Beans Recipes
Slow Cooker Taco Chicken (with freezer bag option)
A good freezer bag meal will come to your rescue on busy weeknights and when cooking for a friend in need. Taco chicken is family friendly, endlessly versatile, and quick to prep. Last year I turned the bags into practical gifts for several friends, because who couldn’t use a healthy meal and a night off…
Tomato & White Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Healthy and endlessly adaptable Tomato & White Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette comes together in a flash thanks to my favorite basil vinaigrette — but your favorite pesto offers a quick fix all year round. Sometimes, we just need a meal to come together FAST, and this fresh-tasting, protein- and veggie-rich salad does just that! When I…
Succotash Salad
Succotash Salad is fresh, simple summer eating at its best. The simplicity of the “dressing”—really just a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon—allows the flavors of the seasonal produce to shine. Leftovers make a great lunch! If my sister had the first turn in a round of word association that opened with…
Chifrijo (Costa Rican Taco Bowls)
In Costa Rica, these adaptable bowls are often enjoyed with tortilla chips and an Imperial beer and offer a delicious way to reinvent leftovers. ¡Pura Vida! Directly translated, these two words mean “pure life,” but in Costa Rica, the phrase has become a national motto used to say hello, goodbye, and pretty much everything…
John’s Dilly Beans
This is a simple canning process requiring no fancy equipment. You can even use a stockpot instead of a canner. As I unpacked my older son’s duffle bag after his first summer at camp 10 years ago, I found a small glass jar carefully nestled among the dirty socks and damp towels. When I…
Easy Taco Chicken Foil Packets
This great tasting, all-in-one meal is easy to prepare and quick to cleanup. For added convenience, the family-friendly packets may be assembled several hours in advance and refrigerated until ready to bake. My mom could have been the original queen of 30-minute meals. At 5:30 every night, she made her way to the kitchen…
Speedy Mexican Pizzas
This speedy, customizable meal is a family-friendly dream when you don’t feel like cooking. It also happens to be a healthy, plant-based option that satisfies meat-eaters and vegetarians alike! My brother’s wife clued me in on this quick and easy meal years ago, and it’s been a favorite in our house ever since. My…
Easy Baked Refried Bean Dip (or taco or burrito filling)
Let’s face it. No one goes to a Super Bowl party expecting Brussels sprouts, quinoa, and salmon. Hot wings, chips, and chili are more likely on the menu, and that’s perfectly okay. My family most definitely enjoys the typical game day fare, but I do like to add a couple of healthy fillers to the…
Doctored Up Hummus
A simple hack will elevate store-bought hummus, making it creamier and more flavorful – with a little extra protein too! We can all use the occasional shortcut, right? And when that shortcut happens to pull double duty as a healthy, convenient snack and a delicious, last-minute appetizer, all the better! My older son is…
5-Can Weeknight Chili
A great bowl of chili is just minutes away thanks to a handful of economical pantry ingredients. Top with a simple sprinkle of cheese or load it up with chopped avocado, crushed tortilla chips, minced onions, etc. The wee hours of Christmas morning last year found my extended family in an airport.…
Black Bean Dip (or Salsa or Salad)
Enjoy this easy, endlessly versatile recipe as a dip with chips, a salsa for fish or chicken, a super-simple salad, or the foundation of a healthy, plant-based meal. Perfect for a potluck and can be prepared up to a day in advance! Amidst all my experimenting with new recipes, this simple…
Cannellini Tomato Soup… with Grilled Cheese Croutons or Dippers
The unexpected addition of a simple can of cannellini beans provides protein and added creaminess when pureed into the soup…and nobody ever knows it’s there. Whether served with grilled cheese croutons or dippers, what kid (or adult) wouldn’t love it? Plus it’s easy to make with basic, inexpensive, pantry items. You may be wondering how…
