What's Cookin' Today

I recently purchased a 5 pound bag of black beans from the "dented cans" section at my local grocery. Here are 2 recipes for them. I made the soup 2 days ago and am in the process of making the chili. Mmmmm it sure smells good here!

Black Bean Soup
Printable Recipe

2 cups dried black beans
2 cloves garlic-minced
1 medium carrot-peeled and diced small
1 large stalk celery-diced small
1 small onion-diced small
1 can tomatoes with chiles (Rotel) or tomatoes concassé
1 ham hock
4 cups chicken, vegetable, or other stock
1 bay leaf

Sort and soak beans overnight; drain and discard soak water.
In a 4-quart pot, saute garlic, onion, carrot and celery in olive oil until tender
but not browned. Add beans, stock, ham hock, bay leaf, and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, 1 to
1-1/2 hours. Remove ham hock and bay leaf before serving.


Black Bean Chili
Printable Recipe

1 pound lean ground pork
1 medium red OR green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lime juice
Shredded cheddar cheese

Coat a heavy, large, covered pot with olive oil.
Heat over medium-high heat.
Add pork, bell pepper, onion, garlic and cumin. Cook and stir until pork is brown and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Drain off fat.
Stir black beans, undrained tomatoes, water, oregano and salt into mixture in pot. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Uncover; simmer about 15 minutes more or until desired consistency.
Stir in lime juice. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese. Serve with tortillas, if desired.
Serves 4 to 6.


I got this recipe from Paula and plan on making them today. They sound awesome~and we all know this is one of my favorite combos~pumpkin and chocolate.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Printable Recipe

2 cups canned pumpkin

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

4 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda combined with 2 tsp. milk

1 11 oz. bag chocolate chips

Blend pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs together - set aside.

Stir together flour and cinnamon. Add flour to pumpkin mixture and stir in baking soda mixed with milk. 

Fold in chocolate chips and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes

These are a delicious, soft, moist cookie.

I use only half a bag of chocolate chips, and I think that's perfect, but the recipe calls for a whole bag.