Kid-Friendly Red Enchiladas

                All pantry ingredients!

1 can 8 oz. tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 t. chicken bouillon

1 T.  chili powder, if you want spicy add an extra 1 Tbsp

1 t. cumin

½ t. onion powder

¼ t. garlic powder

 12 corn tortillas, half fried in oven

Shredded cheese for topping

Options for filling, some vegetarian:

3/4 lb shredded cheese - cheddar or monterey jack

½ lb shredded cheese and re-fried beans

½ lb shredded Cheese and Fried eggs (broken yolk, salt, pepper, 1 or 2 layers)

½ lb shredded cheese and ½ lb ground beef

½ lb shredded cheese and ½ lb shredded beef, chicken, or pork

COMBINE: In med sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, water, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder

SIMMER the sauce for about 10 min.

HALF-FRY tortillas: Brush one side of each corn tortilla lightly with oil. Place 12 tortillas flat in 350° oven, oil side up, for 2 min.  Remove from oven to a plate. Let cool.

ASSEMBLE enchiladas: Place a little sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Then place 3 half-fried tortillas flat.  Cover tortillas with spoonfuls sauce. Sprinkle cheese and other filling,  a little spoonful of sauce on top.  Place 3 more tortillas. Sauce. Cheese and filling. Sauce. Continue pattern.  Top with all leftover sauce then cheese. Bake 350° oven until cheese is melted, 15-20 min. 

SERVE: Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and sour cream. Consider possible side dishes of Spanish rice, re-fried beans, or a 15 oz can black beans reheated

Lazy man enchiladas - Make individual servings in the microwave. Use a glass plate or glass pie pan.  Cover enchiladas while in microwave. Cook 2 min or until cheese is melted.   

Fresh Chickpea Salad

by Kayleigh Evans

Dressing:

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar, or white vinegar

1.5-2 tablespoons natural cane sugar, to taste

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Salad:

2 medium field cucumbers, seeded and chopped

1 red pepper, diced

1 cup red or white onion, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

1 can 15 oz. chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and adjust to taste. Feel free to add more sweetener if you prefer. Set aside.

2. Peel cucumbers, slice off the ends, and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a small spoon (see photo in post if necessary). Slice halves into 1/8-inch “half moons” and toss into a large bowl. If your cucumbers are really big you can slice the half-moons in half as well.

3. Dice the red pepper and red onion and add into bowl. Roughly chop cilantro and add into bowl. Add chickpeas. Pour in the dressing and toss to combine.  Let this salad sit for about 30 minutes in the fridge, tossing every 10 minutes or so to help the dressing soak in.

4. Portion into bowls and top with peanuts. Serve immediately.

MAKE-AHEAD DIRECTIONS:

Make dressing as above. Combine dressing and salad ingredients as above, minus the cilantro and peanuts. Let flavors blend in fridge, up to 48 hours. Add cilantro and peanuts just before serving. 

Black Bean Burgers

I'm so sorry it's taken so long to post this!  But this is what I made for the "food storage iron chef" ward activity that we had FOREVER ago...  Enjoy!  --Casey Gifford

BLACK BEAN BURGERS
Prep time: 30 min. Cook time: 15 min. Total: 45 min.

PATTY INGREDIENTS
4 cups (2 cans)	black beans
1/4 med	red onion
1 clove	garlic
1/4 bunch	fresh parsley
1 Tbsp	sriracha
1 Tbsp	mayonnaise
1 tsp	worchestershire sauce
1 tsp	cumin
to taste	salt and pepper
1 lg	egg
1 cup	bread crumbs
TOPPINGS
6 lg	hamburger buns
2 med	roma tomatoes
1/2 med	red onion
1/4 bunch	lettuce
1/4 cup	mustard

STEP 1: Pour the black beans into a colander, rinse well and let drain. Add the beans to a food processor along with everything except the salt, egg and bread crumbs [parsley, onion (roughly diced), garlic (minced), sriracha, mayonnaise, worchestershire sauce, cumin and fresh cracked pepper (about 20 cranks)]. Process until everything is combined and the mixture looks pasty with a few chunks. See photos below

If you don't have a food processor, mash the beans with a fork and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Make sure the onion, garlic and parsley are well chopped.

STEP 2: Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt. I used about 1 tsp of salt total. Adjust other seasonings at this time as well. Make the mixture slightly stronger in flavor and saltiness than you want the burgers to be because once the bread crumbs and egg are added, the flavor will be diluted.

STEP 3: Whisk an egg and stir it into the mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs. The resulting mixture should be moist chunks and crumbs. The mixture should stick together if squeezed in your hand. Adjust the bread crumbs up or down to achieve a mixture that will hold a patty shape.

STEP 4: Use your hands for form the patties. Coat a skillet with non-stick spray and cook the patties for 7-8 minutes on each side. The patties should be brown and crisp on the outside and slightly firm to the touch. Be delicate when handling the patties, they are not as cohesive as meat patties but should hold their shape while cooking.

Serve the patties on a bun along with any toppings you desire.

NOTE: You can cook just a few patties and freeze the rest.  Wrap them in plastic wrap and then place them in a zip lock freezer bag. To cook later, just thaw the patty for 30 seconds in the microwave then finish cooking in a skillet as described above.

