Guest Post: Popcorn and Smoky Roasted Black-Eyed Peas

I'm so thankful for bloggy friends during this busy time! Please enjoy the first of many great guest posts EFYP will be blessed with over the next few months.

Micaela Vega is a working mother of 2, who writes about her experience with incorporating healthier food options into her family's meals at Striving Bean. Sometimes her kids like it, sometimes they don’t – she'll let you know about both.

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It’s not often that “Black-eyed peas” and “snack” go together, but they go together surprisingly well.

I made some popcorn for the kids the other night, and thought….hmm…how could I add beans to the mix?

Voilà:  Popcorn & Smoky Roasted Black-Eyed Peas. A quick and easy snack that the kids really liked.

Another great discovery this weekend?  My daughter loves smoked paprika.  There’s a difference between smoked paprika and regular paprika.   The smoked has a deeper and smokier flavor. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

So break out the movies, cozy up on the couch, and grab yourself a big bowl of Popcorn & Smoky Roasted Black-Eyed Peas!

Dried Black-Eyed Peas (before cooking)

Popcorn & Smoky Roasted Black-Eyed Peas
Recipe by Striving Bean

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup (1.66 cup) cooked Black-Eyed Peas (or try 15 oz. can)
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 – 3 teaspoons smoked paprika (depending on your taste)
• several cups air-popped popcorn
• small amount melted butter & sea salt (to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450° F
2. If using canned beans, rinse and drain.  Blot beans dry with clean towel.
3. Mix together beans, olive oil, sea salt, and smoked paprika.
4. Spread beans evenly onto a baking sheet.
5. Roast beans for 18 – 22 minutes. (depending on your oven)
6. Check every so often. Goal is to dry them (not burn them) so they’re crunchy.
7. Mix black-eyed peas with popcorn, small amount of melted butter, and additional sea salt (to taste)

Another option is to roast them at a lower heat (425° F) for longer.

Our family weighs in:

• We all liked them.  Daughter said the black-eyed peas reminded her of “black olives”.  They reminded me of soy nuts.

Store left-overs in the refrigerator.  The black-eyed peas also make a great salad topping.

One Bowl Pesto Supper

Mmm! I can imagine many variations on this theme, but last night we had white beans, chicken, and pesto. Only 3 ingredients (unless you count the individual ingredients in the pesto of course) and so yummy! If I make this again, I'll try adding some sauteed onion and diced tomato. You could also make this a vegetarian meal by replacing the chicken with pasta or eating just the beans and pesto with whole grain bread. And then there's this soup that I'm going to have to try before the season is over!

Chicken, White Bean Pesto Bowl

Ingredients: 
1 cup dry white beans (great northern or navy)
1 cup cooked, diced chicken
1/2 cup pesto

Directions:
Soak dry beans overnight to make them cook faster and digest more easily. Cook until soft. Alternatively you can use 2 cans pre-cooked beans for this recipe.
Mix ingredients and serve. Easy-peasy!!

Linked to Real Food Wednesday and Tuesday Twister.

Chicken & Lentil Loaf

Another experiment with leftovers... and it turned out just fine! Adding it to my list of things to make with the whole chickens I cook. Served it with a side of asparagus and cashew gravy (gravy was AWESOME - I did substitute arrowroot for corn starch). My only complaint is that it was a little dry. I think I will try it without any tomato anything next time and instead use milk like the recipe for this Dutch Chicken Loaf calls for. Then maybe I'd put the cashew gravy on the loaf itself!

Chicken and Lentil Loaf

Ingredients:

2 cups lentils - cooked

2 cups cooked chicken - diced

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 large onion - diced and sauteed

7 oz. tomato paste

2 tbsp. water

4 eggs

seasonings of your choice

(I diced my chicken pretty finely)

Directions:

Prepare lentils, chicken, and onions if you do not have them leftover from other meals. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. In separate bowl, mix tomato paste with water to thin out and then add eggs and whisk thoroughly (I just used a fork). Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and work with a spoon or your hands until evenly combined.

