Basic Black Bean Burger

If you're in need of a really solid, basic, black bean burger...then I'm your peach.

This burger recipe is easy, quick, fool proof, and can be easily customized to your taste preference. Believe me when I say that it is a staple in our hive.

We have had it paired with simple ketchup, mustard, mayo toppings.
We have had it paired with sauteed peppers and onions.
We have had it "California style" with avocado slices.
We have had it...do you get my point?

Have it however you like it! Just make sure you have it!

Today I'm showing you how to have it with a super fresh pineapple salsa. Nom. Nom. Nom.

This makes a big batch of Burgers for me. I like to be able to eat it fresh twice, and also have some to freeze for a later time. (When there's a lot of buzzing going around our hive and I don't feel like cooking.) You can certainly half the recipe if you'd like. 

Basic Black Bean Burger  

Ingredients: 


I failed to take a picture of my ingredients this time. My apologies, y'all.


For the Burgers...
Olive Oil for cooking

2 Onions (diced finely) 

2 15oz cans Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

2 Carrots (shredded)

1 cup Cornmeal 

1 cup Bread Crumbs

1 tablespoon Chili Powder

2 teaspoons Sea Salt

1/2 Cilantro (chopped)

1/2-1 cup Water (varies depending on how your mixture binds)


For the Pineapple Salsa...
1 1/2 cups Pineapple (diced)

1/4 cup Red Onion (diced finely)

1 tablespoon Cilantro (chopped)

1 tablespoon Agave

Directions:

1. Add Black Beans, Carrots, Cornmeal, Bread Crumbs, Chili Powder, Salt, Cilantro to a large bowl. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, saute your diced Onions in Olive Oil until soft and slightly caramelized. Transfer cooked Onions to large bowl with other ingredients. Reserve skillet for later.

3. Use a large spoon or your hands to mash it all together. Add water as necessary to help it bind together. (I typically start with a spoon, then use my hands. I used about 3/4 cup water for my burgers this time.) Your mixture should not be so dry that it is crumbling, but not so wet that it is sticky.

4. Use your hands to form into burger patties. (This time I made 16 patties)

5. In the reserved skillet, heat your Olive Oil over medium-high heat. Pan fry patties 3-5 minutes on each side until lightly browned.

6. To make the Pineapple Salsa...combine all ingredients in a bowl...you're done!

7. Place Black Bean Burgers on a bun, top with Pineapple Salsa, and take a big bite!

How did y'all like this recipe? What is your favorite way to top your Black Bean Burger? Let me know!

<3


 

Thai Peanut Butter Noodles

Hey y'all!

Ever get the craving for some really yummy Thai food? I know I do. Since we have relocated we have yet to find a great Thai restaurant in our new hometown. That could potentially be due to the fact that we don't eat out a lot, but I digress.

First off, don't be scared by the name of this meal. I was slightly intimidated by the idea of it myself initially, but I gave it a go anyway. I know that the first time I made it and my kids asked the all important question, "What are we having for supper?" and I answered by telling them that we were having Peanut Butter Noodles...I was met with faces and sounds of disgust. I can assure you that this meal is far from disgusting, and in fact, my kids eat it happily. (As do I and my hubby. Yum.)

Secondly, you CAN cook Thai food. It is really very easy, and this meal especially is quick and painless. ;) Don't doubt yourself here. Expand your palate...you may find that this meal becomes a regular in your household. 

Without further ado, here is my go to recipe when I'm craving Thai food.

Thai Peanut Butter Noodles

Ingredients:

1 pound Rice Noodles

1 cup Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Water

1/4 Maple Syrup

1/4 Soy Sauce

1/2 Peanut Butter (we prefer creamy, but you can use chunky too)

1 teaspoon Chili-Garlic Sauce

3 cloves Garlic (minced)

2 tablespoons Lime Juice

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

3 Scallions (thinly sliced)

2 Carrots (peeled and shredded)

1/2 cup Peanuts

2 tablespoons Cilantro (chopped for garnish)



Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add Rice Noodles and cook about 5-8 minutes.

2. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water, return to pot.

3. Make sauce by combining Coconut Milk, Water, Maple Syrup, Soy Sauce, Peanut Butter, Chili-Garlic Sauce, and Garlic in medium saucepan. Let cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until sauce thickens just a bit.

4. Remove sauce from heat and add in Lime Juice and Sesame Oil.

5. Pour sauce into cooked noodles and toss to combine. Add in Scallions and Carrots.

6. Garnish with Peanuts and Cilantro and enjoy!

Talk about easy and quick! I would love to hear if you've tried this recipe and how you liked it. Let me know!

<3

Sauteed Garlic Chickpeas, Onions, and Spinach with Quinoa

During the summertime I love finding new recipes to try out for my Hive. Here's one that I've been wanting to share with y'all. It's super easy, requires few ingredients, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, is healthy, and...oh yeah...yummy too! I should also note that this is a vegan recipe, but I encourage you to give it a try even if you don't typically eat that way...you made find that you love it anyway!

