Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I didn’t actually do it on purpose, since no one in our immediate family has gluten issues (KNOCK ON WOOD).  But my oldest wants to start baking with me again, now that she’s out of school and home during her brother’s naptime every day, and when I was browsing my ‘Brownies and Bars’ board on Pinterest, I saw these Black Bean Brownies and thought–hey!  My hubby’s a chocoholic, and he’s doing a dirty dash tomorrow.  Why not go for a higher protein treat?  I didn’t even realize they were gluten free until I was about to put them in the oven and had a sudden moment of panic, because I couldn’t remember adding any flour.  (My inner response was something like, “Yeah, well, you double-checked the ingredient list, so you’re probably good.”)  The texture was a little funny, but that’s partly because these were definitively cake brownies, and I usually go for fudge.  All in all, you couldn’t taste the beans, and while they’re a little different, my hubby liked them just fine. Victory!

The other recipe was a dinner choice that got picked because it was easy and involved rice, since I had leftover teriyaki chicken in the fridge but nothing to go with it.  This Korean Beef and Rice used ground beef and was criminally easy; the only changes I made were to reduce the quantity of red pepper flakes to a level my family can handle and to forgo the green onions on top (partly because my kids wouldn’t love them and partly out of laziness).  And it was TASTY.  I loved the sweet with the subtle heat, and the beef gives that flavor profile a different spin than chicken does.  I did wish it was a little more saucy–as in, saucy at all–but I served peas on the side and mixed mine in, which upped the moisture to an acceptable level.  I doubt it’s any kind of authentic, but I’m not in close touch with anyone who’s lived in Korea anymore, so I don’t really know.  (I did used to be, mind you, but that was in high school and college, and that’s starting to feel like a REALLY long time ago.) Authentic or not, however, I loved it, and easy recipes that I love are always keepers.  Give this one a try!