Black Bean Brownies

YUM!
These brownies are AMAZING! They are very rich, but incredibly good. Perfect with some homemade vanilla ice cream, maybe a caramel drizzle. I brought them to a family gathering, and they were devoured by my picky niece and nephews... and they didn't have a clue they were good for them! (in the grand scheme of things. :) ).
The picture isn't the greatest, but I was trying to take it while the kiddos were chomping at the bit to dig in. But, even though the pic isn't the greatest, I promise you won't be disappointed by these. I honestly prefer these to the real thing. They are THAT good! (Plus they are GF, and can easily be dairy free if you switch out the chips.)

Black Bean Brownies

1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed very well
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup sucanat (or other sweetener)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use less to make them less rich)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt (can omit)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
Add ingredients (except chocolate chips) into food processor in order listed, making sure that the beans are finely pureed and all ingredients are well blended. I had to scrape the sides several times to make sure that everything was encompassed. Once everything is mixed, blend in 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips. I allowed the chips to become chopped up somewhat- almost like mini chocolate chips.
Pour batter into GREASED 9x9 pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 chips on top. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle.

Enjoy- I'm sure that this recipe will surprise you. It is delish!

Chocolate Chip Blondies

In an effort to add in healthy foods, but still allow treats (probably more for mommy than the kiddos ;) ) I altered this recipe and came up Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies.

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup oats or 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (can omit if you are GF)
1/4 cup ground flax (optional)
1/4 cup peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice- can omit)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Using a food processor, add ingredients in order listed above and blend after each addition. Make sure you whiz it enough to get all the chunks of chickpeas ground- it's one thing to eat chunky hummus, but chunky hummus blondies? ew.
After the ingredients are all well blended, pour into greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for about 40 min. The top of the bars begin to crackle a bit once they are finished, plus the edges are brown. Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday- July 25-31

I can't believe that the last week in July has already arrived! Where is the summer going? We have 1 lone surviving zucchini plant, but it is giving us an abundance of large, yummy zucchini, so we have some fun recipes that we are going to be trying and sharing on here over the next few weeks. Also, this week will be "Bean Week" here at Trail Mix Family. Beans have incredible amounts of nutrition, plus they are cheap! All the recipes posted this week will have hidden beans in them- and I promise- your toddlers won't know!

Here's the plan

Monday
B- Steel Cut Oats with Berries
L- Grilled Cheese
D- Marinated pork tacos

Tuesday
B- Eggs and Toast
L-Leftovers
D- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry with Brown Rice

Wednesday
B-Smoothies with Greek Yogurt
L- Egg Salad and veggies
D- Italian Meatloaf

Thursday
B- Homemade Crunchy Granola Bars with Yogurt
L- Turkey and Cheese Rollups with carrot sticks
D- Sausage Gravy with Eggs and Toast

Friday
B-Banana Muffins with Coconut Flour
L-leftovers
D- Ravioli Lasagna

Saturday
B- Yard Sale Day- Daddy's in charge of breakfast
L- Out! Chipotle probably- YUM!
D-Honey Lime Chicken

Sunday
B- At Church
L- Leftovers or Chicken and Noodles from the freezer
D- Steak on the Grill and Smashed Zucchini- fresh from the garden!

Oops, I Did It Again... and again...

"Mami, I did it. My climb!!"

"Mami! My Climb! Play Water!"

I Did It!

Within an hour, life, as I knew it, ended. My entire world came to a halt... all within an hour. Grunt said, "I did it!" Not once, not twice, not even thrice... but fourice (lol). For those of you who have wild toddlers, you are already laughing. Me, not so much. Pea was/is a pretty calm and quiet kid, so I had NO idea what I was getting myself into with Grunt. (and I'm guessing Munchie too). Back to the story.

The First "I Did It!"- I'm in Munchie's room, putting away laundry and I hear Grunt and Pea laughing and squealing. I leave the laundry to investigate- ready to have a heart warming picture of my two kids playing trains together and sharing so sweetly. WRONG. I walk in to find Pea in Grunt's crib helping Grunt climb out (which means that he had already climbed in!). Grunt, "Mami, I DID IT! My Climb!" NOT a picture I wanted to see.

The Second "I Did It!" - I move to our room to grab Pea's laundry and I hear "Mami, I DID IT!" coming from Munchie's room. Once again, leaving the laundry to investigate... I find Grunt ON TOP OF THE CHANGING TABLE- standing up, ready to jump off, just to make it even more fun for me. So, I take him down, tell him not to climb the furniture and CLOSE Munchie's door behind us. I put Grunt in his room to play while I finish the laundry.

The Third "I Did It!" - Pea and I were putting away her laundry, and I hear "I DID IT!" I almost started to laugh hysterically, or cry... who knows at that point- almost needing the looney bin. I walk into the hall and see Munchie's door- WIDE OPEN and Grunt back on top of the changing table. ::take note... my 1 year old can open doors. shoot me.::

The Fourth "I Did It!" - After the third "I did it" I sent the kids outside with Daddy. Only to have him tell me to look out the window at my 1 year old at the top of the pirate's ladder... which happens to be about 7 ft off the ground. SERIOUSLY???? Because I needed more to do and worry about during the day.

Who woulda thunk it... this sweet faced little man.... could be so wild!

Menu Plan Monday! July 18-24

Now that things are calming down with adding Munchie to the mix, it's time to start blogging again! Here's the menu for the week!

Monday
B-Greek Yogurt and fruit smoothies
D-Pasta with Zucchini

Tuesday
B- Steel Cut Oats with Sucanat and dried fruit
D- Leftover Pasta with Zucchini with chicken and bacon added in :)

Wednesday
B- Pancake and Sausage Muffins
D- clife- Burgers with sides

Thursday
B- Creamy Orange Cooler with Toast and Almond Butter
D- leftovers

Friday
B- Eggs in the Basket
D- Steak and Baked Sweet Potatoes

Saturday
B- Whole Wheat Waffles with Bacon
D-Bourbon Chicken and brown rice with stir fry veggies

Sunday
B- White Bean Blondies
L- Family lunch celebrating the safe homecoming of my brother from Afghanistan!!!! :)
D- leftovers