This feeds our family twice in a week when we eat it alongside a salad, but you could easily double the recipe to feed more people or have bigger portions, if needed.

Ingredients: 

5-8oz Spinach (depends on how much you prefer)

1 Onion diced

1 15oz can Chickpeas

1 tablespoon Minced Garlic (about 2 cloves minced)

1 teaspoon Cumin

Salt and Pepper to taste

Olive Oil for sauteing (is that even a word?!)

1 cup Quinoa

2 cups Water

You'll want to make the components of this dish simultaneously, but since I'm not your Momma, I'm not going to tell you what order to do it all in...so here's the directions for how to cook both parts. ;)

Directions for Chickpeas and Spinach:

1. Heat oil in large skillet.

2. Drain and rinse your chickpeas.

3. Add garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant...about 1-2 minutes.

4. Add diced onion and cook until soft.

5. Add spinach, chickpeas, and cumin to the skillet. Your skillet will look very full, but don't worry! The spinach reduces itself as it cooks.

6. Stir, stir, stir until spinach fully wilts and chickpeas are cooked through.

7. Add salt and pepper to taste, and that part is done!

Directions for Quinoa:

1. Combine 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a pot and bring to a boil.

2. Turn to low, cover, and let simmer about 15 min, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot.

3. Uncover for about 5 min and fluff before serving.

I like serving this dish all combined...I just go ahead and mix it all up so it's evenly distributed. Supper is served!

Y'all let me know if you tried the recipe and how you enjoyed it!
<3

Chocolate Chip Cookies...again!

Ok, ok, so we reeeeeally like chocolate chip cookies here at the Hive, and my last batch of cookies have been gone for awhile so it was time to make a new batch.

Today I decided to be adventurous in the kitchen...and make another mess...and create a brand new cookie recipe. The last cookie recipe that I shared with you makes a slightly crunchy cookie, and I'm determined to make a chewy version. I'd say that today I was pretty successful. After baking the cookies and sampling them, because you must sample them, Ava said, "Mom, you get 1,289 points for these," and Lyla said, "It's almost too much good to eat!" Jason has yet to try them, but I can almost guarantee that he'll be sampling them as soon as he gets home.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, melted (I use Earth Balance as it is vegan)

1 cup brown sugar (I had dark brown sugar on hand this time)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons water if needed

1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand as they are vegan)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, use a mixer to blend the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.

4. Mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time until it is all incorporated. You many need to add some water to achieve the proper texture for your mixture. Mine started to get a bit crumbly so I added in about 2 tablespoons water and it was perfect.

5. Using a spoon, stir in your chocolate chips. To be honest, I don't usually measure out my chocolate chips beforehand...I just add enough to make it look yummy.

6. Make about 1 inch balls out of your cookie dough and place on your cookie sheet. Place them about 2 inches apart. This batch made about 4 dozen cookies for me.

7. Bake at 325 for about 12-14 minutes.

8. Try to not to eat all of the cookies before your husband gets home from work. ;)

Enjoy! And let me know if you tried this recipe out!

<3

Looking For A Lunchtime Alternative?

I'm all about routine and such, even with my meal planning, but sometimes I just cannot bring myself to eat yet another peanut butter and honey (we prefer honey to jelly here at the Hive) sandwich. I also started to feel a little guilty serving the same lunches to my kids every. single. day.  I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was going to commit to adding a little variety to our lunches, and discussed it with my girls. I asked them what they would want to try and mix into our lunches so that we were only eating 2 or maybe 3 sandwiches a week. They gave several suggestions, one of them being chicken nuggets. I told them that I was not going to be giving them chicken nuggets on the regular. Every once and awhile I'll treat them to it, but remember...we're vegan over here.

So I started brainstorming, and making a mess in my kitchen. Today I give you my recipe for "Chickpea Nuggets." Believe me when I say that my kids devoured these. Essentially this was going to be a "Chickpea Burger" for lunch, but then I got the bright idea to cut them into small bite sized pieces (after they were cooked) and voila...nuggets! I also apologize for the lack of pictures throughout this process, but we currently have a broken camera. You can read all about that here.

This is the recipe I use to make about 20 burger patties (about 2 inch patties). I cook some for the day I'm using them and then freeze the rest. You can certainly half the recipe if needed. In fact, the next time I make it I will probably make half in my food processor at a time. It works fine to do it all at once, but requires you to scrape down the sides of your food processor several times, as it is so full. I think it would be easier to manage if I cut the recipe in half and then just run the food processor twice. Hope that makes sense. :)

Ingredients:

2 15oz cans Chickpeas

1 15oz can Whole Peeled Tomatoes

1 cup Breadcrumbs

1 cup Walnuts

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Nature's Seasoning

Canola Oil for pan frying your patties


Directions:

1. Drain and rinse your Chickpeas and put into a food processor.

2. Add your breadcrumbs, walnuts, lemon juice, sea salt, onion powder, nature's seasoning, and pulse.

3. Add in your whole tomatoes...no juice...just the actual tomatoes. I like to add these in 1 at a time to monitor the consistency of the mixture, but I usually end up using 4 tomatoes. (Remember if you are halving your recipe to only use half the tomatoes in the can.)

