Crispy Potato Skins With Black Bean Salsa

Here are some great tasting Crispy Potato Skins With Black Bean Salsa. Stuffed with lots of cheese and the homemade black bean salsa not only gave this snack a healthy boost, it made it look so much more appetizing and added a cool refreshing taste in your mouth. Simply irresistible, try it!

Crispy Potato Skins With Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients

3 Medium Size Russet Potatoes, scrubbed
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
About 1 ½ to 2 Cups Of Shredded Cheese (Monterey Jack & Cheddar)


Black Bean Salsa
1 Can (15oz/425g) Organic Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Can (12oz/341ml) Organic Corn Kernels, drained
¼ of Medium Red Onion, finely diced
2 Tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 Jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
A small handful of Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
Lime Juice, about 3 Tbsp
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt, to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 450˚F.


Make the salsa: In a large bowl, combine black beans, corn kernels, tomatoes, onion, Jalapeno and coriander. Season the salsa with lime juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Refrigerate the salsa mixture until ready to serve.

Baked Potato Skins: Place the potatoes on a large baking tray. Bake the potatoes for 40 to 50 minutes, or until softened. Remove from the oven and let the potatoes cool slightly. 

Cut each potato into quarters and scoop out the flesh and leaving about ¼ inch of the potato skin. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and brush the potato inside out with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Then bake in the oven for about 18 to 20 minutes on until they are crisp. 

Scatter the crisp potatoes with cheese, (as much as you like) and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly and top the potato skins with black bean salsa.

Serves 4 to 6

Double Chocolate Cookies

These Double Chocolate Cookies are a perfect treat with kids and adults alike. It uses just a few ingredients, a cinch to make. Really. These buttery and chocolaty cookies simply melts in your mouth and the walnut bits' crunch just make these cookies so delightful! Happy baking!

Double Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

½ Cup/1 stick/113g Unsalted Butter, softened
3/8-1/2 Cup or 80-100g Golden Brown Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Vanilla Paste
1 Cup/125g All-Purpose Flour, sifted
½ tsp Baking Soda
¼ Cup/30g Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt
½ Cup/90g Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/3 Cup/50g Walnut Pieces

Method

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and walnut, and stir to combine.



In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla paste. Add the egg yolk and beat again. Add the dry ingredients and mix well to form a soft dough. Roll the mixture into 12 balls and divide between the baking trays. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly and bake for about 11 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, then remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies on the rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 Cookies

Buffalo Chicken Burger

This Buffalo Chicken Burger is a healthy change from the usual beef burgers. Do try making this spicy burger, top it with some of the Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Burger

500g Ground Chicken (combination of breast and thigh meat)
¼ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ of a Small Red Onion, finely diced
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 to 2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
¼ Cup Plain Bread Crumbs
1 ½ tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 Small Bottle (150ml) Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

6 Burger Buns, toasted
Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw

Method

In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken with garlic powder, red onion, Italian seasoning, chili flakes, breadcrumbs, sea salt, olive oil, and some freshly ground black pepper. Divide into 6 equal patties and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

Melt the butter and mix in the hot sauce. Let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour half of the sauce into a lightly oil baking tray.

Prepare the grill or a large cast iron pan over high heat. Grill the patties for 3 minutes on each side and transfer into the baking tray. Then pour the other half of the hot sauce on the patties and bake for about 6 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and brush with some of the hot sauce and place the patties on lightly toasted buns and top with some sweet and tangy coleslaw.

Makes 6 Burgers

Sweet And Tangy Coleslaw

Here is a fresh and healthy side dish, this colorful Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw. It's made with champagne vinegar, sugar, and celery seeds. A tasty twist to the traditional slaw, made without any mayonnaise.

Sweet And Tangy Coleslaw

Ingredients

454g/16oz/1 lb Mix Slaw (green & red cabbage, carrot)
4 Tbsp Finely Diced Red Onion
3 Tbsp Champagne Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Celery Seeds
¾ tsp Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, optional

Method

Heat the vinegar, sugar, and celery seeds in a small pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sugar has melted and then remove from the heat. Pour the syrup over the slaw and season well with salt and pepper. Toss everything together, and chilled before serving.

Banana Steel-Cut Oats

I like to begin my day with a bowl of energy-boosting oats and fruits. It really puts me into hyper mode and gets me ready for my day of activities. This recipe is for Banana Steel-Cut Oats. It's made with mashed bananas, steel-cut oats, currants, walnuts, almond, cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey, if you like. This energy breakfast fix is just packed with lots of nutritious goodies that is good for your body. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Have a great week ahead!

Banana Steel-Cut Oats

Ingredients

¼ Cup Steel-Cut Oats
1 Cup Water
A pinch of sea salt
1 Banana, lightly mashed
¼ tsp Vanilla Paste
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon or to taste
A small handful of Walnut pieces
A small handful of Currants or Raisins
1 Tbsp Almond Slices
Honey, to taste

Method

Bring the water and sea salt to a boil. Mix in the oats, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add in the vanilla, stir occasionally and remove from the heat. Then stir in the banana and ladle it into a bowl and top with cinnamon, walnut, currants, almonds, and drizzle some honey, if desired.

Serve 1

Veggie Stromboli

Veggie Stromboli is a hearty rolled pizza where the filling is cooked inside the dough. This tasty Italian dish uses ready made pizza dough and it's filled with kale, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella, and seasoned with garlic, sea salt, and black pepper. As usual, feel free to experiment with some other filling of your choice and enjoy!

Veggie Stromboli

Ingredients

1 (310g) Ready-made Pizza Dough
1/2 Cup or more Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
3 Kale Leaves, chopped, blanched, drained
3 Cremini Mushrooms, blanched and sliced
4 Sundried Tomatoes, sliced
1 Small Clove Garlic, finely grated or chopped
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine kale, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a rough rectangle about 16 by 8 inches. Scatter the cheese over the dough, top with kale mixture. Roll up the long side, tuck the short sides in and slide onto the baking tray, seal side down. Make a few cuts on top of the dough and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked through and browned. Leave to cool slightly before serving.

Serves 2

Chocolate Almond Raspberry Muffins

Chocolate Almond Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 ¾ (385g) Cups All-Purpose Flour, sifted
1 Cup (About 100 g) Ground Almond

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Sea Salt
¾ (165g) Cup Brown Sugar
¾ (185 g) Cup Crème Fraiche
3 Large Eggs
¼ (1/2 stick/56g) Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
1 Cup (250 ml) Milk, at room temperature
½ Cup Corn Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Paste
180 g Chocolate Chips
¾ Cup Organic Raspberry Jam
½ Cup Almond Flakes


Method



Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter or spray the 24 molds in a small size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.



In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almond, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, Crème Fraiche, eggs, melted butter, milk, corn oil, and vanilla paste. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough-if the batter is a bit lumpy, that's fine. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill cups 1/2 full. Place 2 teaspoon raspberry jam on each muffin; press into batter. Then fill the batter to almost to the top, sprinkle with almond flakes. 

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto the rack to cool.

Makes 24 small muffins