Shape loaf in a greased bread pan and bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes or until set.

I originally intended to make 2 small loaves (to freeze one) but in the end went with 1 larger loaf. Still, I used whole numbers so this would be super easy to halve if you didn't have enough on hand or weren't sure your family would go for it!

Making Do: "hummus"

I *love* gourmet food blogs. This isn't one.

One of the most important aspects of getting good at cooking from what you have on hand in your pantry is not being so dedicated to a recipe or method for preparing your meals that you are unable to "make do" when you are without specific ingredients. With the exception of baked goods, you will most likely not "mess up" your dinner if you leave out or change ingredients. Your family probably won't even notice that you changed something - they aren't usually reading the recipe over your shoulder after all.

A gourmet chef might balk at the recipe I am about to share, and the whole concept of this blog, but perfection is one art and creative substitution is another. For those of us in the role of providing meals for our family while being good stewards of a limited budget, it's important that we master this different set of skills.

Last month I was blessed with a free bag of pita chips through a promotion that I found at Freebies4Mom. Since I'm trying to use up what is on hand, I can't go out and buy pre-made hummus or guacamole or another spread. So I scrounged around and found these ingredients:

They are close enough to the ingredients I need to make hummus from this recipe (very neat website for Mediterranean food - check it out!). You'll notice though that I used more great white northern beans than chickpeas, didn't have any fresh lemon juice, and had to skip the pine nuts altogether. This may have been more of a bean dip than hummus, but it is edible (more than edible - it was pretty darn good!) so it was a success!

By Wed. we still had plenty of hummus left so I made pita bread. When we run out of bread, I'll freeze the hummus for later to use with more chips or fresh veggies. What variations of hummus or other dips have you come up with on the fly?

***You may also want see my post on emergency baking substitutions. Be fearless! :)

Honey Baked Lentils

Lentils are a hit and miss food around here. We've had some amazing lentil dishes and some barely edible ones. This one fell into the former category! YAY! In fact, I think it will become a regular favorite!

Got the recipe from a great book that I checked our from the library so many times that my husband finally purchased it! :) I can't recommend it enough - it's not just recipes, it's a challenge to the way we consume.

A little blurb about it from the publisher:

"Twenty-five years ago, Doris Janzen Longacre compiled the first MCC-supported cookbook. Full of recipes and suggestions on how to eat better and consume less, it addressed the concern that North American were doing the opposite — consuming more and more food made up of wasteful calories and unnecessary packaging. More-with-Lessbecame an international kitchen resource for generations, an easy to read compendium of simple recipes to combat careless eating and thoughtless eating."

And you can read more about it by clicking here.

Now on the the recipe :)

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Honey Baked Lentils

Combine in Dutch oven or saucepan:
1 lb. (2 1/3 c) lentils
1 small bay leaf
5 c. water
2 t. salt

Bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes. Do not drain.
Discard bay leaf.
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine separately and add to lentils:
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. powdered ginger
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 c. water

Cut in 1" pieces:
4 slices bacon

Stir most of the bacon into the lentils and sprinkle remainder on top.

Pour over all:
1/3 c. honey

Cover tightly. Bake 1 hour. Uncover last 10 minutes to brown bacon.

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Soooo yummy! The only tweaks I made were that I left out the ginger, used a dollop of dijon mustard instead of mustard powder, and decreased the water to 1/2 c. so that I could bake it for a shorter time because I pre-cooked my bacon. My husband isn't a huge fan of pork bacon in general and likes it very well done when he does eat it. Turned out perfectly! My toddler even loved it! :) Pantry success! And honestly, it would have still been fabulous without the meat!

Edible or no? Black Bean Brownies

***On EDIT*** I'm revisiting this almost two years later, and I no longer use box mixes so I thought I'd give you a few links for from scratch recipes. Try $5 Dinners or Naturally Knocked Up.

