Ultimate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

I have practically lived on peanut butter and banana smoothies this summer.  No exaggeration whatsoever here, people.  This smoothie has been my lunch more days than I should admit.  So easy to whip up, you should totally make one today.

Ultimate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

1/2-cup Almond Milk

1/2-cup Plain Yogurt

1 Frozen Banana

2-Tablespoons BP2 (or creamy peanut butter)

5-ish or so Ice Cubes (optional)

1-Tablespoon Honey (optional)

Blend.  Drink.  Enjoy.

What are your favorite smoothie recipes?  I’m always eager to try new ones!

Happy smoothie whipping, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Sugar Snap Pea Quinoa Salad

Our meals rock a lot of quinoa around here.  It’s healthy, easy to fix, and  adaptable to just about any cuisine that it’s a staple at dinner quite often.  This is one of my favorite quinoa salads.  Just toss the cooked quinoa with the veggies and eat warm as a dinner side dish, or cold by itself for lunch the following day.  The prep to this is so minimal, even all you other non-cooks like me can give this a go.

Sugar Snap Pea Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: 

1 cup quinoa

3/4 pound sugar snap peas, thinly sliced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1) Cook the quinoa according to package directions and 2) Toss with all the other stuff.  Then 3) Eat up.

So a couple of things:  We use our rice cooker to cook our quinoa.  Add quinoa and water, push cook, and I never have to think about it again.  Makes perfect quinoa.  And, I never actually measure out the sugar snap peas.  I love snap peas, and some days I feel like eating a million of those sweet little pods so I’ll use up a ton for this recipe.  Some days, however, we only have a handful of the little gems hanging out in the bottom of the crisper so I’ll just toss in what scarce bit I have.  The point is, this recipe is good with either a lot of peas, or with a few peas- adapt it to your liking.

Are you a fan of quinoa?  What are some of your favorite quinoa recipes?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

~julee~

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Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

These blueberry oatmeal breakfast muffins have been a serious lifesaver these first few weeks of back to school mornings.  Bursting with blueberries, they are healthy, hearty, and delicious served warm.  It feels just like eating a cuter version of your favorite bowl of oatmeal.  No joke.

I made a batch in mini muffin size and froze them three in a snack bag.  Perfect sizing for pulling out and warming in the microwave for a few seconds on hectic mornings.  (And I suggest adding a guiltless dollop of butter to increase their yummyness.)

I’m not a baker by any means, which is to say I have no instinct for whipping up kitchen concoctions.  I looked online at many blueberry muffin recipes and pulled from a few different sources based on what I had in my cupboards.  I’ll share with you how I made these, and if you don’t have the exact ingredients, I hope it inspires you to make something similar to help ease morning stress.

Healthy Blueberry and Oatmeal Breakfast Mini Muffins

1 1/2 Cup Oats  (I used Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Rolled Oats)
1 Cup Almond Milk
1/2 Cup  Packed Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Honey
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
2 Egg Whites
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup 50/50 Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries

If your oats are thick, or rolled, or steel cut, pulse them in a blender a bit to thin them out.  Then, soak the oats in the almond milk for 30-minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, honey, applesauce, vanilla, egg whites, and oil.  Add in the oats and almond milk (after the soaking time).

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. 
Add the dry mix with the wet mix.  Don’t over mix, only until just combined.

Fold in blueberries.  (Tip:  If you don’t want the  berries to bleed color or get soggy, toss the frozen berries with a light coating of flour before adding to the mix.  I didn’t, because purple soggy muffins are more fun to eat.)

Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray.  Fill the tins with batter and cook at 400-degrees for 22-minutes.  Makes 24 mini muffins.



If you’re looking for additional freezer mini muffins, check out these chocolate chip mini muffin and healthy autumn muffin recipes.

How do you save time on hectic mornings?  If you’ve tried any easy breakfast recipes lately, I’d love to hear about them!

Happy stress-free mornings, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Spiced Apple Chips Recipe

Last week I shared healthy back to school snack recipes to make ahead and have ready for easy after school snacks.  Our fridge is always stocked with apples, but when my daughter gets bored with them, she starts to reach for unhealthier choices.  She loves apple chips, so I was excited to try this spiced apple chips recipe to use up some of our apples and give her an alternative snack.  I have never made these before, but the recipe was simple:  apples baked with a fragrant combination of four spices.
 