4. Make your patties. I usually make about 2 inch patties, maybe it's because I have small hands, but you can certainly make larger patties if you prefer.

Yes, I know there are only 15 patties in the picture...trust me there were more. :)

5. Heat your skillet over medium heat. Add oil to about 1/2 standing and heat. Cook your patties about 3-5 minutes on each side or until desired brownness.

6. Serve as burgers if you'd like. On a bun, without a bun, toppings galore! OR cut into quarters to serve as "nuggets"

These are quick and easy to whip up...we're talking 20 minutes start to finish. They make the everyday boring lunch more delicious and healthy! What's not to love? My girls like to have a little dipping sauce (ketchup, honey mustard, etc) along with them too. Let me know if you tried this recipe and how you liked it!

<3

Who's Ready for Dessert?

Happy Halloween Eve!

Today I'm sharing my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is a vegan version in case you are wondering. :) We really like these cookies a lot at the Hive, and if my husband, the cookie monster, approves then they are sure to please your family as well.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter (vegan, we like the earth balance brand)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (vegan, we like the enjoy life brand)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for later.

Ava wanted to be my helper today...so she got to be in the pictures. :)

3. Using a mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, water, and vanilla until blended.

4. Add the flour mixture in a bit at a time until it is all incorporated.

Ava wanted to make our cookies orange since it is Halloween so we added food coloring this time. I've never added food coloring before...so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. 

This is where she stopped me, saying, "that's enough orange, mom."

Mainly, I think, she was just ready to clean the beaters.

5. Once all the flour mixture has been incorporated, stir in chocolate chips.

6. Scoop out dough with a spoon and place on your cookie sheet.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (I always bake for 10)

These make yummy crunchy around the edges, slightly chewy in the center cookies. 

Our batch today made 5 dozen cookies

Yummy! And now we have cookies for the week...or at least a few days. ;)

Let me know if you try out this recipe and how you like it. Now if you'll excuse me...I'm off to grab some dessert. 

<3 

Supper, Supper, Suppertime...

Did you just sing that title to the tune of "Summertime" by Will Smith??? Because I know I did, and that's one of the reasons we're friends. :)

It's fixin' to be suppertime around the B Hive, and I know that for me it is much easier to cook supper ahead of the time that I actually plan on eating. Why in the world would I want to wait until 5:00 to start to think about what to eat at 6:00/6:30? (I've totally done that...like last night) For my sanity and the safety and well being of my children though, it's really best if I do my cooking during naptime. That way when it's 5:00...also known as "the-hour-that-children-go-completely-crazy-and-make-their-mother-want-to-hide-in-the-closet-with-chocolate-or-wine-or-both,"...I can be free to enjoy my monsters children until their father gets home from work. :)

So I'm starting a new series (that I have yet to come up with a witty name for) that will include all kinds of yummy recipes! Some of you may be hesitant to try these or even read them because you know that we are vegan over here at the B Hive. Ok...mostly vegan. We love scrambled eggs and occasionally some fish. ;) For the majority of the time though, we do follow a vegan diet. (Except when I was pregnant...I ate all the food then) I would encourage you to give some recipes a try though! You might surprise yourself and end up (gasp!) liking them!

Today I'm cooking Curried Lentil, Butternut Squash, and Apple Stew. This is a yummy fall-ish stew that we love! It is super easy to throw in a big pot and just have waiting for you when it's time to eat. If you are looking for a recipe that tastes like Fall Time in your mouth...then look no further! Actually do look further...the recipe and pictures are below. ;)

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 onion, diced

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced (I had baby carrots on hand)

3 cloves Garlic, minced (had the already minced kind on hand)

1 teaspoon grated fresh Ginger

1 tablespoon Curry Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 cup dried Lentils

4 cups Vegetable Broth, divided

2 tablespoons Tomato Paste

3 cups Butternut Squash, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 Apples, unpeeled and diced

6 ounces Baby Spinach

Directions:

1. Prep your items. I love prepping because it makes the cooking process much easier.

 I forgot to add the apples to the squash for this picture...below you will see where I added them in.

See...I told ya...

2. In a large pot saute onions and carrots until soft.

3. Add in garlic, ginger, curry, and salt and let cook a few minutes more. It should already smell like Fall Time :)

4. Stir in lentils, 2 cups of the broth, and tomato paste.

5. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are beginning to tender.

6. Add squash, apples, and remaining 2 cups of the broth, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until everything is tender.

7. Uncover and stir in spinach until wilted.

8. Add salt to taste and serve.

Now pour yourself some sweet tea, scoot your chair up to the table, and enjoy! Let me know if you gave this recipe a try and how you liked it!

<3