Potato Salad

Potato Salad:

8-10 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons regular mustard
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons celery seed
1/3 cup chopped dill pickle
1 to 1 1/2 cups Veganaise
2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste.

Boil potatoes until fork tender. Drain and place into large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the vinegar and a little salt on the potatoes and toss. Let them cool for about 15 minutes. After the potatoes have cooled for a while, add all other ingredients. Mix well and taste to adjust any seasonings. Add pepper and more salt if necessary, and chill for 1-2 hours or overnight. This is best made ahead of time, and even better after a couple of days! Enjoy!

Caesar Vinaigrette Pasta

Whole grain bow tie
garlic powder
burger seasoning,
1 onion..chopped.
1 bottle of  Caesar Vinaigrette dressing

Sauté onions in a pan until they are golden brown. 
Boil pasta until tender.
Then I take the pasta, put it on the plates. After that I take the dressing and coat pasta. 


Haven't made this one......I plan to add veggies to it :)

Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burgers

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 onion,

garlic,

1 egg,

1/2 cup bread crumbs,

cumin,

red pepper flakes,

Tabasco,

ketchup.

I bake mine in the oven, so I preheat to 380. Mash the black beans until theyre thick and pasty. Mix all the other ingredients in and blend well. I save the breadcrumbs til last because these are teh most difficult to blend in, much easierif everything else id blended first! I oil my hands with olive oil and form these into patties. I bake them for 10 minutes on each side. [ I guess you could grill these too, but Ive never tried it.]

A good variation is to add some corn in there. Makes kind of a southwest black bean burger. When I add corn I add red bell pepper- so flavorful! =)

Depending on how dry your black beans are you may need more bread crumbs...

This time around I bought the dried beans vs the canned beans :) 1 bag of beans about equaled to 2 cans of beans. So half price!! YAY gotta save where I can!!!

Not sure what to do with the dried beans? This site was helpful :)

Soaking & Cooking:
Black beans, like all dried beans, need to be soaked before cooking. This hydration helps to reduce the cooking time. Because they are small, 2 - 4 hours soaking in cold water should suffice. Drain, and cook as per recipe.

If you don't have the time, boil the beans in water for 1 - 3 minutes, turn off heat, cover the pot and let them sit for one hour. Drain and proceed as per recipe. However, there is a problem with this quick soaking (boiling for 1 - 3 minutes) method. Hot water increases the solubility of the water soluble nutrients, and softens the cell membranes of the beans, further accelerating the loss of these nutrients. This should be a consideration, because of the long cooking time during which more nutrients are lost. Cold soaked and cooked at a very gentle simmer, beans retain most of their nutrients, which are considerable.

To cook, drain the soaking water and add cold water, 1 part beans to 2 or 3 parts cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a very slow simmer, so the beans stay in their jackets. Simmer for 2 hours.

Menu.....

THIS yumminess is on the menu tonight!!!

Veggie Pizza :)

Something fun we came up with over the weekend :)

We go to our local farmers market every Saturday and there is a kind lady that sell Pitas. Y*U*M*M*Y* Pitas I might add!!

So take your Pita. Add this for the "sauce".

Then add your favorite raw veggies!!

• Broccoli
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Black Olives
• Onions
• Snap Peas

The ideas are endless!!!

Grilling Season!

One thing my Hubby already misses.....because it is Summer, is the need for a grill :)

This is on the list of things to try on the Grill!!!

......now onto finding an organic steak sauce!!

Cold Pasta Salad

• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Mushrooms
• Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles
• Drops of Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Vinegar
• T Oregano
• T Chives
• Italian Dressing

Mix the blue ingredients and a bowl and let it marinade for a bit!

Cook the noodles and let them cool!! I learned the hard way ....do not overcook them!!

Cut the veggies and mix with the marinade and the Italian Dressing!!