Spiced Apple Chips Recipe (from Whole Foods)

You’ll need:
3 Apples
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 200-degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and salt.  Slice apples crosswise as thin as possible.  Using a mandolin is ideal, but I didn’t have one.  Remove seeds and place the apples on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle the spice mix over the apples and use your fingers to spread the mixture thin and even.  (I didn’t do this part, but in hindsight I wish I had.)  Flip apples and repeat on the other side.  Bake at 200-degrees for one hour, flipping the apples after 30-minutes.  If your apples are cut thicker, you may need to leave in the oven for another 30-mins or longer.  When apples are done baking, leave in oven until cool.  Apples will become crisp upon cooling.



You can easily experiment with the spices for this recipe, using what you have in your pantry. A simple cinnamon and sugar blend will be delicious, too.



I love how these look packaged in a mason jar and think they will make great gifts.  The bonus to making these is that your house will smell scrumptious with a hint of fall in the air!

Have you ever made your own apple chips?  What spices do you add to yours?

Happy healthy snacking, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Healthy Back To School Snacks with Whole Foods

We’ve only been back to school for a few weeks, but already our schedules are packed - sports, dance, band,  homework – it’s always busy around here.  I try to keep the after school and before dinner snacks healthy, but that’s hard to do when you need something quick.  Having lots of fresh fruit on hand makes healthy snacking simple, but sometimes that gets a little boring.  Nobody likes a boring snack, so I’m trying to up my game and spend a little time preparing healthy snacks  in advance.

While looking for healthy back to school snack recipes, I came across the following from Whole Foods.  Each of these are healthy and easy to make, but two of them are required to make ahead of time.  I know that’s a deal breaker for a lot of busy moms, but consider using extra weekend time (ha!) to make these for the week ahead.

These apples nachos won’t need any prep time.  I love that my daughter can make them herself with raw apples slices or baked apple chips.  She always loves apples with peanut butter, and I think we’ll experiment with sprinkling on coconut or adding raisins.

You can’t make these spiced apple chips in a hurry since they take at least an hour (or longer) to cook, but you can make a big batch on a weekend to have on hand during the week.  If you don’t have the spice blend for this recipe, cook the apples plain and use them for the “apple nachos” above.

This recipe also requires you to prepare ahead, but the ending result is chocolate covered frozen banana peanut butter sandwiches.  What?  Yum, that’s what!  Consider adding a popsicle or lollipop stick before freezing to up the fun factor.

What are some of your favorite healthy back to school snacks?  I’m still looking for more great recipes and I would love if you shared yours in the comments.

Happy healthy snacking!

~julee~

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Eat It: Valentine’s Breakfast

What’s more perfect for a Valentine’s morning than a plate of mini pancakes, a dusting of powdered sugar, and heart-shaped strawberries?  A mimosa on the side, no doubt.  Next time.

Use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to get perfect strawberry hearts.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~julee~

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Make It: Avocado Quesadilla

This is my grown-up version of the cheese quesadilla.  Doesn’t avocado just make everything better?  Simple to make and perfect for a quick lunch. 

Avocado Quesadilla
Ingredients: 
Tortillas (white, corn, whole wheat, low carb – pick your favorite kind)
Avocado (peeled and diced into cubes)
Asiago Cheese (shredded)
Jalapenos (I’m a wimp, so I purchase the no-heat jarred variety)



I’m sure you don’t need too much instruction on how to make these, but take one tortilla and sprinkle cheese on 1/2, top with a few cubes of avocado and a few jalapenos, then fold the other end over.  Heat in a pan on medium heat for a minute until cheese starts to melt then flip over and squash down with a spatula for another minute or two until everything is nice and hot throughout.  I like my avocado really smashed, but that’s just me.

*Tip:  Asiago is a strong cheese, so it really only takes a little to get a good flavor.



Enjoy!

~julee~

 

Sharing with YOLO Mondays on Lipgloss & Crayons and Townsend House.

