Creative Thursdays: Poached Eggs on Black Bean Cakes with Salsa

I love breakfast foods! I absolute love going out to eat for breakfast and making it at home. I think it has to do with the sheer variety of foods that one can eat for breakfast. When I think of all those possibilities, it just makes me hungry! How can you decide between the egg platter or the pancake platter? What about the stuffed french toast, crepes, fruit platters, biscuits, rolls, bagels, hashbrowns.....not to mention all those pastries.........what's a girl to do??

Well, I have a great breakfast recipe that is one of my favorites to cook at home. It is a little fancier than most at-home breakfasts, pretty healthy, and can be made with pantry ingredients. Plus, it uses this week's featured ingredient.....beans!!

This is really quite a healthy breakfast. This recipe makes 6 black bean cakes. I halved the recipe because I had only one can of beans and I ended up with 3 black bean cakes. Each serving has 13g of protein and about 7-9 g of fiber, almost your daily allowance! In addition, this recipe is low in fat, low in carbs and just plain delicious.

I've made this recipe several times and I can tell you that it is much, much easier if you use store-bought salsa over the Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce. The red bell pepper sauce adds quite a bit more time and a whole lot of dirty dishes. On the flip side, it was tasty, and might be worthwhile to you if you love peppers. I didn't have any red bell pepper this morning, so I opted for the store-bought salsa.

Poached Eggs on Black Bean Cakes with Salsa - adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt
8 saltines, broken up (I used Ritz crackers)
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, drained and rinsed
6 green onions, including some tender green tops, cut into pieces
2 garlic cloves, cut into pieces
2 sprigs cilantro or parsley, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salsa or Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce
6 poached eggs
cilantro sprigs for garnish

Place saltines in a food processor and process until crushed. Add beans, green onions, garlic, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste and process until chuncky. Form into 6 cakes. (Mixture will be sticky). Place cornmeal in a flat dish or on waxed paper. Add cakes and turn to coat.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons oil. Fry cakes until crisp, about 5 minutes on each side. Add more oil, if needed.
If serving with bell pepper sauce, have the sauce warmed and ready. If serving with salsa, warm the salsa.
To assemble, top each cake with a poached egg and a spoonful of Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce/Salsa. Garnish each with a sprig of cilantro and serve immediately.

Note: The black bean cakes make great vegetarian burgers.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon a/p flour
1/2 cup milk
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and cut-up
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
*Makes about a cup of sauce*

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir until bubbly. Stir in milk and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Sauce will be thick.
Place roasted bell pepper in food processor or blender and puree. Add onion mixture and process until smooth. Return to pan and add paprika, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Note: To roast the pepper, preheat the broiler. Cut pepper in half lengthwise and remove seeds and ribs. Make several 1-inch slashes around the edge of each pepper half. Place skin-side up on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Press peppers down with the palm of your hand to flatten them. Broil until skin is charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from broiler, fold foil tightly over peppers, and let them steam for 10 minutes. Unwrap peppers and peel off skin.

As mentioned above, these are great alone or as a veggie burger. Head on over to these sites to find other delicious recipes using beans:

Reeni of Cinnamon & Spice has compiled a whole folder of recipes using black beans. Click here to check them out, every one of them looks excellent!!

Joanne of Eats Well With Others, made these delicious Louisiana Red Beans, found here.

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen made these tasty-looking Pinto Bean Patties that she learned from a vegetarian cooking class, here.

Or, how about adding your black beans to a quesadilla, like Kevin at Closet Cooking. Head over to check out his recipe for Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas, found here.

Well, I hope there are some tasty bean recipes that you will enjoy here. I'm off to wash an entire sink full of dishes only to dirty them all up again. The hubby invited two of his co-workers over for dinner and I'll be a busy girl today!!

Black Bean Dip for My Girl Paula

This is my third recipe for My Girl Paula, and it was delicious! In fact, I made it again a couple of days later. It really hit the spot! I have to admit, I haven't had Velveeta cheese in many years. But, I stuck with the recipe and made the dip with Velveeta cheese. This dip was flavorful the night it was made, but even better the next day.

