I bought some little slider buns a few weeks ago & threw them right into the freezer seeing as I had nothing to put in them. Tonight I finally made some black bean sliders.

You wouldn’t believe how many pictures I took of the ingredients. First I forgot the corn.

Then I forgot the cilantro.

I had to run outside with Bea on my hip, deposit her in her swing so I could cut it, and run back in, snap another pic only to realize I forgot the salt.

Ok. So sorry & ignore all the items in the background.

GARSH!! I forgot to take a pic of the slider buns and we ate them all last night!

Let’s get down to business.

I found this recipe on http://www.bakedbree.com

Ingredients:
- 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed (Note: save liquid!)
- 1 medium onion, chopped small
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning (or make your own with cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder)
- 1/2 c corn (I used frozen)
- 1/2 c bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c chopped cilantro (unless you don’t like it!)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil

This recipe made 10 sliders.

Combine onions, breadcrumbs, garlic, egg, cilantro, salt & taco seasoning thoroughly in bowl.

Add black beans & corn. Mash together!

If mixture is too dry, add some of the black bean liquid you saved because you paid attention to the note about that in the ingredients list! Once the mixture is thick but cohesive, cover & refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove from fridge, form patties of whatever size buns you have and put back in fridge for 15 minutes to chill.

Fry in olive oil in a non-stick pan for 5 minutes on each side.

These came out really yummy! I added sliced cheddar to G’s sliders and jalapenos & ketchup to mine. We ate them with a broccoli salad with an Asian dressing (will post recipe for dressing later).

They don’t look pretty because it was dark out by the time I made them. No natural light = ugly food pics.

Next time I make these I’m going to add chopped jalapenos to the mixture and make them regular sized for wheat buns.

Enjoy!

Maddie, like most toddlers, has ever-changing breakfast desires. This is her latest though today could be the last time she’ll eat it! I use full fat yoghurt but obviously you can change that out for low fat or fat free.

Ingredients:
- yoghurt (or you can use yogurt)
- frozen fruits
(that’s a banana in the aluminum foil)
- honey

You can also add Flax Seed meal or wheat germ etc. I just forgot to!

Notice I don’t have any amounts listed. That’s because I just eyeball it. If you’re making enough for one toddler, you probably need about 1.5 cups of yogurt. Put that in blender.

Now add a handful of fresh or frozen berries. Fresh is always better but frozen keeps your smoothie cold AND they keep longer. You can freeze fresh berries as well.

Now add whatever fruit you have on hand. I keep a few bananas in the freezer because they add a lot of sweetness to the smoothie. Mango is good too.

Finally, taste it and add honey to taste. I think I used about 1 or 2 tbsp this time. Don’t make it oversweet! Unless that’s how you like it.

Taste, taste, taste before serving. And now for the judging…

Yesterday Maddie told me about a cupcake she had at daycare. It was sooooooooo good (according to her) that she wanted to make some today. I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman site. They are E-Z and yum-ee. The directions below are taken almost verbatim from her site except for small notes & tweaks.

You need these ingredients for the cake part:

CUPCAKES:
1 cup vegetable shortening
1-¾ cup sugar
2-½ cups cake flour
1-¼ tsp salt
2 whole large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2-½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-½ teaspoon vinegar (I used white)

**NOTE: You won’t make the icing until the cupcakes are completely cooled BUT you might want to take this time to set the stick of butter and 8oz package of cream cheese out to soften at room temp.**

Preheat oven to 350. Line 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

Aren’t these cute?

In a LARGE bowl, cream shortening & sugar together until fluffy. I used a medium bowl and I paid for it later.

In another bowl sift flour & salt together.

Look at those hands -somebody send me my AARP card, pronto!

In yet ANOTHER bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda & vinegar. I actually used 2% milk here b/c my buttermilk was gnarly having been over a week past the “enjoy by” date. You can also easily make your own buttermilk but I was racing against Bea’s nap clock & feeding Maddie lunch and couldn’t spare the time needed to give myself a refresher on how to do that.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the reason for the large bowl will be illuminated (Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer – which incidentally, I did NOT yet read.) right NOW! Start mixing the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately into the shortening mixture until fully combined.

Creamy good!

Before pouring them, we added food coloring to half the batter to make some pink cupcakes. Ooo la la! Have you noticed that some little girls like pink?

Spoon or pour (mine was a little too thick to pour) into cupcake liners.

Note: this recipe is for 18 cupcakes but I think you could make 20 cupcakes as I had batter spillage. We live and we learn. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

ICING:
1 stick butter, softened
1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
4 c sifted powdered sugar
¼ teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

**Note: Although I laid it on thick (the icing that is) I was left with a little over a cup. You can probably cut this icing recipe down some but only if you’re REALLY good at math(s)!**

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl completely. Ice cooled cupcakes.

Think olive green & sunset yellow kitchen accents. Think bumpy blue water glasses. Think Betty Crocker Cookbook. Imagine all this and you can almost taste the 1950′s wholesome deliciousness. Plus, people old & new tend to like it including one of the pickiest 2 year olds you ever met.

I got this recipe from my brother-in-law, John, and I made a few changes to it mostly because I either forgot to buy an ingredient (when I went to Ralph’s ONLY to buy that ingredient), or because my husband “doesn’t eat fungus” or because I was trying to express my Santa Monica-ness by substituting wheat spaghetti for regular spaghetti. Don’t hate me for it. At least it was Ralph’s brand wheat spaghetti.

You’ll need these:

Oh yeah, and these too:

And, this (can be ground hamburger/turkey/tofu or you can omit this entirely):

Ingredients:
1 small onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 lb ground meat/tofu
1 lb spaghetti – drained (undercook slightly) **I break it in half so my toddler doesn’t have to struggle with it later & so I don’t have to clean the floors after dinner.**
1 7oz jar chopped olives – green w/pimentos (trust me on this)
2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes (I used the ones with jalapenos for a kick)
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 lb mild cheese (mozzarella or Mexican blend – really whatever is on hand!)
**If you like it spicy – add crushed red pepper!**

In a large saucepan, saute the onion & green pepper in oil.

When they are soft/translucent, add the ground meat if you go that route.

When meat is cooked through, add spices & Worcestershire sauce. Stir. Add tomatoes, paste, olives.

In a casserole/lasagna dish (large one) ladle thin layer of sauce to coat bottom. Wait, that looks like a THICK layer. Don’t do yours as thick. Do as I say, not as I do.

Spread half the cooked/drained spaghetti evenly.

Top with half the remaining sauce. Cover with half the cheese. Now spread the rest of the spaghetti evenly, topped by the rest of the sauce & the rest of the cheese on top.

Cover with aluminum foil & put in fridge over night. This has to SIT. You think I’m kidding? The first time I made this I didn’t believe it either and baked & served it the same night. It wasn’t as good. But you can make your own decision! My advice: leave it over night (is that one or two words?) – then bake at 350 for 45 mins. the next night for dinner. Remember to take the foil off after 30 mins. You can also sprinkle some fresh parmesan on at that time!

Enjoy!