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Collard and Berry Smoothie

I recently purchased an amazing CSA box from my friends at  Jutsu Aiki Camp Taylor Community Center.  Among the fresh, in-season produce were 4 giant bundles of collard greens.  Admittedly, I had no idea what to do with the collards, since I’ve never really been a big fan of the greens.  So I did what I always do with intimidating vegetables – I sent them over to my culinary adventurous neighbor.  Within minutes, she was back at my door with this yummy and healthy collard and berry smoothie. 

Collard and Berry Smoothie

1-cup Aloe Juice (you may substitute water)

2-cups Frozen, Unsweetened Berries

1 Banana

1 Bunch Raw Collard Greens, stems removed

1-tsp Presoaked Chia Seeds (optional, or try flax seeds instead)

1-tsp Elder Berry Syrup (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

 

Do you have a favorite recipe using collard greens?  I’m definitely interested in finding new ways to cook with this vegetable. 

~julee~

 

If you’re in the Louisville area and would like more information on the CSA boxes from Jutsu Aiki Camp Taylor Community Center, please email me at diylouisville@gmail.com.

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Easy Black Bean Burgers

These really should be called Super Crazy Easy Awesome Black Bean Burgers, ‘cause that’s what they are.

I admit, we eat way too many of the boxed veggie burgers because they are a major convenience.  But I’m trying hard to limit our processed soy consumption, so we have been whipping up these yummy black bean burger bad boys at least once a week.  They come together in minutes, are made with items you probably already have on hand, and cost only a fraction of the prepackaged variety.  That’s a triple win in my book.

The original recipe comes from The Happy Herbivore, which you can find HERE.  She even has a video, in case you’re frightened of the kitchen, like me.  Click on over and check it out (and look for many other great recipes while you’re over there).

What I love about this recipe is that you can adjust the ingredients fairly easily based on what you have in your kitchen.  We have found a variation from the original recipe that suits our tastes better, as we found the original too mustard-y for my picky kid.  Here is the adapted recipe that works for my family’s tastes:

1 can black beans, drained but not rinsed, 3/4 smashed with a fork
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1-2 dashes of hot sauce
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp onion powder
Fresh diced onions (no measurement, just a pinch, or not too many that my daughter can see them and refuse to eat)
1/3 cup instant oats (I use thick steel cut oats whirled through the food processor a bit)

Mix it all together.  Divide into 4 patties.  Cook at 400-degrees on a greased cookie sheet.  7 minutes on one side, flip, then 7 minutes on the other side.  I like to melt cheese on mine, but eliminate that if you’re vegan, obviously.

Enjoy!

~julee~

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Picnic Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

If you invite me to a potluck or a picnic, chances are 99% that I’m going to bring a pasta salad. Because you can’t really go wrong with a pasta salad, and it requires no actual cooking.  And I don’t actually cook, so there’s that.

This is my copy-cat version of the the delicious Trader Joe’s pasta salad I had a few weeks ago. This pasta is really all about the feta cheese and lemon vinaigrette.  The garbanzo beans gives this enough protein to qualify as a whole meal.  Bonus!

Picnic Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

1-lb box rotini pasta, cooked according to package, drained and rinsed in cold water

1 can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

1 container feta cheese (4 to 6 oz)

Fresh diced veggies (Use whatever you have on hand and what you love.  I used 2 roma tomatoes, 1 homegrown cucumber, 1/2 red onion, 1 orange bell pepper.)

Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing

Juice from 2 fresh lemons

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp ground sea salt

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Add lemon juice, Dijon, salt and pepper to bowl, and slowly whisk in the olive oil.

You can toss your dressing with your pasta, veggies, beans, and cheese and let it all marinate together.  Or if your family is weird like mine, you can keep it all separate and drizzle on the vinaigrette when you’re ready to eat.

Happy picnicking!

~julee~

 

I’m linking up with Silly Happy Sweet this week.