A couple of days later, I made this dip again without the Velveeta cheese. I added 4 oz. of cream cheese instead of the Velveeta and I liked this version even better. I'm tempted to make this dip again, but there is such a thing as too much beans ; )

Black Bean Dip - Adapted from The Lady & Sons, Too! -Paula Deen
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped onions
One 4-oz. can green chiles, chopped
1 tomato, diced *I used 1/2 cup salsa*
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon The Lady's House Seasoning
One 15 oz. can black beans with jalapenos
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
4-ounce block Velveeta Mexican cheese product, diced
1- 3 oz. package cream cheese, diced

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the green chiles, tomato, cilantro, and House Seasoning, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Add the beans and cheeses, and simmer until hot and bubbling. Serve hot with white-corn tortilla chips.

Oikos Greek Yogurt Week #1

Today is the perfect day to Go Greek!! At work today, we had a toga party and celebrated all of the Greek ingredients in our products. We wore togas and the florist made all of us girls very pretty wreaths to wear on our hair. It was so much fun. When I came home, I noticed that even Ina Garten went Greek today cooking all kinds of Greek goodies. I decided it was the perfect day to start my posts about Oikos Greek Yogurt.

A couple weeks ago Kristina at Stonyfield Farm contacted me about trying Oikos Greek Yogurt. I was very interested and welcomed the package with open arms. Kristina was so sweet...she sent me tons of coupons and a very cute Stonyfield reusable bag. In the package were also coupons for five FREE 5.3 oz. greek yogurts! I also received another packet of coupons for some of their other products. I was so excited to receive this package and try the yogurt!!

Oikos Greek Yogurt comes in a variety of flavors: plain, vanilla, blueberry, and honey were all available in my supermarket. They use a centuries-old straining process to remove the whey (liquid) from the yogurt which leaves the end product both rich and creamy. The Oikos Greek Yogurt is organic and has twice the protein of normal yogurt. There is 0% fat, and each 5.3 oz. container has just 80 calories! The very best part is that the Oikos Greek Yogurt is deliciously creamy and seems very decadent! Not only is it great to eat on its own, it is also great to bake with PLUS use in smoothies, salad dressings, frozen yogurt...you get the idea : )

I've been dreaming up recipes and ideas for posting and have decided that each Sunday, for the next 4-6 weeks, I will post a new recipe using the Oikos Greek Yogurt. In the meantime, have fun thinking of ways that you might like to use Oikos Greek Yogurt. At the end of my 4-6 week series, there will be a very generous giveaway!! Kristina at Stonyfield Farm will send one lucky winner the following:

2 FREE 16 0Z. OIKOS COUPONS
4 FREE 5.3 0Z. OIKOS COUPONS
$4 WORTH OF STONYFIELD COUPONS
OIKOS SPATULA AND RECIPE CARD SET

This is definitely something that you would want to win!!

Now, onto the food!!

Tip # 1 - Use greek yogurt in place of sour cream when baking! It is delicious and much healthier!

I chose Martha Stewart's Date-Bran Muffins and replaced the sour cream with the Oikos Plain Greek Yogurt. The muffins were moist from the yogurt and delicious with a hint of orange flavor. I would recommend baking with the greek yogurt anyday! This recipe makes 1 dozen, but I halved the recipe and everything worked out just fine.

Date-Bran Muffins- Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for pans
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups wheat bran
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups sour cream OR Oikos Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses (do not substitute sulfured of blackstrap)
1-1/2 cups (8 ozs.) pitted chopped dates
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 375F. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin. *I used muffin/cupcake liners.** In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and bran; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on med-high spped until light and fluffy; 2 to 3 minutes. Scrap bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add greek yogurt/sour cream and molasses; mix on low speed until just combined.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the reserved flour mixture, dates, and orange zest until just combined; do not over mix. Divide and fill muffin pans. Bake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 22-25 minutes. Transfer the pan to wire rack and let rest for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

The next morning, I served these date-bran muffins alongside Tyler's Greek Yogurt with a Fig, Date, and Honey Swirl. Do yourself a HUGE favor and find the recipe here. It was heavenly, creamy, crunchy, sweet and just plain delicious. I couldn't even believe it was healthy!! I am already craving more. Plus, this is probably the easiest Tyler recipe that I have ever made!! If you don't believe me, check out Beth's post at The Seventh Level of Boredom. Beth and I both loved this creamy and decadent breakfast treat!!



