Recipes

Tasty Tuesday–Vegan Black Bean Burritos

I don’t do a lot of vegetarian/vegan cooking, but I wanted to try something new for our Lenten Friday. I decided to really step outside of my comfort zone and make burritos that are not only vegetarian, but even use plant-based cream cheese, making them vegan as well. I was little worried that they might be a little too unconventional for my family, but they turned out to be a huge hit, and I’ll definitely be making them again! (I may try a version with cheese and maybe even chicken in the future, though!)

  • 6-8 “Extra Grande Burrito” flour tortillas
  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 large jalapeño, minced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
  • 3 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 8 oz. plant-based cream cheese
  • 2 bunches cilantro, lightly chopped

Preheat oven to 350.

Sauté onion, red peppers, and jalapeño with salt in large pan in oil until soft. Add garlic, cumin, and cayenne, and cook for another minute. Add black beans and continue cooking until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and allow to melt. Remove pan from heat and toss in cilantro. Fill and fold tortillas, wrap in foil, and place on baking sheet. Cook in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Tasty Tuesday–Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Today I’m sharing a quick and easy slow cooker recipe for pulled pork with a Hawaiian twist!

  • 3-4 lb. pork shoulder picnic roast
  • 18 oz. bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce (plus more to taste)
  • 20 oz. can pineapple slices in 100% pineapple juice
  • Hawaiian buns (I like the Sara Lee “Artesano” variety)
  • Sliced pepper jack cheese
  • Jalapeño-cilantro slaw

Place pork shoulder in slower cooker and salt and pepper to taste. Drain pineapple slices, reserving juice. Combine one bottle Hawaiian barbecue sauce with reserved pineapple juice and pour over pork. Cook on low 8-10 hours. In last hour, shred pork and drain off most of cooking liquid, then return pork to slow cooker with additional barbecue sauce if desired and finish cooking.

Serve on Hawaiian buns with pineapple slices, pepper jack cheese, additional barbecue sauce if desired, and a generous portion of jalapeño-cilantro slaw.

Tasty Tuesday–Brazilian Lemonade

Today I’m sharing a recipe for one of our family’s top three favorite beverages…Brazilian lemonade, which I’ve been making ever since the 2016 Rio Olympics! Spoilers…there are no lemons in this drink, but rather limes, which makes it even tastier! I usually double (or even triple) the recipe because it’s so popular!

  • 2 limes, washed well and quartered
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 handfuls ice cubes

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain and serve over additional ice, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday–Moscow Mule Inspired Milkshake

I’m still playing around with milkshake flavors, and this week, I’m sharing a non-alcoholic variety inspired by the famous Moscow Mule, with ginger syrup and lime juice. I topped it with ginger whipped cream and lime zest for a little extra punch of flavor, too!

  • 2 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup ginger syrup
  • 1/4 cup lime juice

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Tasty Tuesday–Lavender Milkshakes

My obsession with lavender continues! I’ve made lavender lemonade milkshakes in the past, but I decided I wanted to try to come up with a recipe that featured only lavender, and this fits the bill…it’s bright and refreshing!

  • 2 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup lavender syrup

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Tasty Tuesday–Matcha Malts

My quest to find as many things to do with matcha as possible continues! This time, it’s matcha malts, and they’re bright and delicious! I served them with lavender whipped cream, but you could use any whipped cream, or none at all…the star here is the malt!

  • 2 cups milk
  • 4 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 6 Tbsp. original malted milk powder
  • 4 Tbsp. culinary matcha

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy with your favorite whipped cream, if desired. Serves 3-4.

Tasty Tuesday–Lavender Matcha

Iced lavender cream matcha season at Starbucks may not last all year long, but now that I’ve learned how to make one at home, I can have it any time I want!

Iced Matcha

  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 2-3 tsp. matcha powder
  • 1 cup milk (Starbucks uses oat milk, but you can use your milk of choice)
  • 1 Tbsp. simple syrup

Whisk matcha powder in hot water (I used an electric whisk). Add milk and simple syrup, and whisk until well blended. Add ice if desired.

Lavender Foam

  • 3 Tbsp. cream
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
  • 2 Tbsp. lavender syrup
  • Purple food coloring and dried lavender (optional)

Whisk cream, milk, lavender syrup, and food coloring until frothy. Spoon desired amount on top of iced matcha and sprinkle with dried lavender.

Tasty Tuesday–Lavender Lemonade Milkshakes

I am on a major lavender kick, so of course I had to buy the lavender-lemonade whipped cream at Target the first time I saw it…but then I had to figure out what I was going to do with it! Since we love lavender-lemonade to begin with, I thought why not make lavender-lemonade milkshakes, and use the whipped cream to top them? It was just as delicious as I hoped…perfect for spring! I’m sure they would be good with regular whipped cream, too, since the special variety is a seasonal item.

  • 4 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 12 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1/2-1 tsp. dried lavender

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until combined. Top with whipped cream and additional dried lavender, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday–Breakfast Burritos

I’ve been on something of a burrito kick recently, and one of the types of burritos I wanted to tackle was breakfast burritos, because Turkey loves the kind they sell at McDonald’s. I think I included all of their standard ingredients in my first attempt other than pork sausage, and Turkey said that I didn’t even need to include that in the future…but he wouldn’t mind if I tried them with chorizo!

  • Tortillas–I used the “Extra Grande Burrito” size
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice per burrito
  • Scrambled eggs–(About three per burrito–I made a total of 18 for six burritos)
  • Diced tomato (I used one large tomato for six burritos)
  • Diced green chilies, drained (I used two small cans for six burritos)
  • Browned pork sausage or chorizo (optional)
  • Burritos toppings (sour cream, hot sauce, melted cheese, avocado, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese in the middle of a tortilla. Mix scrambled eggs with tomatoes and chilies, and place a portion on top of cheese. Top with meat, if desired. Fold the tortilla in the traditional burrito style, and place seam-side down on baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Tasty Tuesday–Pineapple Pie

I decided I wanted to try something really different for Thanksgiving, so I made a pineapple pie! It’s a super easy recipe, and is really fresh and unique. I absolutely loved it, and I’ll definitely be making it again!

  • 40 oz. crushed pineapple with juice
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 pie crusts
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
  • 1 Tbsp. white sugar

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine crushed pineapple with juice, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, then boil for 1 minute. Cool slightly.

Line a 10-inch pie plate with crust. Beat egg and brush crust with it to prevent sogginess. Pour filling into the prepared pie dish. Cover with remaining crust; press and flute the edges to seal. Cut a few steam vents on top (or do a lattice crust as pictured), brush crust with milk and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. sugar.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve with whipped cream and flaked coconut if desired.