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Freezer Mini Muffins

I’ve been trying to start prepping for back-to-school and the beginning of me working full time.  One of the things I have been thinking about is breakfast. If your kids are anything like mine, they are super indecisive, grumpy and slow in the mornings.  Half the time I’m throwing a banana and granola bar at them as they walk out the door.  I really wanted something a little more homemade to get them started in the morning so I settled on mini muffins.  I know they love them and with a few tweaks I was able to make them a little more healthy. I put them in snack size plastic baggies to make them easy to grab in the mornings and threw them in the freezer.  Now we can get them out while we are getting ready or the night before to thaw.  They are also great in a lunch box, because they will thaw before lunch. 



Here is the recipe I used:
(note- next time I would swap the oil for applesauce, it would make them a little sweeter and cut the fat down)

Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c. white whole wheat flour
1/3 c. sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. mini choc. chips
2 eggs

PB Oatmeal Version
add 1/2 c. PB
1/2 c. oats

--Kim

Don't forget to enter our $25 Ross gift card giveaway HERE!
Linking up with Favorite Things Thursday at Silly Happy Sweet.

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Monday Magazine Challenge–Mojo Tofu Kebobs

This recipe is adapted from the July/August 2012 issue of  Everyday Food.  The original recipe calls for pork, but we used firm tofu instead.

Coincidentally, there are also instructions for pressing and firming tofu in the same magazine.  We use a very similar method to what was shown.  We cut our pieces in approximately 1-1/2 inch cubes so they would marinade better.  This is purely preference, however. 

Mojo Tofu Kebobs (adapted from Everyday Food):

Serves 4-6

1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red-pepper flakes
3 tablespoons lime juice (from 3 limes)
1/4 cup orange juice (from 2 oranges), plus 1 orange cut into 16 pieces
1 package firm tofu, pressed to remove excess water
1 large cucumber, cut into 1-inch rounds
Salt & pepper

~In a small pot, combine oil, garlic, and red-pepper flakes over medium-low.  Cook until garlic is soft, 15 minutes, swirling occasionally.  Remove from heat, stir in lime and orange juices, and let cool 15 minutes.

~In a zip lock bag, toss tofu with half the marinade and refrigerate at least 30 minutes; refrigerate remaining marinade.

~Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high.  Clean and lightly oil hot grill.  Thread tofu, orange, and cucumber onto skewers.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill kebobs 3-5 minutes per side.  Brush with remaining marinade and serve.



We brought our cucumbers all the way from South Carolina, fresh from my aunt’s garden. The combination of the cucumber with the citrus was amazingly delicious.  I never would have thought to add orange slices to grilled kebobs, but they added a flair of summer delight to this grilled combo.  We will definitely be grilling this again soon.

Did you make any recipes or complete any magazine projects this week? If so, share your link with us! We would love to check out what you’ve made and we’ll also share your project with our Facebook readers.

~julee~

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Weight Watcher Friendly Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

That’s a mouthful.  I’ve really been trying to recommit 100 percent to Weight Watchers lately.  To date I have lost 70 lbs, but in the last few months, nothing.  I haven’t gained though, so I still feel good.  Today I was hungry.  Like really, crazy hungry, but committed to staying within my points.  So I was looking for something hearty and filling that would be very low in points.  When I saw the box of mushrooms in the produce drawer I knew that would be my jumping off point.  So armed with some goodies from the fridge I set to work.  These mushrooms have only 1 pt for an entire serving!!  They were super yummy and satisfying, but you could also customize them to your tastes, just be aware that the points might change. 

Recipe:
serves 2 as an entrée, serves more for an appetizer
1 box washed and dried mushrooms
1/2 c.  Trader Joes light shredded Mexican cheese
1/4 head of broccoli, finely chopped (I used two florets? of broccoli from the head)
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp garlic seasoning ( I used Tastefully Simple’s Garlic Garlic)




Remove the stems from your mushrooms.  I use a spoon to do this.  Dice the stems and reserve in bowl.  Place the mushrooms cap side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.  In the bowl with the diced stems add the chopped broccoli, onion, poultry seasoning and garlic seasoning.  Stir together and fill each mushroom cap with a spoonful. You will need to use your fingers to gently press the stuffing into place.  Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.  Bake at 375 until the cheese is browned on top and mushroom caps are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
Kim

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Monday Magazine Challenge: Guest Post

Today’s Monday Magazine challenge is a recipe post courtesy of kiki(verde).  She’s one of our kindred spirits who cuts and clips and saves great projects and recipes from her large stack of magazines. And then runs out of time.  It happens to the best of us.