Black Bean Hummus

Submitted By Lindsey Scarber

2 cups cooked black beans, drained (or 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained*)

1 Tbsp tahini (or 1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter + 1 t. sesame oil**)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 lime, its juice (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder to taste)

1 tsp ground cumin

salt to taste

Pulverize the beans with an immersion blender.  Add all other ingredients.  (If an immersion blender is inaccessible, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.)  Blend again.  Taste it. Add a little of this or that until you get the taste you are looking for. 

Refrigerate for 30 min to 2 hours, to let the flavors blend. 

Serve with pita bread, pita chips, corn chips, or veggie sticks like carrots and celery

I like to double the recipe because it lasts in the fridge 2-3 weeks. 

Vegetarian. High in protein. Gluten-free.

*I use the Pressure Cooker to bottle black beans.  When I want to make hummus , I pull a jar off the shelf, use the perfectly cooked black beans, then reuse the quart jar for more pressure cooking. :)

**Tahini is sesame seed butter, found in the refrigerator section of health food stores like Sprouts and Trader Joes.  Instead of tahini (perishable), I use a combination of peanut butter and sesame oil (both of which are shelf-stable). It saves a trip to the store to buy tahini.

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Submitted by Lindsey Scarber

Recipe from my AZ friend Cammi Hawker 

This a yummy and very filling vegetarian soup.  Low-carb, too!

3 T. olive oil

1 cup white onion, minced

4 t. minced garlic, fresh is best

1/2 cup zuchinni or yellow squash, chopped 

1/2 cup frozen italian cut green beans, or 1 (15 oz. ) can cut green beans

4 cups vegetable broth, or water
1 (15 oz.) cans smal red beans, or garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup carrot, julienne cut or shredded
2 T. fresh minced parsley (or 1 T. dried)
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach, or 1 square pkg of defrosted frozen spinach
1/2 cup small shell pasta

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large pot. Saute onion, garlic, green beans, and zucchini for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add vegetable broth, drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, carrot, hot water, spinach, and spices.

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. 

Homemade Black Bean Burgers

Homemade Black Bean Burgers 

      1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

·                                 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces

·                                 1/2 onion, cut into wedges

·                                 3 cloves garlic, peeled

·                                 1 egg

·                                 1 tablespoon chili powder

·                                 1 tablespoon cumin

·                                 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce

·                                1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

You can freeze these for later!  Before cooking, form into patties and put between wax paper.  Freeze and cook when needed.

Savory Butternut, Black Bean, & Wheat Berry Burritos

      By Rebecca Heale

 1 Tbsp  oil

½ medium onion, chopped

3 c peeled butternut squash or sweet potatoes cut into ½ inch cubes

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp cinnamon

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 cups black beans

1 cup wheat berries

Tortillas (I like corn, but wheat requires less prep)

A bit more oil

Toppings as desired: grated cheese, salsa, sour cream, fresh cilantro or parsley

 Preheat oven to 350 F.  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add squash cubes and cook (still on medium) until squash is just tender.  Add spices, beans, and wheat berries.  Stir carefully to distribute the spices.  Heat through. 

 You are now ready to assemble the burritos.   If using corn tortillas, brush tortilla with oil (I put a Tbs oil in a cup and just dab it on the tortilla with a basting brush)  and heat in a pan until it is flexible. If using wheat, you can skip that step. Fill with some of the bean mixture and roll up.  Place in the pan. Continue to do this with the remaining ingredients, lining up the burritos in the pan as you go.  Bake uncovered for approx. 15-20 minutes, until heated through.

 Makes about 20 little burritos with corn tortillas, about 10 burritos with wheat tortillas. Enough for 8 polite adults, 6 hungry adults, or four teenage boys. 

 Adapted from a recipe my sister learned from a friend, Bethany Spicher, who learned it from farmers in Kansas.  
~Rebecca Heale, served at the Douglas Nighborhood Iron Chef Cook-off Mar 1

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

by Lindsey Scarber

Makes 1 gallon.  

8 med   tomatoes, finely diced

4 cans   tomato sauce 8 oz, OR 1 quart jar

1 bunch   cilantro, finely chopped

2 cups   cold water

3-4 cans   mild diced green chilies 7 oz, OR 3 cups

1-3 med   onions, finely diced (I start with 1 onion, if it's really strong, it might be all I need)

1/4  - 1/2 cup   lime juice, lemon juice, or white vinegar (I like fresh lime juice)

2 Tbsp   garlic powder

2 Tbsp   salt

2 Tbsp   sugar

1-2 Tbsp   crushed red pepper, OR 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (a little spice to keep the kids out)

1 can black beans 14.5 oz, drained and rinsed

1 can corn 14.5 oz, drained

Combine all ingredients in a large plastic or glass mixing bowl, not metal. Using a metal mixing bowl starts a chemical reaction with the acids, the citrus juices/vinegar.

When the salsa tastes good, transfer it to glass quart jars. You can use plastic containers if you don't mind your container smelling like salsa for months after.

Let it sit in the fridge to allow the flavors to blend.  Sometimes is tastes better the day after. Serve with corn chips.  Lasts 2-3 weeks refrigerated.

This recipe is yummy with or without the black beans and corn.  However, they do add healthy protein and make it last a longer in a happy tummy.