When I saw THIS RECIPE over at Cheap Healthy Good my first reaction was, "UG! Who would eat that?" And then I thought, "but it IS the perfect pantry food, only two ingredients! ... darnit." So yes, I made it. And yes, I ate it. And yes, as of this moment I have survived.

I fed them to two people without informing them of the ingredients beforehand. The first, my husband, loved the texture and immediately said, "I only get one?!?!" and then his face changed and he said, "wait, what's IN this... I don't know if I can finish it." So the initial taste/texture combo was good, but then the beany-ness set in. The second person, my boss (daring, yes I know), enjoyed them thoroughly even after finding out what was in them. She said they had the same slightly- grainy texture as the little debbies brownies but she felt much better about eating these.

My review? I liked them... I think. I'll eat them, that's for sure. :)

Black Bean Brownies

1 box brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 14- to 15-ounce can black beans

1) Drain and rinse beans, then place them back in their original can. Fill the can to the top with water, and put both beans and water into a blender. PUREE THE CRAP OUT OF IT. There should be no graininess, or too-visible brown specks.

2) Combine bean mixture with brownie mix and follow the remaining cooking directions as listed on the package.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
136 calories, 2.6 g fat, 1 g fiber, $0.14

Calculations
Duncan Hines Brownie Mix: 2400 calories, 50 g fat, $2.39
1 can black beans: 315 calories, 1.75 g fat, $0.50
TOTAL: 2715 calories, 52 g fat, $2.80
PER SERVING (TOTAL/20): 136 calories, 2.6 g fat, $0.14

There you have it. And I had this thought... when I was in Japan I consumed more adzuki beans than any human really should (just soaking up the culture) and since they are amazing when sweetened, I think they would make a fantastic substitute for black beans. Would the brownies turn out maroon??? I think I'll have to try it and report back. :)

Stretch Week

We have recently decided to get serious about our food budget. We have been very blessed to be able to live off of one income since our little one was born, but we still have some student loan debt to pay off so we've made a plan to 1) live off of 1/2 of our income and 2) budget for things like food and gas. July was our first full month of budgeting for food and while I am a pretty frugal shopper in general, setting a limit forced me to get creative near the end of the month. The result was nearly a week of hunting down new recipes online and subjecting my husband to all kind of interesting food combinations. Some of our meals were so fun that even though they don't all fit the pantry theme, I feel I have to share them. :) Along with some staples like fruit, salad, and cereal, this is how our week looked.

Stretch Week: Friday, July 25th -

Roasted a whole chicken

Made a Chicken Crescent Braid

Yummy and pretty! I modified the Pillsbury recipe for Roasted Garlic Turkey Crescent Braid by using chicken instead of turkey and skipping the sun dried tomatoes since I didn't have any on hand. I did have some baby spinach, however, so that got thrown in and was a perfect fit. I also left out the mushrooms.

Saturday, July 26th -

Went to the farmer's market and spent $10 on peaches, apples, 4 eggplants, and 2 "spaceship squash."

Made Peanut Butter Banana Bread (without the chocolate) from Peanut Butter Boy. Didn't get a picture b/c it was gone in a matter of minutes. lol!

Ate chicken sandwiches with mayo from whole chicken cooked Friday.

Sunday, July 27th -

Tuscan White Bean Salad from Elana's Pantry using two kinds of canned white beans with oven-roasted tomatoes from Gluten-free Girl - it was perfect! And the leftovers were even better on Monday!

hamburgers at a dinner party (free! wohoo!)

Monday, July 28th -

More chicken Sandwiches and leftovers. :) Easy-peasy.

Tuesday, July 29th -

Rustic Garlic Onion Pizza from Fun Foods on a Budget, with Beyond Salmon's Honey Garlic Grilled Eggplant on top.

