Superbowl Sunday

My boyfriend and his roommates hosted their very first Superbowl party, and I gotta say, it was one of the best I've been to! Not only was there a ton of great food, but everyone who came was so warm and energetic, it just made the fact that we didn't like either teams playing so much better! Almost everyone brought something to eat, whether that be delicious brownies (shout out to Sarah Johnson and her caramel chocolate brownies!) or Little Caesars pizza (I mean come on, who can beat a $5 pizza?). To top it off, my friend Ryan's birthday was on the same day, so we had our choice of a double chocolate cake (props to Cody), and chocolate cupcakes!

I contributed vegetarian black bean quesadillas, which are super easy to make!

Ingredients:
-1 can of Trader Joes Organic Black Beans

-1/2 green bell pepper chopped

-1/2 sweet onion chopped

-2 teaspoons Trader Joes 21 Seasoning Salute

-2 teaspoons of Lauries Taco Seasoning

-1 cup (or more) of Trader Joes 3 cheese Mexican Blend.

-1 pack of corn tortillas

-Earth Balance

1.) Saute chopped bell peppers and onions in pan over low to medium heat.

2.) In a medium mixing bowl, mash black beans. Add peppers, onions, and seasonings. Combine, then add cheese.

3.) Lightly butter one side of the corn tortillas with Earth Balance and place buttered side down in skillet (Heat should be medium to low). 

4.) Add black bean mix to the corn tortillas, and add a little extra cheese to hold the sides together after you fold them. (Be sure to not add too much mix otherwise your tortillas will crack in the fold and your mix will come out).

5.) For a large party, I usually cut the Black Bean Quesadillas into halves, or thirds in order to make sure that there are enough to go around. Serve with salsa, and guacamole! 

Quesadillas in the process of being made :)

Homemade Granola Bars

This past year, I've gotten really into cooking. I received a great cookbook last summer called The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone (yes.. the same Alicia Silverstone who starred in the great 90's film Clueless). That cookbook launched my need for creating in the kitchen. I found this Granola Bar recipe in my latest addition to my cookbook collection, Peas and Thank You Cookbook. I tweaked a few ingredients (such as replacing sugar with stevia), and viola! I successfully made a great grab-n-go snack! I managed to snag a picture of what was left after the first batch

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds, 1/4 cup plus 2 tbls water, 2 cups of old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup stevia, 1,4 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries, blueberries, and pomegranate seeds), 1/4 cup choco chips, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup nut butter of your choice (I used almond butter).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flaxseeds and water and set aside. 

Combine oats, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, dried fruit and choco chips.

                                         

(I didn't have cooking spray on me, so I used coconut oil as my non-stick 

formula.. it actually worked well!)

In a separate bowl, comine maple syrup and nut butter and mix until smooth.

Add flaxseed and water mix, then add to the dry ingredients bowl. Stir well, 

the mixture will seem dry, but keep stirring until fully integrated.

Press the mixture in an 8x8 inch pan, and bake for about 15 minutes! Enjoy!