Black Beans

I recently retired so I am having some fun trying new things. My youngest daughter has been a vegetarian for several years now and as an avid cook, I still struggle with coming up with cooking up something she will enjoy. Last week or so I watched an episode of the Pioneer Woman on the Food Network channel, lo and behold, she was cookin' up some black beans and made several dishes from them. Of course I had to make them because they looked soooo good! And guess what? They were!!! Here's her recipe for Black beans. The first recipe I tried after the beans were cooked were her black bean burritos filled with cilantro-lime rice and refried black beans, you can find that recipe here. Except I didn't grill any vegetables, I used the rice, beans, cheese and salsa. For the black bean burger, that we had for lunch today, that I think was super-duper good, you can find her recipe here. And here is how mine looked, not as thick as hers because I wasn't sure how well it would go over with my daughter and me of course!

I topped my burger with cheese, fresh tomato from my garden, and baby arugula. As an after thought, I could have mixed some mayo with sour cream and a little salsa to spread on the bun. Next time for sure!

Individual Cheesecake desserts

My son works in a grocery store and he brought home these super cute jelly jars for me, what an awesome fella!

Aside from using them to can jellies, I thought they would be perfect to use for individual desserts! So I filled them with a vanilla wafer crushed in the bottom for a crust, and an easy creamy cheesecake filling:

Then I topped them with a luscious blackberry syrup:

Creamy Cheesecake filling:
1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 - 8 oz. tub whipped topping
1 tsp. vanilla or 1 tsp. lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
Beat the cream cheese until smooth, add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the vanilla or lemon juice. On low speed, add the whipped topping and beat only until combined.

Blackberry syrup
1 pint container of blackberries
1 cup sugar
2 TBS water
Add all to a saucepan and heat over medium until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Let cool completely before spooning over the cheesecake mixture.

To make individual desserts:
Crumble 1 or 2 vanilla wafer cookies in the bottom of the jar, use an ice cream scoop to spoon in the cheesecake filling and top with the cooled blackberry syrup. Chill at least one hour before serving. Enjoy!

Banana bread

Just jotting this down rather quickly so I don't forget. I've had such a busy last few days and some bananas turning brown!

Banana Bread
3 cups AP Flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 to 3 1/2 very ripe mashed bananas

Combine dry ingredients, add egg, melted butter (don't pour directly over egg if still warm to avoid cooking the egg), oil and milk.  Mix well. Add the mashed bananas until completely combined. Can be divided into two loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour at 375°F.
Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely, store in the refrigerator.