Best of the Beans -- Now We're Cooking with Gas!

This is my adapted version based on Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover book recipe. No matter what you think about Marilu or her book, this recipe is really AWESOME, and the kids will love to eat them as much as make them. I am able to find all of the ingredients in my local grocery store, just check the Asian section for Mirin, Ponzu and Tamari, and get the wonton skins from the refrigerated vegetable section. The tahini is sometimes located in the health food section or near peanut buttter.

Ingredients:

1 can cooked black beans (mashed)
1/4 C tahini (ground sesame seeds--looks like peanut butter)
1 oz. scallion, chopped fine
1 T Tamari
1 T Mirin (sweet rice wine)
1/2 t Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 t Ponzu (Japanese lime/citrus bottled like tamari)
1 t Chili Garlic Paste - careful here, add to taste
1 Package Wonton Wrappers

Mix all ingredients in bowl (except for wonton wrappers - DUH!).

Wet around the edges of the wonton wrappers. Drop in 1 t of the bean mixture and seal tight around all edges.

Sauté in a small amount of olive oil to brown on both sides, then finish in 350 degree oven for about 3 minutes.

Serve the dumplings with a dipping sauce of equal parts of plain yogurt and Major Grey's Original Mango Chutney.

I like to make the bean mixture ahead and let the flavors meld together. It's fabulous, but sometimes the chili paste seems to get hotter after a day or two. This recipe makes about 50 dumplings.

This is an awesome recipe adapted from Cooking Light's Annual Recipes 1997 Collection. It's hearty, healthy and one of the best soups I've ever eaten. Thanks Cooking Light!!

Ingredients:

1 package Smoked Turkey Sausage (U shaped found with hotdogs) I like the Healthy Choice brand.
1 C diced onion
1 C diced carrot
1 C thinly sliced celery
4 C water
2 C peeled, diced sweet potato (about 2 large potatoes)
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried sweet basil
1/2 t black pepper
1 t salt
1 28 oz. Can of crushed tomatoes, or 2 14 oz cans of whole tomatoes , undrained and coarsely chopped
1 15 oz. can of Great Northern beans drained and rinsed
2 bags of Dole baby spinach, chopped and de-stemmed

Combine first 4 ingredients in stock pot and sauté over med-high heat until sausage is browned.

Add water and next 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 min. or until veggies are tender. Add spinach and cook for 2 more minutes.

This is another recipe that is good the first night, but phenomenal the next day! Serve with a crusty bread -- hope you enjoy!

Another idea -- I think next time I will use black beans instead of the white ones and see how that works out. I'll let you know!

This is a really nice dinner when you're looking for healthy comfort food.

Ingredients for Black Bean Mixture:

1 T olive oil
2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 c chopped sweet onion
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped carrot
1 1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 c dry white wine
1/4 t cinnamon
black pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté onions, celery and carrot in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes.

Add the wine first, stir well and then add black beans and the rest of the ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. I like to make sure that the beans and veggies are fully covered in liquid. Add water if you need more liquid.

Stir well, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Check frequently to make sure you have enough liquid in the pot. It's ok if it goes down a little, but you don't want to scorch your beans. Now you're ready to start the rice.

Ingredients for Rice:

2 c Basmati rice
2 T olive oil
2 t butter
3 1/3 C Chicken stock

Add olive oil and butter to large sauce pan (with tight fitting lid) and warm over high heat. When butter is melted add rice and stir to coat rice with oil. Add chicken stock to pot and let return to boil. Taste the liquid and add a little salt if needed. Stir it up a bit and put the lid on the pot. Reduce heat to low and DO NOT remove lid for 20 minutes.

When the 20 minutes are up you can just turn off the heat and let the pot sit with the lid still in place while you finish up with the beans.

I have picky eaters in my house, so I like to use a stick mixer or food processor to make the beans less chunky and "hide" the veggies. I make it the consistency of a thick hearty soup. You can add a bit of butter to the beans to give them a beautiful glossy finish if you like.

Serve the beans over rice with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt on top. Delicious!!