Recipe-palooza

Happy snow day folks!  It's a cold one out there!  Photos through my windows because A) I'm not going outside unless it's an emergency and B) my doors and windows are currently frozen shut:

 
I've been promising people recipes but have been pretty busy this week getting settled back into my apartment (was out of town for four weeks), getting ready for the semester, and getting my butt to the gym.  So, here we go - recipe-palooza.

Black Bean Soup
What a better way to warm up on a snowy day than a hot and spicy bowl of black bean soup!  I was super happy to have one last bowl of this soup left in my fridge for lunch today!

Serves 5; 130 calories per serving
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium or 2 small carrots, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp vinegar (I used rice vinegar because it was all I had on hand)
3 cups water
Juice of one lime
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
(note - you can likely substitute chili powder if you don't have chipotle chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika)

In a large soup pot, sweat out onion, carrot, and bell pepper until soft, about 7-10 minutes.  Add in the wine and allow the liquid to evaporate out.  Add the beans, water, vinegar, spices, and salt and pepper.  Allow to simmer 10 minutes to combine the flavors.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup - I leave it a little chunky.  You can also use a regular blender but be sure to let the soup cool first and only fill the blender 1/2 way to avoid having to clean soup off your ceiling.  Place the blended soup back on the stove and simmer for 5 more minutes.  Stir in the lime juice and enjoy!


Blackeye Pea Stir Fry
Sorry - no pictures here (I was super hungry and ate it before taking any!).  This recipe was inspired by Amy's bowls.  So good!

Serves one
Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen black eye peas, prepared according to package directions (usually boil for 40 mins)
1 tsp oil
1 small carrot, cut into julian strips
1/2 head of broccoli, chopped into florets
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup green beans, chopped
Any other veggies you like - chopped or sliced
1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated -OR- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, depending on your needs
1/2 tsp garlic powder

In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil and add in the veggies, cooking until desired tenderness is reached.  Add in the ginger, soy sauce, black eye peas, and garlic.  Stir and cook another few minutes.  Serve over brown rice.

Chocolate Greek Frozen Yogurt
One word - yum!  I highly recommend storing homemade frozen yogurt in single serve containers as it will freeze rock hard in the freezer and can be hard to break apart.  Also - it will keep you from eating it all at once!

Makes 8 half cup servings, 118 calories per serving
Ingredients
4 cups fat free plain Greek yogurt
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
5 tsp stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Add to your ice cream maker according to your manufacturer's instructions. 

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
I've saved the best for last!  After the success of the chocolate frozen yogurt, I thought I'd try something with fruit.  I do not like big chunks of frozen fruit in my ice cream or froyo, so this is more strawberry flavored than chunky.  By all means, make it with chunks if you like it that way.  This recipe made a little too much to fit into my 1.5 quart ice cream maker so I froze it in two batches.  You could just decrease the recipe by 3/4 and it would fit perfectly.  It may be a little eccentric to make froyo in the middle of a snowstorm but I was in the mood for something sweet and had nothing in my house.

Makes 9 half cup servings, 92 calories per serving.
Ingredients
4 cups fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 lb frozen strawberries (no sugar added)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup agave nectar
5 tsp stevia
1 tsp vanilla

In a small pot, combine the strawberries and lemon juice and cook until the strawberries are soft.  If you don't want a lot of chunks, use a potato masher to break up the strawberries. 

Continue cooking to reduce the liquid by half.  Transfer the strawberries to a bowl and let cool completely.

Combine all the rest of the ingredients and the cooled strawberries.  Add to your ice cream maker and freeze according to your manufacturer's instructions.

This was so good and pretty that I was literally eating it out of the top of the ice cream maker while it was still churning!

Stay warm out there!