Sweet & Spicy Slaw w/ Stove Top BBQ Beans

What's better on a hot 95 degree day than some cool slaw and some spicy beans?

 This past weekend, my husband and I went to a BBQ that was serving Tennessee Tacos.

I had one and promised myself I'd make a healthy version with less sugar and more spice.

The soft tortilla is a great way to combine these two flavors. 

You get a little of this and some of that in each bite.

When I went to the store to get the basics for this meal, I thought about how many types of beans there are available, but not many healthier brands.  I did get organic black and kidney beans but this meal could have a lot of extra sugar.

So I decided to make the beans and slaw myself and control the sugar with Stevia.

I have never made homemade baked beans before but in looking at a few of the cans, they didn't seem that hard to cook up on my own.

These definitely look a little different than store bought.  I thought that they were going to taste

like pasta sauce when I first saw them cooking.  But they don't at all.

They have a sweet background with a pinch of spice that can easily increase with more red pepper.

Stove Top BBQ Baked Beans:

Mix all ingredients in a 3 Quart Sauce Pan -

3 Cups Water
3 Cans of Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can Tomato Paste
2 Vegetable Bullion Cubes
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 Tbs. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
4 Tbs. Brown Sugar
1/8 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Spicy Brown Mustard


I used my homemade brown sugar in this
and it really was nice to have fresh soft sugar to work with.

1-3 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1/8 Cup Ground Flax Seed (optional)

Heat on low at least 1 hour, stirring to prevent burning.
Serve with Spicy Slaw inside a wrap or soft tortilla.

*Optional:  Chop one cooked Pork Chop and add that in.

I used my homemade Whole Grain Spicy Brown Mustard
in the beans, so good and easy to make.

Sweet & Spicy Slaw:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
Keep refrigerated.  Flavors are best next day when they've had time to meld.

3 Cups chopped Cabbage/Carrot Slaw mixture
3/4 - 1 Cup of Miracle Whip Mayo or Vegan Mayo
(start with 3/4 cup and then add more if you'd like it creamier)
1 tsp. Powdered Stevia
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Spicy Brown Mustard
1 Tbs. Celery Salt
1 Tbs. Honey *optional

An easy Summer meal with lots of fiber, a little sugar and a whole lot of flavor.

Enjoy!

Vegan Creme Brulee

HEALTHY DECADENCE

Pear Butter Walnut Cookies - GF, Vegan

I picked up this Kime's Pear Butter Spread   this week at a wonderful local heath food store here: Mom's Organic Market, and wanted to incorporate it into a healthy cookie.

 I made this one to be dehydrated for RAW readers, but also because my oven isn't working right now.  They're pretty good and also allowed me to try out the Palm Sugar I got last week from iHerbs.  (6 packs only $20!)  The cookies are soft and mildly sweet.  The walnuts add a nice crunch.  If you wanted to bake them I'm sure they could be adapted but I would keep the temperature lower than most and cook them slowly like the dehydrator dose, maybe 300 deg. for 45 minutes?  I don't know since I can't try with my oven right now.  The dehydrator works well though, that I know.

Salted Dark Chocolate Dipped Dried Pineapple

MIGHTY PINEAPPLE:

I got a deal at the grocery store today on some FRESH PINEAPPLE that was just past it's date to sell so it was 50% or more marked down.  I got ahead of the spoiling by cutting it up.  Froze a little for smoothies.  Cut the rest up and spread it out on my dehydrator.  Not only does it make for a healthy snack....helps with my Arthritis pain and............makes the house smell fantastic while it's drying too! 
Be sure to check out some of the health benefits of the powerful fruit at the end of the post........

Got 4 fresh Pineapples for just $1.50 each!

Bagged up some of the pieces to freeze for smoothies

Makes kind of a mess to cut them all up but the taste is much worth the 30 minutes to slice and bag.

NESCO 4 Shelf Dehydrator

Gluten Free Cherry Walnut Truffels

These are a great afternoon snack, low in carbs, high in nutrition and flavor.  The inspiration came from Elana's Pantry posting for "Chocolate Power Bar Balls".  Her recipe calls for dates which are delicious but also a little high in sugar.  I changed mine up some by using dried cherries.  I did a second batch that I made into actual bars instead of balls and put them on the dehydrator so I can take them in the car for work.  The balls really should be kept in the fridge.  Either version, you can add and subtract to suit your own preference

Homemade Soy Milk and Flour

This Soy Milk was relatively easy to make and a huge savings over store bought.  The process is pictured here.  I purchased a 2 lbs. bag of dried soybeans, used 1 lbs. for my first batch since I didn't know how much milk it was going to make and I'd be the one drinking it for the next week.  The 1 lbs of beans produced just under a gallon of Soy Milk.  The 2 lbs bag only cost $1 so I got a gallon of milk for about .50 cents with the flavorings.  I usually spend about $2.50 per quart in the store for boxed Soy Milk so this was definitely a good buy. 

The added bonus is that the bean pulp left over can be made into Soy Flour which is also pricey in the stores.  If you have a dehydrator, spread the pulp on the trays and dry it out, then grind it fine in a food processor to make the flour.  What a savings!
I would add at least 1 cup of sugar/sweetener to the milk as it cooks, vanilla or orange, chocolate could also be added at this stage.  Keep milk for 7 -8 days in a sealed container in the fridge.

Dried Soy Beans

Soak Soy Beans for 12+ hours covered in water

Drain water off of soaked beans

Add 3 cups of water to each 1 cup of beans and blend until smooth, 30 seconds or so

Pour mixture through cheese cloth into large pot, squeeze out bean ball to remove most of the milk into the pot

Heat soy milk over medium heat for 20-30 minutes stirring frequently

Skim off any foam that forms from bean liquid and discard

Dehydrated Orange Slices

Add sugar, vanilla, orange, cinnamon or other flavorings to milk as it simmers

Other Soy information you may enjoy:

http://www.soymilkstore.com/soymilkstore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=53

                                                                                                         

Chocolate Cashew Butter

This one cannot be preserved but it will keep in the freezer up to one year if you can keep from eating it that long...............

Makes 4 - 5 Oz.

1 C. Cashews, salted or not
4 Tbs. sugar * I used Splenda
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Cocoa Powder

Roast cashews on cookie sheet for 10 - 15 minutes, careful not to burn them.
Blend cashews and Olive Oil in food processor, scraping down sides frequently until you have the consistency of chocolate syrup or the ribbon stage look to your cashews.
Add in sugar and chocolate and continue blending for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Store in air tight jar in fridge or freezer.  Serve as a dessert topping or on crackers, toast etc.

Cranberry Chutney w/Pumpkin Seeds

Cranberry Chutney with Pumpkin Bread

Spiced Pears

RED BARTLETT PEAR

ASIAN PEAR

WILLIAMS PEAR

Spiced Canned Pears 
Makes 7 Pint Jars
16 - 20 firm, but ripe pears ( I used a variety of Red Bartlett,    Asian, Bosc, and William's 4 of each)

BOSC PEAR

2 C. sugar
6-7 C. water
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. freshly grated nutmeg
3 whole star anise
7 pint jars
lids and rings
canning kettle
jar lifter
large ladle

Chinese Dipping Sauce

Chinese Dipping Sauce is a wonderful mixture of sweet, tart and spicy.  This would make a great housewarming gift for someone who enjoys Chinese food.

Here's the ingredients:
Makes about 3 cups or 5 1/2 pint jars and a little extra for tasting.