black beans

Pantry Black Bean & Sausage Soup

Sometimes you have to rely on what you’ve got. It was one of those times, when this soup was born. Then my family asked for it again. And again. Et Voilà, a family recipe! All you need is a chilly evening, hungry people and a good loaf of crusty bread. There are few ingredients, so quality matters. (Get good Kielbasa! Use good stock!) Honestly, it’s almost embarrassingly easy, but if my family loves it this much, well then:

As organic as possible:

2 1/2 cups Chicken stock

2 Kielbasa sausages, about 12 oz each

4 – 15 oz. cans Black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp dried Onion

1/2 tsp granulated Garlic

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp dried Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Rinse and drain your beans. Set aside.

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Cut the Kielbasa into bite sized pieces.

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Add the stock, spices, dried herbs, beans and Kielbasa to a pot. Stir.

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Simmer for about 25 minutes, until the flavors are married. Taste for seasoning, add more salt or pepper as you’d prefer. Serve with crusty bread.

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Enjoy this happy face.

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The Richmond Avenue’s Black Bean Brownies

I love how Jasmine at The Richmond Avenue can take something that usually holds very little nutritional value and turn it into health food. (That’s what I call it, with complete justification.) In this case incorporating the black beans added protein and fiber. I can honestly say the brownies were moist and tasted like chocolate. So much so that my chocolate lover approved of them, and I felt guilt-free saying he could have them for an after school snack.

As organic as possible (from me as usual)

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp instant coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup coconut or olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips
Optional toppings: Chocolate Chips, Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients (except for toppings and chocolate chips) in a food processor and blend until smooth. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

*Jasmine left this “1/4” chocolate chips up to personal interpretation and some might have opted for a 1/4 cup, but I knew it meant a 1/4 of the bag 😉

*As you can see I used walnuts on half, for the non-nut loving members of my family