Black Bean Soup

Submitted by Shauna Hinckley
Recipe by Our Best Bites



1 T olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)

3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 3.5oz can green chilies

2 cans low-sodium beef broth

1 t kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dry oregano leaves

1 bay leaf


Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.

Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup.

Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters.

Puree soup until completely smooth. Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges. Makes about 8 C soup.

Dani's Award Winning Sweet n EZ Chili

Submitted by Danica Nelson

*This chili took FIRST PLACE in our First Annual Cooking Club Chili Cook off.
(I often double this and use a pound of ground turkey and add an extra can of kidney beans, another 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, a can of baked beans, and doubling the spices)

1/2 lb. ground turkey

1/2 onion (I use onion flakes)

15 oz. can red kidney beans, undrained

15 oz. can tomato sauce

28 oz. can original baked beans, undrained

Small can mushrooms, drained

1 Tbsp. chili powder

3 tsp. minced garlic

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Salt & pepper to taste



Brown ground turkey with onions. Add both cans of beans, tomato sauce and mushrooms. Stir. Add chili powder, garlic, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt & pepper. Stir well. Turn heat to low and simmer an hour or longer. Serves approx. 4-6.

Melissa's Chili

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell

This chili is so easy to make and it's the perfect chili for Frito Pie.  (Fill a plate with Fritos, top with chili, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, guacamole, tomatoes, etc., etc.)

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, undrained
1 can petite diced tomatoes
3/4 c. salsa
1 package taco seasoning
pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. 

Dutch Oven Cobbler

Submitted by Amy White


Dump 2 cans of large peaches into the bottom of the dutch oven.

Make up a yellow cake mix as directed on the box.

Pour it over the peaches and bake for about an hour over a hot fire, or in your oven at 350 degrees.

Curry Chicken Salad

Submitted by Amy White

Cook 3 chicken breasts

Pull apart the chicken

Mix around 1 tsp of curry into the chicken

Add 1 cup mayo and mix into chicken

Cut up a bunch of grapes and add them

1 can Mandarin oranges

Add 1 cup of coconut flakes

Add some cut up nuts if you want

Mix it all together and you've got it!

Serve with a yummy bread of some kind.

Lemon Bars

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell


1 cup soft butter or margarine

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar; add flour. Mixture should be pea-sized gravel looking for easiest spreading. Spread in 9 x 13" pan and pat down. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes (until edges start to brown). While crust is baking, prepare next layer:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

4 T. flour

4 T. lemon juice

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Beat eggs til foamy, then add sugar, flour, lemon juice and rind. Mix well and pour over hot crust after it comes from oven. Now bake for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar (I put powdered sugar in a small strainer to sprinkle over the top). Cool slightly before cutting.

You can do half the recipe in an 8x8 pan, but it's never enough. Also, this crust works for raspberry bars, putting thinned raspberry jam over the crust and sprinkling some of the crust mixture over the jam.

Orange Cranberry Granola

Submitted by Mandi Cooper



4 cups oats

3/4 cup wheat germ or Grapenuts cereal

3/4 c sliced almonds or other nuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup dried cranberries



Mix together in a big bowl. In a saucepan (or in the microwave), bring the following ingredients to a boil:


1 cup honey

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp shredded orange peel

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon



Pour sauce over the dry mixture. Stir to coat evenly. Spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake at 300 for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool at room temperature.

Greek Couscous

Submitted by Emily Daniel

1 1/2 C Couscous (I used white, but next time I'm going to try a mix of white and wheat)


2 1/4 C Chicken Broth

1 can garbanzo beans

1/2 C Feta Cheese, crumbled

diced tomatoes

diced cucumber

diced red bell pepper

fresh basil, parsley and oregano, minced

Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper

Fresh Lemon juice

Greek Vinaigrette



Bring chicken broth to a boil and add couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff thoroughly with a fork and refrigerate. When couscous is cold, toss with drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, feta, vegetables, and herbs. Squeeze juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Next time I'll try adding a little Greek Vinaigrette for a little more flavor. But it was delicious anyway!

Fruity Pasta Salad

Submitted by Beth Johnston

1/2 c. vanilla yogurt

2 T. honey

1 T. lime juice

lime zest (optional)



1 1/2 cups (uncooked) rotini pasta, cooked and chill

1 c. strawberries, quartered

1 c. pineapple tidbits

1 c. red grapes, halved

2 kiwis, cut in bite size pieces



Cook pasta, drain and chill in refrigerator. Slice fruit and put in bowl. Mix yogurt, honey, lime juice and zest in a separate bowl. When ready to serve mix pasta, fruit and sauce together. Don't mix too early, it's not the type of salad you want to sit for long.

Spinach and Chick Pea Dish

Submitted by Emily Daniel

1. Put 1 T Canola oil in a large skillet. Heat at medium high heat and add a pinch of whole cumin seeds. Cook until seeds start to sizzle. (Side note: I usually have major issues with cumin, it’s just not a flavor that I love, but the whole cumin seeds are WAY better than the ground powder.)

2. Add half a roughly diced onion. Cook until soft. Be careful not to burn!

3. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes with juice.

4. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic and 1 T minced ginger. (You are going to put the mixture in the blender eventually, so don’t stress about finely mincing anything.) We also threw in a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat.

5. Add 1 package of semi-thawed frozen spinach. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until spinach is warmed through.

6. Add pinch of Turmeric.

7. Let mixture cook and then blend in the blender until you have a coarse mixture. Do not puree! Add water if the blender is struggling to process the mixture. Just not so much that you dilute the flavors.

8. Rinse and dry skillet. Reheat, add ½ T butter and ½ tsp of gara marsala. Pour mixture from blender. Heat through.

9. Add one can cooked chickpeas (we made ours fresh in a pressure cooker for the sake of cheapness, but Anamika said canned are fine.)

10. Heat through and salt to taste.

11. Serve with Chipatti bread, pita bread, or whole wheat tortilla.



Or I think Melissa's Pita Crisps would be delicious with this. I usually serve this alongside Jasmine rice, and baked chicken thighs that have been marinated in soy sauce, honey, fresh ginger and garlic.