Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins are made of oatmeal and have basically become my favorite. I mix up what I add into them all the time.

5 C rolled oats
2 C applesauce
2 C water
1/4 C honey or syrup (you can add more if you want it sweeter)
1/4 C oil (anything works...coconut/butter/veggie oil)
1/2 - 1 tsp baking soda
1 egg (this can be omitted if you want it vegan without big side effects :)
2 tsp vanilla

Mix together. Add in what you want...
Bake at 375 for 23 min. and then broil for another 3 min

some ideas I have tried...
Dried cranberries, shredded coconut, chocolate chips (mini)
Shredded coconut, cinnamon with a chocolate ganche on top (simmer 1/4 C cream, remove from heat and add in 1 C chocolate chips and mix till melted)
Chocolate chips
Diced apples, cinnamon
Shredded carrots, diced apples, raisins, cinnamon

adp from chocolatecoveredkatie

Spinach/Orange/Banana/Berry Smoothie

Smoothie recipes are pretty easy to invent but here's a good basic one...

2 oranges
1/2 banana
1/2 C berries (mixed or just strawberries or blueberries, etc)
2-3 C spinach
1/3 C coconut milk/cream of coconut/or other liquid
1/4-1/3 C water
1+ C ice

Butternut Black Bean Soup

1 lb butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 C beef/veggie broth
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp corriander

Put squash, onion, garlic, broth and one can of beans in crockpot. Cook. Use an immersion blender to blend semi-smooth. Add tomatoes, one can of beans (drained), vinegar and corriander. Simmer till ready :)

Spinach Polenta Soup

This was seriously good...

Ingredients

6 cups (or more) chicken broth/vegetable broth

3/4 cup polenta (corn grits)

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 tablespoons butter/oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed

4-6 C spinach leaves

pepper to taste (also rosemary or thyme if you want :)

Bring 6 cups broth to simmer in large saucepan. Whisk polenta and flour in heavy large pot. Add 2 cups hot broth to polenta whisking constantly while you add it to prevent lumps. Stir in butter and garlic and pepper and spices. Gradually add the rest of the broth. Simmer gently over medium heat until polenta is tender and soup is creamy and thickened. Stir frequently and adding more broth to thin. (I simmer it about 10-13 minutes and then let it sit for a bit covered with spinach) Stir in spinach and simmer a few more minutes.

Black Bean Brownies

There are lots of these recipes floating around so if you find a good one tell me...

3 C black beans (2 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed
4-5 tbsp cocoa powder
1 C rolled oats
1/4 tsp salt (optional - I think they are okay without it)
2/3 - 1 cup pure maple syrup or honey (I can never decide which I like better)   -You can also use regular sugar for part of this if you like
1/2 C coconut oil (or other oil)
4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 C chocolate chips

Put the all ingredients, except chocolate chips, into a food processor or a good blender. Watch out with the blender because it is thick. Add the chips and stir. Pour into a 9x13 greased pan. Cook at 350 for about 18-20 min. These brownies are not super thick (fyi)

update...I noticed that chocolatecoveredkatie has a very similar recipe up. If are vegan you should check out her blog.