I used way too much salt on the eggplant - but now I know. We picked a few pieces of eggplant off each piece and were good to go! The foccacia bread crust was the best.thing.ever.

Wednesday, July 30th -

Spaceship Squash Fritters from The Leftover Queen and 40 minute hamburger buns from Taste of Home. I didn't get a picture of these unfortunately, but they were GOOD!

And for lunch I whipped up some quinoa with tomatoes, garlic, and baby spinach.

Thursday, July 31st -

Falafel and pita bread from Iron Stef, and Eggplant Caviar from Sam Cooks.

I've gotta say - we ate well this week! I spent a lot more time cooking than usual but now I can log all of these away as having tried them and should I decide to make them again, it will go faster the second time around. Thanks lovely bloggers for the inspiration this week!

White Bean Rigatoni

Ingredients:

1 box (16oz) whole wheat rigatoni noodles
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can or frozen box (I used frozen) spinach
1 (8oz) can white beans - any kind (I used great northern)
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

Boil noodles as directed. In separate pot, heat sauce, beans, spinach, garlic, and and spices you'd like until just boiling. Remove from heat. Drain noodles and add then to the sauce pot. Mix thoroughly and serve (with cheese sprinkled on top if you'd like).

Easy-peasy! I really didn't even need to write out a recipe - I certainly didn't follow one! This was a successfully thrown together meal - my favorite kind. :)

Lentil Crescents

I don't know how many of you have crescent rolls in your pantry... so this might be a stretch, but it's simple and can be modified in a number of ways. In fact, the recipe below is modified from the Greek Lentil Crescents recipe from the October 2006 issue of Home Cooking Magazine. The original recipe had just lentils, dried onions, and feta cheese it.

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package refridgerated crescent roll dough
1 (15oz) can lentils or about 1 1/2 cup fresh cooked dry lentils, drained
1 can spinach (or 1 box frozen spinach)
2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp soy sauce or temari

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In bowl, combine all ingredients except dough and mix well.
Separate crescent roll dough into 4 rectangles.
Firmly press perferations to seal.
Cut each rectangle into 2 squares. 8 squares in all.
Place 1/4 cup lentil mixture in center of each square.
Bring 4 corners together over filling and twist.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 14-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Rachael Ray's Vegetarian Chickpea Burgers

From the November 2006 Everyday Menu Planner. Also online here.


Thank you Rachael for this delicious treat!!! I followed the recipe almost exactly and although mine didn't look quite as photo-perfect as the ones in the magazine, they tasted heavenly.

4 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4oz can diced green chiles
2/3 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2/3 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 thin slices cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns
dijon mustard, ketchup, or mayo for serving

1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, green chiles, and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the egg and form the mixture into 4 patties, each about 2/3 inch thick.

2. In a large skillet or grill pan (or George Foreman!!), heat the oil over medium-low heat. Cook the burgers for 4 minutes, then flip and cook for 3 minutes more. Top the patties with the cheese slices for the last minute of cooking. Serve the cheeseburgers on the hamburger buns with mustard, ketchup, or mayo.

My notes: I didn't have cheese, so we didn't use any. We also didn't have fresh parsley so we use about a tbsp of dried parsley instead. I used Panko for bread crumbs b/c it's my favorite, but you could use any kind you'd like - including a piece of stale bread! And we had ours with mayo on a toasted bun. I've gotta tell you, this is my favorite dish in a long time! Go Rachael!

Southwestern Salad

1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Corn
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, sausage)
1 pkg taco seasoning
tortillas or tortilla chips

Prepare meat according to directions on seasoning package, or leave out the seasoning and just cook the meat till done. Drain canned goods and mix together with meat in bowl. Warm everything together in microwave for a minute or so, or serve cold. Dish mix out into tortillas or scoop out of individual bowls with tortilla chips. Also delicious by itself if neccessary.

Substitute fresh ingredients whenever possible and rinse canned goods before use to reduce sodium.