Spicy Black Bean Soup
March 15th, 2012 § 12 Comments
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been experiencing some unseasonably warm weather in my neck-of-the-woods lately. Like, the mid-to-high-70s-all-week type of warm weather. In the middle of March. It’s crazy and I love it!
The signs of Spring are everywhere! The flowers are blooming, I get to go outside and run up and down the bleachers for the entire duration of my 40-minute gym class, there are loads of runners and walkers roaming the streets of my neighborhood, my friends and I are making plans almost every other day to go running together, but end up getting fro-yo instead. It’s awesome. Well, except for the running-the-bleachers-in-gym-class part, but you know what I mean. 
The only thing bad about the coming of the warmer weather is that, soon, I will no longer have an excuse to make all of the delicious soup and stew recipes I have on my To Make list. I guess I should have laid off all the cheesecake and brownies this Winter and made soup instead…
Pshh! Yeah right! Give up sweets in favor of soup? I love soup as much as the next girl, but I will never give up sweets – EVER! 
Okay, now that we’ve further established my love of sweets, let’s talk about this soup. Spicy Black Bean Soup. I made it this past weekend before the weather got crazy gorgeous. It’s healthy and spicy (but not too spicy!) and smooth and delicious and addictive and super easy to make.
Could I have possibly used the word “and” any more times in that last sentence? I swear the warm weather makes me so hyper that I go crazy. I’ll just stop talking now. Here’s the recipe…
Spicy Black Bean Soup
“Flavorful black bean soup with a slight kick! So good that you might want to eat it year-round!”
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped (1 cup worth)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- sour cream and cilantro, for garnish
Directions:
- In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add stock and 1 can of beans; bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree the remaining can of beans; add to pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Ladle soup into serving bowls, garnish, and serve.
Yield: 3 servings
Enjoy! 
Erika’s Favorite Macaroni & Cheese
March 7th, 2012 § 16 Comments
You know how some bloggers are determined to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe?
I’m not one of them.
Sure I like chocolate chip cookies on occasion, but not enough to taste test dozens of recipes looking for the perfect one.
I’d rather taste test dozens of macaroni and cheese recipes looking for the perfect one! Quite a surprise coming from someone with a huuuuge sweet tooth, eh?
Back when I was a little kid I was sort-of indifferent to macaroni and cheese. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. It was just okay for me.
But then, around the same time I got into cooking and baking, I discovered “real” macaroni and cheese. You know, the kind that doesn’t come in a box with a packet of neon orange powder? Yeah, it was an epiphany. 
Since then I’ve tested quite a few macaroni and cheese recipes. It’s pretty fun, actually. Testing which types of cheeses yield the creamiest macaroni and cheese, testing different cooking methods, I’m drooling just thinking about it.
This past weekend we had the entire family over to celebrate my uncle’s birthday. It was a casual get-together and since there were going to be quite a few of my younger family members, I figured it was about time to test my latest macaroni and cheese recipe. I got it from the back of a box of dried elbow macaroni and adapted it so I could put all my macaroni know-how to good use.
And, as I’m sure you could tell from the title of this post, the macaroni and cheese was a hit! Dare I say it, but this is definitely the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever tasted!
Erika’s Favorite Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted from the back of the dry macaroni box
“The yummiest, creamiest, best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever tasted. What are you waiting for? You probably already have all of the ingredients on hand – make it! You don’t even have to preheat the oven! ”
Ingredients:
- 1 box (16 ounces) dried elbow macaroni
- 5 cups milk (I used 1%.)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 6 ounces yellow American cheese, shredded
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the milk, macaroni, and salt to a boil; boil for 8 minutes.*
- Once 8 minutes has passed, turn off the stove and mix together the flour/cornstarch and water in a small bowl to form a slurry. Add slurry to the cooked macaroni mixture and gradually add shredded cheeses, mix well.
- Turn heat back on and simmer macaroni and cheese for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in mustard and season to taste with black pepper before serving!
* Note: There will be some milk remaining once the 8 minutes is up. This is important – do not drain the macaroni!
Enjoy!
Crispy Fried Goat Cheese
February 20th, 2012 § 16 Comments
Food blogging has introduced me to so many new ingredients that it’s crazy to think that, this time last year, I didn’t even know about half of the foods that are now my staples! Goat cheese is one of those foods that food blogging has introduced me to. It’s definitely an acquired taste, but I love it.
Last week, after making the Bacon, Date, and Goat Cheese Galette, I was left with half a roll of goat cheese just waiting to be used. Now if there’s one thing I need to work on (other than procrastination) it would be wasting food. I don’t do it intentionally, of course, but far too many times I’ve put something half used into the fridge, forgot about it, and then discovered it a week or two later after it has spoiled. 
I definitely didn’t want that to happen. Especially not with goat cheese. Goat cheese is too good to waste so I decided to take action. Immediately I got on Google and started searching for some goat cheese recipes. I stumbled across this recipe for Crispy Fried Goat Cheese and right away I knew I was in love.
Crispy, crunchy breading filled with ooey gooey melted goat cheese? These are like a more sophisticated (and more delicious) version of mozzarella sticks.
And yes, they’re just as delicious as they look!