This week she has kindly agreed to share her magazine recipe with D.I.Y. Louisville.  You can check out her blog and read her entire post at www.kikiverde.com.  (Go ahead and click – you will love what you see!)

Fennel Apple Slaw

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced crosswise, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
1 Granny Smith apple, quartered and cored, then sliced into thin half moons (peeled, for us)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add thinly sliced fennel, apple, onions, and fennel fronds. Toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Thanks Kiki for sharing with us today!

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Summer Picnic Salad

This recipe is perfect for all of those summer potlucks.  Cool, light and full of flavor, this salad is super easy to throw together and makes a giant bowl.  You could half the ingredients if you were making it for a smaller crowd.

Recipe
1 cucumber diced
1 c. grape or cherry tomatoes halved
2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
2 avocado's cubed
half of a red onion diced
1 16 oz bag of frozen corn
1 bell pepper diced (I used orange)
1 container of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c. garlic infused vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
2tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic diced

Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl and refrigerate or serve immediately.  I wouldn’t recommend making this too far in advance as the avocado starts to brown.  It tastes fine, I actually had leftovers for three days, but it’s just not as pretty.


Kim

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Monday Magazine Challenge: Pasta with Spinach and Snap Peas

Thanks to Recyclebank, I was able to get a new subscription to Everyday Food.  My first issue came this week and we made this recipe the same day the magazine came in the mail. We were not disappointed.  Well, here’s a confession:  I hardly ever meet a pasta recipe I don’t like.  But still, this one was good.  Real good.  And a great way to add extra veggies to your meal.  Want to try it?

Recipe from Everyday Food:

• Course salt & ground pepper
• 3/4 pound short pasta
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 8 oz snap peas, halved
• 10 oz baby spinach (we only used 5oz, and though it was plenty, more would have been good, too.)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 oz parmesan, grated (3/4 cup)

Cook pasta and garlic in a large pot of boiling salted water, 1 minute less than package instructions.  Add snap peas and cook 30 seconds.  Add spinach and basil and stir once to wilt.  Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain.

Add cream to pot and heat over medium-high until bubbling.  Return pasta mixture and 1/4 cup pasta water to post and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.  Stir in parmesan.  Add remaining pasta water if necessary.  Salt and pepper to taste.

 

What’s your favorite magazine for finding new recipes?

~julee~

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Monday Magazine Challenge: Southwestern Salad

Now, before you go all, “Pshaw.  A salad?  That’s the best you could come up with this week?”  Let me just say that this salad is really all about the dressing.  Avocado-Lime dressing.  Creamy, delicious, good on anything,  avocado-lime dressing, to be exact.



This recipe comes from Vegetarian Times, May 2010.  For the southwest salad you use a large bowl and mix:

2 cups lettuce
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I substituted black beans)
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup cilantro
Crushed tortilla chips (Enough to sprinkle on top, my husband got overexcited and put ours on top before mixing the salad in these photos.)


And then you make the avocado-lime dressing.  You'll need:

1 ripe avocado
3/4 cup prepared (not chunky) salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs lime juice
4 drops Tobasco sauce (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocado in a separate bowl and whisk in the salsa, sour cream, and lime.  Season with Tabasco, salt, and pepper.  And BAM!  Best dressing ever!

We loved this dressing so much, we used it all week as a veggie dip, chip dip, and veggie wrap spread.  At one point, I swear my husband was drinking it straight-up.  No lie.

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Now it's your turn!

Share your magazine projects with us, old or new! We would love to check out what you’ve been DIY’ing. Our favorite submissions will also be featured on our Facebook & Twitter feeds.
Monday Magazine Challenge is a new feature we are starting. You can read more about why we’re doing it HERE. A Magazine Challenge is any recipe, craft, DIY, tip, etc. from a magazine that has inspired you. If you would like to link to your own magazine challenge, please use the linky tool below. It would be mighty kind if you’d help us spread the word by linking back to us.

