and dry place for 8 hours.  (I started in the morning and soaked all day).

After 8 hours, rinse beans and drain on a towel.  Keep on towel or drying rack over night.  Rinse and drain twice a day for about 4 days.  I usually rinse and drain before work and after dinner.

It's easy to just let it hang out in the drying rack all day.  The above picture was taken day 2 of the process, you can kind of see them sprouting a bit.  They expand a lot!

This picture was taken at day 3.  They are ready to eat now, but have only sprouted a little.  They still taste delicious!

Here they are all finished!  We actually went on vacation so this is as far as I got them to sprout, but they were still good 4 days later after sitting in the fridge.  Enjoy!!

Organic Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Cookies!

These cookies are so delicious and gluten free! I love cooking with oats instead of flour because for some reason, it feels healthier... and then I eat more.  I could eat these cookies for breakfast.  I do want to mention though that if you are making these truly gluten free, then you have to make sure to read your oat packages.  Most oats contain traces of gluten so make sure they say "organic" and "gluten free."  Somewhere on the package, it'll let you know that they are truly gluten free.

Anyway, our grocery store started selling organic chocolate chips and they are sooooo delicious! I think I ate a cup of straight up chocolate chips before I even added any to the cookies.  Organic ingredients just have more care put into them and are just higher quality ingredients all together.  They are like how all ingredients should be.   Using organic ingredients will just make everything you make tastier! Enjoy!

Organic Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies

Makes: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick of organic butter, softened

1/2 cup organic brown sugar

1/2 cup organic white sugar 

1 organic egg

1/4 tsp. real vanilla

1 tsp organic baking soda

3/4 cup organic creamy peanut butter

2 1/4 cup organic oats (make sure they are gluten free)

1 1/2 cup organic semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars.  Add egg, vanilla, baking soda, and peanut butter.  Mix well until smooth.  Add oats and mix well, scraping side of bowl.  Add chocolate chips and mix until combined. 

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.  (I used parchment paper, easy clean up!)

Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 9 minutes. Let cool on cooling racks... if they make it that far.  

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Enchiladas

You know what's awesome?  Getting 11 ounces of goat cheese from the grocery store for $3.00 because it's "close to the expiration date" (the expiration date was March 29, I think we're okay)!  Since we had such a huge amount of goat cheese, I had to some up with some recipes to use it up, which isn't too hard because goat cheese is awesome. 

Anyway, we also have a plethora of white corn tortillas so I decided that enchiladas were in store.  These were so delicious!  It really pays to make your own enchilada sauce. Canned enchilada sauce shouldn't even exist when it's so simple to make your own AND you can make it ahead of time and either stick it in the freezer or can it yourself.  So easy!

I do have to say though... I highly recommend the white corn tortillas from Trader Joe's.  They are way delicious and so much better than the cheap corn tortillas that you get from the grocery store.  We're going to try Whole Foods brand next and see how they turn out.  

Anyway here is the recipe! P.S. I put absolutely no effort into this photo because they smelled so good and we were so hungry.... I snapped the photo and devoured the enchiladas. Enjoy!

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Enchiladas

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Enchiladas:

3 large zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch dice

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 Tbs olive oil

zest and juice from 1 lemon

salt to taste

1 cup cooked black beans (if you don't feel like rinsing and cooking beans, you can use 1 can, rinsed and drained)

6 oz goat cheese, divided

12 white corn tortillas

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

4 lime wedges

Sauce:

1 tsp oil

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbs chili powder

1 tsp chipotle chili powder, optional

1/2 Tbs ground cumin

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup veggie brother (or water)

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the zucchini, onion, oil, lemon zest & juice, and salt; toss to coat. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is softened, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the black beans and 5 ounces of goat cheese.

Meanwhile , heat 1 tsp. oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and slightly browned around the edges, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the water and tomato sauce. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Maintain a low simmer until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.

To soften the tortillas, spray them with a light layer of oil. Arrange 6 tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; transfer to the oven and cook for about 3 minutes; flip the tortillas and continue baking for 2 more minutes, until the tortillas are pliable. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Divide the filling evenly between the 12 tortillas. Roll the tortillas over the filling, arranging the filled tortillas seam-side down in the baking dish. Cover the rolled tortillas with the remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 ounce of goat cheese over the top of the sauce.

Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are evenly heated. Let set for 2-3 minutes before serving with cilantro and lime.