Sour Cream Banana Coffee Cake

For a little while, I followed a gluten-free diet. During that time I was trying many recipes to see which ones "worked" when they were prepared with gluten alternatives. This is a breakfast bread, or a dessert - and it worked well!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

8 TBS. sugar (unrefined)

1 egg

1/4 tsp. gluten free vanilla extract

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup gluten-free flour (if there is one you like cooking with, i.e. almond flour, or rice flour that is fine. There are some gluten-free blended flours on the market, too. )

1/2 tsp. gluten free baking powder

1/2 tsp. gluten free baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and 6 of the TBS of sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in banana and sour cream. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, walnuts, and remaining 2 TBS. sugar.

2. Spoon half of the batter into a greased bread pan. Sprinkle with the walnut/cinnamon/sugar mixture. Spoon on the remainder of the batter. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-38 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 mins then remove to a wire rack!

Black Bean Chili Soup

This is an easy recipe to make in the crock-pot.

Ingredients:

1 15oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz. can of mexican stewed tomatoes (i.e. tomatoes with green chilies), undrained
1 14.5 oz. can of regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1 11oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
16 ozs. of veggie broth or broth of your choice
4 green onions, sliced
1 small green pepper, sliced
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1TBS chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
Place all ingredients in slow-cooker and cook for 5-6 hours on low heat.
When I made this, I had the crock pot on "high" and it was getting too hot and depleting the fluids.
The first night I ate this I added some tortilla chips to my soup bowl and had a "tortilla soup."
The next day, (because you will have leftovers) I made a grilled cheese sandwich and dipped it into the soup. It's nice on a cold day.

Bean and Vegetable Soup with Fancy Beans

I was inspired to make this soup because the weather has been cold and wintery lately. Also, I have been reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle which features an heirloom variety of beans on the cover called Christmas Lima Beans.
Yesterday while I was at the store, I saw those beans and bought a bag. I also bought a bag of mixed dry beans and lentils.

Ingredients (for 4-6 servings)
about 1.5 cups of mixed dry beans and lentils
2-3 boullion cubes (your choice of flavor)
1 carrot peeled and cut into thin slices
3 stalks celery cut into thin slices
3 red potatoes peeled and cut into little cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 can crushed or diced tomatoes with juice (optional)
1tsp. mild chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS. butter

Directions
1. Put dry beans in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Cover and soak for 1 hour.
2. Drain and rinse beans, place in pan of the crock pot.
3. Add all the cut-up veggies (except the onion) to the crock pot. Also dissolve the boullion in water, and add enough water to the crock pot to cover the veggies and beans. Once all that is added, turn on the crock pot on the "high" setting for 1 hour.
4. In a medium sauce pan, saute the onion and garlic in the butter, until onion is translucent.
5. Add the onion and garlic mixture to the crock pot. Also add the chili powder and any other spices you might like. Also add the can of tomatoes (optional).
6. Once the crock pot as cooked on "high" for 1 hour, turn setting to low and simmer for 4-6 hours until all ingredients become tender.