Slow Cooker Black Beans

This week I made a big pot of black beans.  My favorite dinner of all time is black beans and yellow rice (believe it or not), but as I've recently been trying a healthier diet, I realized I need to cut back on the amount of sodium I consume.  Typically I'd use canned beans and pre-packaged yellow rice, both of which have an enormous sodium content, so I was sad to have to cut those out of my options for a "healthy" dinner.  But then, I read Lisa Leake's post on making refried beans from scratch (which are really good, by the way).  I got excited as I realized that I could modify this recipe to make my own black beans from scratch and freeze any leftovers to have an easy meal later without using canned beans.  So, here it is, ladies and gents! Make your own black beans instead of using the canned stuff!

Slow Cooker Black Beans


You will need:

• 2 cups dry black beans
• 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 hot pepper, halved, or 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or 1 teaspoon of table salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 3 teaspoons cumin (can adjust to taste)
• 6 cups water

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook on high for about 6 hours.  Drain off unwanted fluid, and remove onion pieces if desired.  Enjoy!

That's it! Super easy.  Instead of serving the beans over yellow rice, I cooked up some brown rice, using homemade chicken broth instead of water for a richer taste, but still less sodium than using store-bought broth.  Feel free to add whatever toppings you think would go with black beans.  I like to top this dish with tomato, cheese and homemade "sour cream" (very thick yogurt).  These beans would also be good in a burrito, soup, omelet, and any other recipe that calls for canned black beans.  Enjoy your beans with less sodium!

All dressed up and ready to eat!

Go bananas for dessert!!

This week's post is dedicated to a fruit that makes up a big part of my daily diet: the banana.  I love that it's so versatile and yet so readily available and doesn't cost much at all compared to other fresh produce.  Also, I've recently discovered that frozen bananas when pureed take on a texture similar to ice cream or frozen yogurt.  This is quite refreshing for a snack or dessert during hot summer months, but of course you can also make these any time of the year since bananas are so easy to come by!  Here are 2 of my favorite banana "ice cream" recipes that I've tried so far.

Banana Frozen Yogurt

You will need:

• 1-2 bananas sliced and frozen (per serving)
• Enough plain or vanilla yogurt to cover banana slices (about 4-5 oz.)
• Food processor

Add ingredients to food processor and process until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Nutella Banana "Ice Cream"

You will need:

• 4 bananas
• 2/3 cup of Nutella hazelnut spread
• Blender

Blend bananas and nutella together.  Pour mixture into a freezer safe plastic container making sure to leave enough headspace to allow mixture to expand slightly.  Freeze 8-10 hours.  This makes about 14 oz.  If you wish, you may use peanut butter instead of Nutella, but when I tried it, the texture was harder when frozen. (I guess peanut butter doesn't freeze as smoothly as Nutella.)

I am not at a place where I can upload any photos right now, but I will update with pictures as soon as I can.  Until next week, keep cookin', friends. :)

Update (6/20): Added a picture for the banana frozen yogurt (above)! I can't seem to find my picture for the second recipe, but I will add one next time I make it.  ~B.

Apologies and Apple Butter

Okay, sorry guys.  I thought I'd actually keep up with blogging over my school break. Yeah, right.  I didn't do ANYTHING but sleep and spend time with loved ones.  Seriously.  I didn't even do laundry.  It was glorious.  But I suppose that was mean of me to taunt my readers with a picture of absolute deliciousness and then not share the recipe!  So without further adieu, check out this apple butter recipe. It sure is delish!

Start by peeling, coring and slicing the apples.

Then add your spices and tell those apples to cook, cook, cook!

Finally, blend the cooked apples in a food processor.

And you've done it!

You've now transformed that yummy fruit into a healthy and delicious spread!

Apple Butter


You'll need:

• 3 medium red delicious or gala apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Dash of nutmeg

1. Place apples and spices together in a medium saucepan and cook covered for 1 hour over medium heat.  (I stir mine every 15 minutes or so just to make sure they don't stick to the pot.)
2. When the apples are cooked, they will be soft and there will be spiced apple juice in the bottom of the pot. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
3. Blend until smooth in the food processor.  Or you could use a blender, but you would probably only be able to blend a small amount at a time.  Unless you have a really awesome blender that can handle all those wonderful spicy apples!
4. Store in a plastic container or jar with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks (if it lasts that long).

This spread is delicious on bagels, toast, peanut butter sandwiches, or as a mix-in for yogurt or smoothies.  It can also be used in the place of oil in baking recipes.

So there you have it.  Another yummy recipe for frugal foodies.  As always, if you have any ideas for recipes to try, let me know! See ya next week!