Come back next Sunday for more recipes using greek yogurt!!

CREATIVE THURSDAYS: Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Do you think of a jalapeno pepper as a blank canvas? If not, you should consider it. Most often, we cut them up and add them to chili, tex-mex, or we might top our burgers with them. They are probably not a staple on the grocery list. However, jalapenos are extremely inexpensive, keep well for long periods of time, and are a terrific canvas for cheese, bacon, sausage, and breadcrumbs. For all these reasons, jalapenos are this week's featured ingredient.

Create your own filling for them, roll them in breadcrumbs and bake away. You can even freeze them and bake them later when you need to have a quick appetizer or treat!

Both my mom and neighbor have an abundance of jalapenos in their garden. I literally received bags of jalapenos. My husband and I love spicy food, but there was no way we could eat all the peppers we received in time. I thought about canning, but just wasn't feeling it. I started looking up recipes for jalapenos and found a recipe for poppers.

I made a huge batch of poppers and froze them so that we could have them whenever we want. These poppers were so delicious, you would never know they were baked and not fried! When you bite into these, they are so crunchy and the cheese just comes oozing out! The poppers bake for around 30 minutes which allows the peppers to soften just perfectly. In other words, when you bite into them, it is a clean bite. You will not find yourself biting into the popper and pulling out the whole jalapeno in one bite, leaving only a shell of breadcrumbs behind. (Does that ever happen to you?)

The recipe that I used is from the Food Network and can be found here. Basically, you remove the stems and halve the jalapenos. You then create a mixture of cheese (I used garden vegetable cream cheese and monterey jack) and stuff the jalapenos. Once all jalapenos are stuffed, you roll them in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. This recipe uses panko, but I'm sure any breadcrumb would be fine. You can bake them right away at 350F for 30 minutes or freeze them and bake later. I brushed mine with a little bit of olive oil before baking to help achieve a golden brown color. Use this recipe as a guide only. Feel free to stuff your jalopenos with any kind of cheese, wrap them in bacon, or use regular breadcrumbs.

The Pioneer Woman also has a recipe for bacon-wrapped jalapeno thingies, found here. She has said on more than one occasion that she absolutely loves these jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.

And, if you can't stand the heat.....don't get out of the kitchen just yet!!! Try Kevin's Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip, recipe found here. This dip looks simply delicious and would be great with tortilla chips or crackers. Surely the all that ooey gooey cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and mayo will balance out the heat. The breadcrumb topping looks to die for!!

I also want to post my carrot flowers for a wonderful giveaway over on my friend Beth's site. Please go to The Seventh Level of Boredom and check out Beth's extremely generous giveaway. It is a Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker!! I saw what those bakers can do at a recent Pampered Chef party and they are fabulous! You can even cook with them in the microwave.

Beth is going to a baby shower coming up and will be creating a vegetable garden to take with her. She is looking for good ideas from readers about cutting veggies into flowers. Submissions can be posted on your blog or sent to Beth directly. I searched and searched and found a carrot flower that I thought was pretty cute. It is suppose to be set alongside sprigs of rosemary to look much like a flower with a pretty rosemary stem. Please don't laugh, I'm not very artsy at all.

Pita Bread for Tyler Florence Fridays and BYOB

I am crazy about pita bread and was looking for an excuse to make them at home. Normally, I would love to have pita bread filled with hummus and veggies or maybe chicken and veggies. But, I saw someone on TV eating a Philly cheesesteak and I was inspired. I decided to get straight to work and try Tyler's version, which can be found here. Who knew making pita bread was SO MUCH FUN??

The dough is very simple and then rises for an hour and a half. Once the dough rises, you cut it into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. It is important to keep each ball of dough covered so that it doesn't dry out. Once divided, the dough rests for another 15 minutes, covered. Meanwhile you are allowing your oven to reach 500F (not so perfect for summertime).

One by one, you remove a ball of dough and roll out with a rolling pin, being careful to make a smooth circle. Place the circle of dough directly on the hot pizza stone and watch it puff in the oven!! So exciting and the kids get a big kick out of it : ) They bake in about 3-4 minutes. They are delicious warm and also when they are room temperature. If you love pita bread and are thinking about baking some from scratch, try this Tyler recipe. It is rated 5 stars on the food network website.

