Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes

* I love this recipe. They taste a bit like hush puppies but are a much more healthy version!

2 cups black-eyed peas, soaked overnight in water to cover

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (i used dried and it worked fine but I used 1 tablespoon)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon shoyu (type of soy sauce)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups safflower oil for frying

Drain the soaked beans and transfer to a food processor. Add the parsley or cilantro, salt, shoyu, and cumin. Blend until the beans are chopped to fine shreds, but don't blend them to a pulp. The mixture will be slightly wet but should hold together. Form the bean mixture into something between football and UFO shaped croquettes in the palms of your hands.

Heat 1" of oil in a cast-iron skillet to about 350 degrees. To test the oil, drop in a tiny amount of croquette mixture. If it bubbles furiously and rises to the top, the oil is ready. Do not let the oil get so hot that it smokes. You may need to make little adjustment to the heat under the oil throughout the cooking process to avoid burning the croquettes.

Place 4 croquettes in the oil and fry for about 4 minutes on each side. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried croquettes to a plate lined with paper towels or a paper grocery bag to drain.

Serve croquettes while still hot.

 

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup barley malt syrup or rice syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

* I used a Ceasar dressing I had in the fridge and it was good with the croquettes.

Mexicana Chopped Salad

1/3 Cup - Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 tsp. - Ground Cumin
1 Can (15 oz) - Black Beans, rinsed
2 Avocados, chopped
2 Cups - Halved Cherry Tomatoes
1 Yellow Pepper, chopped
1/2 Cup - Red Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup - Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese
Optional: corn

Mix dressing and cumin.

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing mixture, mix lightly.

Serve immediately.

Rocco's Low Calorie Brownies

Nonstick cooking spray

1½ cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon espresso powder

¾ cup egg substitute

2 tablespoons low-calorie sugar-free chocolate syrup, such as Walden Farms

2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream, such as Breakstone's

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

24 packets (84 g) Truvia or 8 tablespoons granulated Splenda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine the beans, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and egg substitute in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.
Add the chocolate syrup, sour cream, butter, Truvia, and vanilla. Process until all of the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, turning the dish halfway through the baking time. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with soft batter clinging to it.
Let the brownies cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. Then cut into 12 squares and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Fat 70g 1.6g
Calories 1500 53
Protein: 4g Carbohydrates: 8g Cholesterol: 4mg
Fiber: 3g Sodium: 94mg

From the kitchen of Rocco DiSpirito

* OK, so I tried this recipe and the texture is much like regular brownies but the taste is a bit different. I used agave as the sweetener and the one thing i noticed the most is the lack of sugar. When you are expecting a comfort food and get something a little more bland it can be disappointing but if you want to be adventurous this is the dish for you!

Sinchiladas

2 cans of chili beans, pinto, or kidney beans in any combination (or 1 quart processed beans)

1 can diced tomatoes (you can also replace this with another can of tomato sauce)

2 cans tomato sauce

1 can chopped green chilies

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can corn, drained

Flour or corn tortillas (corn makes it tastier)

Grated cheese

Mix first seven ingredients in a large bowl. In a 9 x 13 pan, layer bean mixture, cheese, tortillas (broken and arranged to cover entire layer, usually about 4 per layer), ending with cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes until bubbly and hot. Serve with salsa, ketchup, hot sauce, sour cream, or whatever condiments you like.

Texas Spaghetti Squash

2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. cumin

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 cup water

1 spaghetti squash, 1 1/2 to 2 lbs.

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 1/2 cups chopped green onions

1 clove garlic, minced

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Tomatoes, chopped for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small saucepan, combine pinto beans, coriander, cumin, pepper, and water. Simmer. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Remove seed and membrane. In large Dutch oven, cook squash until tender, about 35 minutes. Cool. Using a fork, scrape out squash to form spaghetti. In small saucepan, cook rice according to package directions. Cool. Add 1/2 cup of onions, garlic, egg, and yogurt or sour cream. Stir.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, layer as follows: squash, beans, Monterey jack cheese, rice mixture, 1 cup green onions, and Cheddar cheese. Bake 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped tomatoes.

Bean Sandwich Spread

This is a fun and yummy recipe to add to you sandwich list. I have also added grated cheese to this.

1 cup mashed cooked pinto beans (I'm sure other varieties would work as well)

1 T. grated or finely chopped onion

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

dash of pepper

1/4 cup mayonnaise

White Chicken Chili

I know Jen has a really yummy recipe for this too, but here's what we liked in it last week. It was another meal Isaac said was a "miracle," so it must've been good!

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, chopped bite sized
1 t. olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 T. minced garlic
15 oz. Great Northern White Beans
1 can chopped green chilis
1 1/2 t. cumin (I used a little more)
1 t. white pepper (I just used regular, we don't keep white in stock)
1/8 t. cayenne pepper (ok, I didn't realize we have no shaker on the top of our cayenne, so we ended up with significantly more cayenne and it turned out great)!
14 1/2 oz. chicken broth
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

Heat oil oil in the skillet. Add chicken and cook until it is white. Coarsely chop onion and add. Add garlic and continue to cook. Drain chilies and beans and rinse. Put chicken mixture in a pot (I used the crockpot and slow cooked all afternoon). Add chilies and beans, cumin, white pepper, cayenne pepper mix thoroughly. In a small dish, mix cornstarch and water. Add chicken broth. Stir the broth mixture into crockpot. About 30 minutes before serving, add sour cream, cheese and chopped mushrooms. Enjoy!