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Monday Magazine Challenge: Chickpea and Potato Hash

Whenever I open my mailbox and see a new copy of “Eating Well” magazine I get super excited.  I love the beautiful food photos and the recipes never cease to impress.  It’s also nice to know that whatever I make from the magazine will be a healthy meal for my family.  I have never made a recipe from one of their issues that I wasn’t happy with.  In this issue there were many recipes that looked tempting and I put several on my list to try, but this one for Chickpea and Potato Hash kind of jumped out at me.  It seemed relatively easy, and I had a lot of the ingredients on hand already.  So, I gave it a try for Sunday dinner.

The recipe is pretty short and simple, the only changes I made were to omit the onions and instead use Tastefully Simple’s Onion Onion.  My kids don’t really like the texture of cooked onions.  Other than that, I cooked the eggs until they were firm instead of soft, again for the kid’s sake as I couldn’t see them eating runny eggs.  The whole thing went together quickly and made a well balanced, one pot,  vegetarian meal option that my kids honestly gobbled up.  I will definitely be adding this to the rotation.

Here is the recipe from the May/June issue of Eating Well Magazine
Serves 4

• 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups finely chopped baby spinach
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 4 large eggs

1. Combine potatoes, spinach, onion, ginger, curry powder and salt in a large bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potato mixture and press into a layer. Cook, without stirring, until crispy and golden brown on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Fold in chickpeas and zucchini, breaking up chunks of potato, until just combined. Press back into an even layer. Carve out 4 “wells” in the mixture. Break eggs, one at a time, into a cup and slip one into each indentation. Cover and continue cooking until the eggs are set, 4 to 5 minutes for soft-set yolks.  I cooked mine longer until the eggs were firm.

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Share your magazine projects with us, old or new! We would love to check out what you’ve been DIY’ing. Our favorite submissions will also be featured on our Facebook & Twitter feeds.

Monday Magazine Challenge is a new feature we are starting. You can read more about why we’re doing it HERE. A Magazine Challenge is any recipe, craft, DIY, tip, etc. from a magazine that has inspired you. If you would like to link to your own magazine challenge, please use the linky tool below. It would be mighty kind if you’d help us spread the word by linking back to us.

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Magazine Challenge: Black Bean and Toasted Corn Tacos

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times.  I can never toss out a Vegetarian Times magazine because they are our go-to source when we want to try something new, but I need to start weeding through the back issues and picking out only our favorite recipes.

We make black bean tacos often, but this recipe uses toasted corn which we hadn’t done before.  My husband whipped this up for lunch one afternoon.



Recipe from Vegetarian Times, only slightly modified:
(I use organic ingredients whenever possible.)

1 can black beans, drained
1/2 cup salsa
2 tsp garlic
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin, divided
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Corn tortillas
Baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup jarred roasted peppers (diced or cut in strips)
1/4 chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese, optional

1) Bring beans, salsa, garlic, and 1 tsp cumin to a simmer in saucepan.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook 5-6 minutes or until soft.  Remove from heat, and mash  approx 1/2 of the mixture with fork.

2)  Heat skillet over medium-high heat, and coat with olive oil cooking spray.  Wrap corn in paper towels and squeeze out excess water.  Add corn to skillet in single layer, and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tsp cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.  Cook 5-10 minutes or until golden and crispy, stirring frequently.  *Don’t overcook, or corn will become chewy.

3)  Heat tortillas in toaster, oven, or your preferred method.  Fill shells with 1/2 bean mixture and 1/2 corn.  Add spinach leaves, red pepper, cilantro, and green onions.  Top with cheese.
Makes 6-8 tacos.



My verdict:  These were delicious and easy to make.  They were filling enough to be made for lunch or dinner.  My husband and I ate outside, and these were honestly so good and so pretty that we could have been sitting in any outdoor sidewalk bistro in any city.  Also, we made these for lunch two times last week, if that tells you anything.

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Monday Magazine Challenge is a new feature we are starting.  You can read more about why we’re doing it HERE.  A Magazine Challenge is any recipe, craft, DIY, tip, etc. from a magazine that has inspired you.  If you would like to link to your own magazine challenge, please use the linky tool below.  It would be mighty kind if you’d help us spread the word by linking back to us.

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