I am submitting this recipe to both BYOB, Bake Your Own Bread, and Tyler Florence Fridays. Tyler Florence Fridays is a great group that showcases a variety of Tyler's recipes each Friday. It is so much fun to see what everyone has created throughout the week. Head on over there Friday evening and see for yourself : )

Hummingbird Cupcakes for My Girl Paula

Years ago I lost my copy of The Lady & Sons, Too! at the grocery store. It was a much-loved copy complete with food stains, dog-ears, and hand-written notes. I left it in the grocery cart during checkout and apparently someone else took it home. When I discovered there was a blogging group called My Girl Paula, I knew it was time to join and repurchase the book. I am so excited to say that I was able to purchase a copy of the book for just $.79 from Amazon! The book and shipping were only $4.29 and I couldn't have been any happier!

Last week, we made basil grilled chicken, which was fabulous, and a total keeper! This week, we are making Paula's Hummingbird Cake, which I made into cupcakes! If you've never had Hummingbird Cake before, then you are seriously missing out! These cupcakes were delicious! The cake is full of chopped pecans, mashed banana, and crushed pineapple. Add the cream cheese frosting and you are in heaven! My husband gave these his top rating, along with my in-law's, and all the girlies at work!! Thanks Paula!

Hummingbird Cake- adapted from Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons, Too!

Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1-3/4 cup mashed bananas
One 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, with juice
1 cup chopped pecans
1-1/2 tsps. vanilla extract

Frosting:
One 8-oz. package cream cheese, at room temp
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temp
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans (For cupcakes use cupcake/muffin liners or grease and flour cupcake pans) For the cake, in a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in the banana, the pineapple and its juice, the pecans, and the vanilla.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 23-28 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. (For cupcakes, this recipe made 24 cupcakes which were baked for 25- 30 minutes). Cool the cake layers in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.

While the cake cools, make the frosting: In a bowl, blend together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the pecans, or reserve them to sprinkle over the frosted cake. Fill and frost the cake.

Head on over to My Girl Paula to see how others enjoyed this cake. Next Monday, we will be making Paula's Black Bean Dip!

Baked Potato Skins

It all started with nail polish, purple nail polish to be exact. I thought that I would paint my toes since I had some time alone. I must have had butterfingers because I dropped that purple nail polish and it broke. In fact, it broke all over my white tile floor in the bathroom!! I don't think I'll ever forget the bright purple against all that white tile! I went into a total panic and my husband ran upstairs. He was able to get out all the stains and I was so thankful. I have never had an accident with nail polish and I couldn't believe I had broke an entire bottle.

The next morning I woke up, went into the pantry and looked in horror at my wood laminate floor. When I had got the cleaner out for the nail polish spill, another cleaner had fell and leaked onto the wood laminate floor. There isn't too much you can do to fix that damage.

The next weekend, when leaving work, I backed my car up into a guard rail and pretty much took off the front bumper. Don't you hate that sick feeling you get in your stomach as you get out and walk around to survey the damage?

That evening, I came home and made Paula's basil grilled chicken. When I downloaded the pictures I noticed that they were all blurry and out of focus. I hadn't had time to download any of the pictures for the past eight or so recipes I had made. My husband spent the evening trying to fix the camera and now it is working better than ever. The downside is that I have several blurry pictures for you coming up. The upside is that my new pictures are better than ever.

In the meantime, I'm wondering, if I've become clumsy and accident-prone. Should I be allowed to paint my nails, drive my car and operate a camera? I'm not sure. I did however manage to bake these delicious baked potato skins. The recipe can be found here on Recipezaar.

It is a simple recipe that begins by baking the potatoes. Once baked, you remove most of the potato flesh and season with a great combination of oil, paprika, garlic and Parmesan. You bake the skins cut side up for 8 minutes and then turn over and bake another 8 minutes. Once the skins are crispy, you add the cheese and bacon filling and throw back in the oven until melted. Top with all your favorite toppings and enjoy! They were ooey, gooey delicious!! The seasoning added to the potato skins put them over the top!

P.S. Last night at work I dropped a batch of bath bombs and broke one. After watching me drop the bags and various other things for hours they felt bad for me. They let me take home the broken bath bomb, which happened to be one of my favorites. Maybe my luck is looking up!!