The Natural State of My Kitchen

(Yes, our bathroom is directly off the kitchen--lovely, I know)

Here it is:  the natural state of my kitchen.  This is about what the kitchen looked like the last time the missionaries arrived for dinner at our house, only that evening there were several full (reusable) grocery bags on the floor and at least one Andrew sock lying around.  I reached an all-time low that night by not even having dinner started by the time the missionaries got to our house!  Yikes!  The missionaries here are really cool, though, and I think I made it up to them by feeding them some pretty tasting hamburgers and then ice cream cones for dessert.

What to do if you over-cook your dry beans

First, let me write that my parents left Wednesday after visiting for a week and a half, and we had a great and busy time.  I have so many photos to post and blog about that I can't even begin to do it, so instead I'll post about other random stuff.  Sound like a plan?

So, what do you do if you over-cook a whole pound of dry beans because you foolishly follow the directions on the package?  You can make the following recipes.  Both turned out really great.  I used kidney beans for both of them, though one recipe calls for black beans and other for pinto.  I don't think it really matters what kind of beans you use.  I used my food processor (thanks, Bonnie!) to mash the beans for both recipes.

This first recipe can be found at http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/healthy-grain-free-brownies/  Pay no attention to the name of the blog.  I think I found this recipe doing a google search for homemade larabars months ago.

These are not as sweet as your typical brownie, but very moist and delicious.  I added the optional walnuts, but I think I'll leave them out next time because the texture was kind of weird since the brownies are so soft and moist and the walnuts are so hard.

Healthy Grain Free Brownies

2 cups black beans (or 1 can of no salt added)

3 lightly beaten eggs

1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or melted butter)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey (or other equivalent sweetener) 

1/2 cup chopped up bittersweet chocolate (or semi-sweet chips if you don’t mind the added refined sugar in them)

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts -optional

Making these could NOT be simpler. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8×8 pan. Toss all but the final 2 ingredients (the chopped up chocolate and walnuts) into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Fold in the chopped chocolate and walnuts. Pour into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

This recipe is one I acquired years ago at a Relief Society meeting about food storage.  

Andrew devoured this stuff.  

Spiced Bean Cake

¼ cup butter or margarine

2 eggs

2 cups mashed, cooked pinto beans

1 cup flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cloves

2 cups diced apples

¾ cup raisins

¼ cup chopped nuts

1 ½ tsp vanilla

(optional-4 Tbsp cocoa if chocolate cake is desired)

Cream butter or margarine with eggs. Blend in beans. Sift together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture, blending well. Fold in apples, raisins, nuts, and vanilla. Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until cake tests done.

This recipe is a high-protein snack. You can substitute 1 cup of applesauce for the diced apples and butter.

A Penny Saved...

Or how about 5,000 pennies saved?  Pictured above are 6 lunches of leftover lasagna packaged and ready for the fridge/freezer.  I figure this batch will save us about $50-$60 in lunches Paul won't have to eat out while at work.  Paul has been very good about taking his lunch to work since we moved here, and I have been pretty good at making those lunches, if I may say so myself.  He's not a big cold-sandwich-for-lunch fan, so I try to make dinners that will have good leftovers for lunches.  I periodically make a double batch of the "Healthy Lasagna" that I mentioned previously on my blog, which makes excellent lunch leftovers that freeze well.  He says his co-workers are always commenting on how good his lunches look :)

The Staten Island Ferry

 On Friday, Andrew and I got in to the city to meet up with my high-school friend, Lynne, and her husband, Erik.  We all took the Staten Island Ferry, which provides a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

Andrew waiting for the ferry

The view of Jersey City from the Hudson River

There she is!

Andrew on the ferry

The ferry pulling in to the pier

Colonial Building, Modern Building, Modern Art at Battery Park

Fraunces Tavern, where Washington bid farewell to his troops

 I noticed this cool building from the Brooklyn Bridge Monday evening.  It has all these cool curvy vertical lines on it.  I learned from Lynne (who studied interior design) that this is a new building--the first skyscraper designed by Frank Gehry, architect who designed the Experience Music Project in Seattle.

We walked up through China Town on our way to lunch

It was a long walk to lunch!  Andrew enjoyed the fruits of our labors. 

We took the subway back.

Yes, We Really Do Live Near New York City!

I've been into "the city" a handful of times since we moved here, but most of the time it doesn't really feel like I live right outside New York City.  But then, there are days like yesterday when I went to a baby shower in an apartment closer to the water, and I looked over toward the city and saw the Statue of Liberty!  Or, like today when we stopped by our friend Varnali's new place in the Newport neighborhood of Jersey City, which is right on the water, and we got these amazing views of the city from the boardwalk outside her complex.

To the left of us is Midtown and to the right of us is the Financial District

That's the Empire State Building to the left of us

Hanging Out at Home

Hanging out in the kitchen in the afternoon.  Sometimes I let Andrew eat while standing on a chair at the kitchen counter.

Tickling after a Saturday breakfast

Looking statuesque

 Watercoloring

Food to Kick off Summer

I made these sandwiches a few weeks ago when we fed a couple of missionaries.  They were delicious, and perfect for getting in the mood for warmer weather.

Shredded Barbecue Chicken (from Southern Living's Slow Cooker cookbook)

1 1/2 pounds skinned and boned chicken thighs
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1 Tbs yellow mustard
1 tsp ground red pepper (this means cayenne, and I cut this amount in half, which I'm glad I did)
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Brown chicken 4 minutes on each side in 1 Tbs oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.  Remove from heat, add to a slow cooker, mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the chicken.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then LOW 5 to 6 hours.  Remove chicken from sauce and shred, then add back to the sauce.  Serve on hamburger buns.  Makes 6 servings.  I doubled the recipe, and this made great leftovers.  I made these homemade hamburger buns, and they were quite good as well.