Black Bean and couscous salad

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2.In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.
3.Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Quinoa and Black Beans

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
1.Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2.Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3.Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients
1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
Directions
1.Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2.Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
3.Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
1.Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
2.In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3.Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4.Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
5.In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast

Chrissy Ladd's Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients
1 box of brownie mix
1 can of black beans

Directions:
Drain beans and refill the can with water. Puree in a blender.
Add pureed beans to the brownie mix, mix well. (Do not add any other ingredients.)
Bake as directed on the box.

*The brownies seem to cook faster in a non stick pan!

Strawberry Angel Food Layer Cake

Ingredients

U.S. Metric Conversion chart

•2/3 cup(s) cake flour (not self-rising)
•2/3 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
•8 large egg whites
•1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
•2/3 cup(s) granulated sugar
•2 tablespoon(s) sugar
•2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
•1 container(s) (1-pound) strawberries
•1 cup(s) heavy cream, substitute whipping cream

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Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 15 1/2-inch by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan. Line pan with waxed paper; grease waxed paper. Into small bowl, sift flour and confectioners' sugar.
2.In large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating just until whites stand in stiff, glossy peaks when beaters are lifted. Beat in vanilla.
3.Sift flour mixture, one-third at a time, over beaten egg whites; fold in with rubber spatula just until flour mixture is no longer visible.
4.Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Invert cake onto cutting board; carefully peel off waxed paper.
5.While cake cools, prepare strawberries and whipped cream. Set 5 or 6 smaller berries aside; reserve for garnish. Hull and slice remaining strawberries. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until soft peaks form. Reserve 3/4 cup whipped cream. Fold strawberries into whipped cream remaining in bowl.

Bran Muffins from the novel Blackberry Crumble

3 and 1/2 cups All Bran
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter (I use canola oil and it works fine.)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 and 1/2 cups flour
2 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups.
Soak 1 cup of All Bran cereal in 1 cup of boiling water and stir until evenly blended. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. Beat eggs in one at a time.
Then add buttermilk and soaked All Bran mix.
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Blend just until moist. Fold in rest of All Bran and two cups of additions.
Spoon batter in muffins papers--fill to top. Bake 30-35 minutes. (Mine are done in 29-30 minutes). It makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen. It's easy to cut the recipe in half and you get about 14 muffins.

Additions:
1 and 1/2 cup blueberries
1 c. chocolate chips (I use mini chips)
1/2 c. pecan
1 c. craisins
1 c. chopped dates
1 c. fresh cranberries
1 and 1/2 cups chopped apples
1/2 c. coconut
1 c. drained pineapple tidbits.