Menu Monday: Black Bean & Cilantro Hummus #recipe

This past weekend I had the opportunity to sample a black bean hummus at one of our local farmers markets. It was delicious and I decided to try and reproduce it at home. I found a few recipes online & combined them into this. Mine has a lot more heat than the one I sampled but it's a pretty decent attempt.

Black Bean and Cilantro Hummus

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 to 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded (I used one and left in the seeds - a bit too much)




Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend on high until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.



Yes, it looks nasty but it's so yummy! Serve with chips, pitas, veggies, or add it to a burrito even!


Ever tried other beans in hummus? Any favorite flavor combinations?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Meal Monday: Hummus! #recipe

I've wanted to try making my own hummus for years and I finally have a decent food processor so I can make it now! I give you two versions!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This makes a lot!
32 oz chickpeas - drained and rinsed
12 oz jar roasted red peppers - drained
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2-4 cloves garlic (I ended up using 4)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 cup water
chopped parsley and additional paprika for garnish

Place all ingredients except water and garnish into food processor.  Process on high until hummus consistency.  Add water a little bit at a time until it's the consistency you want.  Taste it a few times to see if you need extra salt or garlic.


Spread some on a plate, top with garnish and enjoy.  Put the rest in the refrigerator - it will be even better later :)

"Original" Hummus

1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup tahini
2 Tbsp lemon (maybe more)
1-2 cloves garlic (I used 2)
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1/4 cup water
chopped parsley and paprika for garnish

Place all ingredients in food processor except water and garnish.  Process on high until mixed - it will be very thick. Add water a little at a time until desired consistency.  Taste along the way to see if you need extra garlic or salt.


To serve, spread on a plate, top with garnish and enjoy!


The red pepper was definitely my favorite but both were very good. Do you have a favorite flavor of hummus? I think I'm going to try pine nut next.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Meal Monday: Eggplant Parmesean

My girl requested this last week & normally I make it healthier than frying but this time I went with pan frying the eggplant and it was so good.

Peel & slice eggplant about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt & let it sit for a few min. Blot any liquid with paper towel.

Scramble an egg in a bowl. Dip slices in egg then dredge in a mix of seasoned breadcrumbs & Parmesean. Pan fry in butter & oil a couple min on each side until slightly crispy.

Pour a jar of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Lay eggplant slices on top & bake in a 350* oven for about 30 min.

Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and put back in the oven for a few minutes. Serve with a salad, pasta & garlic bread.

Turned out very good for just throwing something together. This is my only eggplant recipe. Do you have a favorite way to prepare eggplant?

Meal Monday: Pasta and Asparagus

Welcome to 2013 and what I hope will be a weekly post here.

Last week I was having the worst time trying to find one of my recipes because my recipe book looked like this:


I decided I needed to get organized so I bought another binder, tossed a bunch of crap recipes, and typed up others that were just on scraps of paper, receipts, you name it. This was the final result. Much better, no?


In the process, I found a bunch of great recipes that I haven't made in awhile, plus some new ones. I decided that I'd start posting a recipe here every Monday. Hopefully you'll find something your family loves as much as mine.

This week we're going with a vegetarian dish - but you could easily add diced, cooked chicken to this if you wanted, or serve it on the side of a meat dish.

Pasta and Asparagus

please forgive my awful food photo taking

Ingredients:

• 1 lb asparagus
• 1 lb grape tomatoes (I didn't use that much)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• basil, fresh - approximately 15 leaves
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 13 oz package of pasta
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Start a large pot of water to boil pasta.
2. Trim asparagus and cut into 1-inch pieces.
3. Halve tomatoes.
4. Julienne basil.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  Add garlic and saute 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes and asparagus and cook until the asparagus is tender.
6. Meanwhile, cook pasta al dente and drain.  
7. Keeping the asparagus warm, add butter and cooked pasta.  Toss over low heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss in the basil.
8. Serve warm.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.  

Are there any types of recipes you'd like to see here?