Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

I actually made these "burgers" for the very first time last night and they were so good and so well received by the family that I had to write a recipe up and share it.

What you'll need
1 can refried black beans
1 can whole black beans
1 sweet potato
1 pepper of choice (I used Red)
Tomato paste
Salt/Pepper
Panko Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp Garlic 
Oil for frying

For the Sweet Potatoes:
Start by boiling the sweet potato until tender. You want it cooked through but not falling apart. Drain and set aside in fridge to cool.

To make the burgers:
In a blender or Food processor add whole black beans until just broken up then transfer to bowl that contains the sweet potatoes. Now add in the refried beans, 1/2 a can of tomato paste, salt/pepper to taste, Garlic and 1 cup of Panko. Stir together until combined. If mixture is wet add more Panko.  You should be able to roll the mixture into a ball and flatten into a patty without it sticking to your hands. The goal is to add enough that the mixture ceases to be sticky but not so much that it becomes crumbly if that helps.

Now that the mixture is combined turn on a pan over medium heat and add enough oil to coat. While the oil is heating form the patties!

I made mine a bit large on my first go and while very good they were definitely too large for a standard bun. So I experimented with the last little amount and an ice cream scoop size was perfect. Like making meatballs roll between palms to combine all ingredients and then flatten into patties. I dusted mine in panko just to see the difference and I liked the added crunch it gave but you can omit this step.

Place in oil and fry on each side for 3-4 minutes until crisp all around. Remove and serve.

I served the burgers with lettuce, tomato and chipolte sauce but I'm sure they'd be just as awesome any way you make them.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Source: thesweetslife.com via Tracey on Pinterest

I came across these while surfing around on a blog. They said they saw the recipe on Pinterest so off I went in search of it. Isn't this a fabulous idea! Since I honestly have no clue where this recipe originated or even a copy of it. I'm going to best deduce for you how its made.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

12 large Strawberries
Premade Cheesecake (make your own or buy it doesn't matter)
Crushed graham crackers


Take your strawberries and thoroughly wash them. Chop off the tops so your left with a nice flat surface to scoop out of. With a tiny melon baller scoop out the center of your strawberry being very careful not to break through the outer wall. Then load your cheesecake mixture into a piping bag or tube. Fill the newly created holes with cheesecake. Top with graham crackers and your done.

Now being me I think woah, woah why stop there. You could literally personalize this any way you want. You can dip the strawberries in chocolate or drizzle strawberry sauce across the top or or even do both. The possibilities are endless.

I hope you enjoy and if you make them. Leave me a picture in the comments below. I'd love to see how they turned out.

Italian Herb Bread (bread machine version)

I dont own a Bread Machine but stummbled across this Macaroni Grill Bread dupe one day and those who do Have a Bread machine and have made it have said it was awesome. As Ive stated before I usually make bread by hand but am seriously considering a machine for more complicated loaves and not just that they are a huge convenience. If you make this let m know how it turned out in the comments below.

Italian Herb Bread
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2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. Italian herbs
1 tsp. Rosemary
2 tsp. yeast
1 c. milk

Heat olive oil in a Skillet and soften the onions until translucent but not brown. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add milk,salt and inions to bread machine. Then Add all dry ingredients making sure to add yeast last. Set bread machine to Light Crust wait required time per your machines instructions. Remove and let sit at least an hour before slicing. Thats it your done.

Bacon Egg Pancake Cups

I got this recipe from someone on Facebook. Ive yet to try it out but wanted to copy it down on here before I forgot it or lost the page where I saw it.

Bacon Egg Pancake Cups
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12 strips Bacon
12 Small Eggs
Pancake mix


Mix up a small batch of pancake mix according to instructions.Pre heat oven to 350 and grease muffin tins. Partially cook the bacon and set aside. Pour 1/4 of the pancake mixture into tins and cook in oven 3-4 minutes. Remove pan from oven and turn temperature of oven up to 400 F. Line around the outside of the tins with bacon slices. Crack egg into center of bacon. Place pan gently back into oven and bake 8 minutes longer if you prefer your egg cooked a bit more. Thats it your done. Now you can enjoy your Bacon Egg Pancake cups.

Spicy Braised Chicken aka dakbokkeumtang

I watch alot of Korean Dramas. Besides the few must see American shows I love K-Dramas are my favorite TV to watch. Now usually in one of these shows the couple inevitably goes to a restaurant. I cannot possibly name each of the delicious dishes I've seen but every once in awhile one pops up that Just looks so irresistably good that I have to track down a recipe. As far as I know this is pretty authentic to what you'd actually eat in Korea. If I'm missing something please comment or if you just enjoy it. I like hearing responses.

Spicy Braised Chicken
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Two pounds of chicken thighs or wings into bite sized pieces
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c Minced garlic
1/4 c Hot pepper paste
1/4 c hot pepper flakes
1Tbsp Sugar
2 c Chopped Onions
2 c Water
3 Large Potatos Chopped into about 2inch chunks
2 green chilis chopped
2 green onions chopped (garnish)

Start by washing the chicken. Drain and set aside. Mix together soy sauce,garlic,hot pepper flakes,hot pepper paste and sugar. Put the chicken and onions in a large pot. Mix 1 cup of water into your paste and dump over chicken and onion mixture. Toss to coat. You'll still have some paste in the bowl so go ahead and add one more cup, mix and empty over whats already in the pot. Toss again to make sure everythings covered nicely. Turn on the stove top to medium high and boil the mixture for 20 minutes. Now cut your potatos if you havent already. Put them into your pot along with the green chilis,stir And replace lid. Cook for an additional 20 minutes. Remove lid and cook about 5 minutes to thicken sauce some. Occasionally taking sauce from the bottom of the pot and pouring over the contents on top. Lastly transfer to large serving plate or dish and sprinkle chopped green onions on top before serving. Of course what's a proper Korean meal without a side of rice and if you enjoy it some Kimchi!

Melted Snowman cookies

I can across a recipe for melted snowman cookies while surfing the internet. Theres was incredibly complicated and used ingredients Id personally probably never buy. I saw on another site that they had modified it some and made it simpler but to me it still took longer then I care to take baking cookies. So I searched some more and found an even simpler method which I then took and deconstructed to fit my needs and below is the recipe Ive come up with. I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment if you try them.

Melted Snowman Cookies
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Items needed
Marshmallows
Icing
Food coloring or colored icing pens
Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Take a nice chunk of dough and form it into a puddle shape (sloppy circle).
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

While the cookies are baking prepare your favorite icing recipe. After removing the cookies from the oven ice them with the white frosting. It will drip over the edges and look sloppy but thats the look you want. Let them cool completely before finishing decorating.Once they are cooled. Depending on how many cookies you have place marshmallows on the a microwave safe plate and microwave 10-20 seconds. You want the marshmallows to flatten slightly in their centers. With pam sprayed fingers quickly transfer the melted marshmallows onto the cookie. As they cool they should stick to the cookie.

Lastly comes the decorating. You can choose to color the remainder of the frosting you made earlier with food dye or buy those nifty little frosting pens. Make some eyes,carrot nose and a smile on the marshmallow head and draw a simple tie on the cookie body and thats it your done. You can embelish them more if you like or make them even simpler if you choose. You could also use pre made sugar cookie dough and just complete the rest of the steps as described.

These will be cute for the Holidays or just as a winter treat. I hope you enjoy them as I do!