Super Simple Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup

The weather has definitely taken a turn towards winter and nothing warms you up better than a hearty bowl of soup.  One of my favorites has always been black bean soup, but for some reason whenever I am making a bean soup I add in too many other things and it becomes more of a chili or a stew.  So this time I made an effort to keep it very simple and it turned out exactly right.  I can call this my version of a Pantry Soup since literally everything in it came from my cupboards.  You can easily alter the amount of spice you add, or how many chilies or spoonfuls of salsa you garnish it with depending on the level of heat you are looking for. It would be delicious over a plate of brown rice, or with cheese on top inside of a bread bowl.  I served mine with a large scoop of plain Greek yogurt, some fresh tomatoes and avocados and a side of organic blue corn chips.  So simple, so easy and so perfectly delicious.

Apple Butter Biscuits (Vegan)

It's Saturday morning and I have time to bake again for my family but since it is grocery shopping day, the fridge and pantry are a bit more sparse than usual... so what to use and what to make?  If you happened to make my Apple Cider Muffins last week like I did, then you probably have some organic apple butter left over.  I have been looking at the jar of it in my fridge all week, thinking it would be really good on toast or biscuits.  I wanted to make something quick and simple this morning, and of course healthy and delicious, so I started thinking of a way to make whole grain biscuits using the apple butter as both the sweetener and a source of moisture.  So I played around with a basic biscuit recipe and came up with this delightful surprise.  They are flavorful (house smells awesome), moist and very filling.  Perfect for the morning of a day we plan to spend outside raking leaves!!

Baked Potato Skins

Baked Potato Skins
with a side spinach salad

Potato skins have long been one of my favorite go to comfort foods. While most people eat the inside of a baked potato first and then pick at the skin, I start with the outside and work my way in.  So when making my Baked Potato Soup a couple of weeks ago, I made it a point to scoop out the insides of the potatoes carefully and save the skins for another meal.  I placed the skins into a tightly sealed freezer bag and stored them in my top freezer for the last two weeks. I really wasn't sure that this recipe was going to work or how good they would turn out, but my family LOVED them and I think we will be doing this a lot in the future.  Granted we used a lot of cheese, and my son would have like me to add bacon (maybe next time) but overall it was a meal that tasted a lot more indulgent than it was.

The skins of the potato are the most nutrient dense part, containing the bulk of the fiber (about 2 grams per ounce), as well as significant amounts of B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, calcium and potassium.  By baking them instead of deep frying them like most restaurants do and topping them with plain Greek yogurt instead of the usual sour cream, they are nutritious, high in protein and fiber and very satisfying as a meal's main dish.  So save those skins and whip up a game day delight that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!!