EASY From Scratch Crockpot Refried Beans Because Tex Mex Wins ALL!!

I have been making these crockpot refried beans from pennies & pancakes for a few months now. This recipe is EASY, super versatile and a staple for any southern tex mex lover like myself. I kid you not, a pot of these puppies goes FAR and I have used them in everything from your traditional tex mex dishes, 7 layer dips, breakfasts, the list is endless. They freeze really well for those of you without multiple mouths to feed, or just one bottomless pit as I do. You can add any number of broths, spices or what have you to tweak this more to your personal taste. For us, it’s the addition of a few jalapenos to spice things up. Also when made according to recipe, this dish is entirely vegetarian/vegan/gluten free so you could take this to a pot luck and appease many different dietary restrictions. You can of course use this as a base for meaty, cheesy goodness as well. I cannot say enough good things about these beans!

Frying corn tortillas fresh as opposed to buying them, takes just a few minutes and they hold up WAY better than their store bought counterparts.

Tonight’s meatless Monday dish will include some fried corn tortillas, topped with said beans, guacamole and various chopped veggies among other things for some badass tostadas.

I tend to overdo it on the toppings as if I can’t have seconds or thirds…

I will take some of the leftovers and turn them into a very filling 7 layer dip for the husband to take to work where he is currently without a microwave. Endless possibilities exist, oh and did I mention cheap?

Said leftovers. Top is the husband guy’s lunch for tomorrow, middle for my bean and cheese nachos for lunch tomorrow, and the bottom is huge container of leftovers to throw in the freezer.

A Pinterest DIY Win Long Forgotten and Lazy Gardener Proof.

So yesterday I boasted of my lazy gardening “skills” well after the daylight hours. I am firmly in the “pics or it didn’t happen” camp so I took a few shots of my pot that overfloweth with cilantro-y goodness. Well not exactly overflow as I did hack a bunch of it off for yesterday’s recipe, but you get the point.

Said pot o’ goodness.

mmmm….goodness.

This for whatever reason reminded me of my first ever Pinterest diy project which came from A Daily Something  a lovely diy/pretty things blog that is definitely worth checking out. This super simple hanging plant holder is actually something I need more of in my life as a lover of plants with floorspace at a premium. My creation with a bit of seventies color flair is reminiscent of the ones that once hung in my grandmother’s home. Now that woman had a green thumb on steroids!

Took maybe10 minutes to make, even the crafty/diy challenged can make this baby happen! Time to wrap up this post as the tiny dictator in my lap has left a fresh “gift” in her diaper and the smell is getting to us both.

The Pinterest Junky’s been jonesin’ for a fix.

Today was the first time in FAR too long since I have had more than a minute or three to reconnect with my love. To spend a full hour lost down the Pinterest rabbit hole was a relaxing thing of joy and beauty. Any free hours not commandeered by tiny dictator or the poor neglected pooches has been spent creating my new vintage shop on Etsy. Second only to Pinterest is my obsession with all of the handmade and vintage goodies to be had there.

Anywhoo, I did manage to make this delicious bit of business from ohsheglows.com made even more awesome due to the cilantro cut fresh from the large pot of it I have growing on my front porch. I am the laziest “gardener” ever. A month or two ago I threw an entire packet of seeds into a dirt filled pot and used a small garden rake to move the dirt around enough to cover most of the seeds. I occasionally remember to water it but we are thankfully in the rainy season so my neglect hasn’t killed my glorious cilantro yet! A few crappy pictures of resulting delicious chickpea/garbanzo goodness. That’s some seared tuna next to it.

Now will somebody please come do my dishes…

Eggroll in a bowl, yes please.

This dish is easy and absolutely tastes like an eggroll. Minus the whole fried part which I am normally a fan of, but the weight I am gaining means less Oreos in my future. I only mention Oreos because I ate an entire package of lemon Oreos over the weekend. I regret nothing, except the lack of lemon Oreos in my life at the moment…Oreos.

This recipe from lifewiththecrustcutoff.com would work well with ground chicken or turkey if you don’t have pork or you wish to cut down on the calories a bit more. This recipe meets all of the usual basic criteria, short ingredient list, easy/quick prep time and yummy.

The bag of coleslaw mix made this super easy.

Here is a blurry picture of what I started shoveling down seconds later.

Make this, eat this. You’re welcome.

Southern Style Cooking Double Pinterest Win!

Last night’s dinner was simple and DELISH! This is one of those accidental vegetarian dinners that happen from time to time and I can assure you the meat was not missed last night. I made the blackeyed pea salad in the afternoon to let the flavors have time to develop a bit and I would highly recommend it. Threw together the ingredients for the cheddar scallion cakes and 10 minutes later we had dinner. Recipe can be found here at pinch of honey.

This would make an easy side dish to take to a pot luck type gathering.

The corn cakes are by no means healthy as they are fried in plenty of oil, but this is me not caring because they are SO good. I might even hold back a bit on the sugar next time as they were a little on the sweet side and I think I would prefer more of a hint of sweet. The hubs tore into these big time which is my seal of approval. He always says he like what I make but I think that is more out of respect for my wittle feelings. Unnecessary but sweet, when he goes back for second and third helpings I know we have a new dish to add into the recipe rotation. Head over to po’ man meals for this recipe.

Fried goodness.

This will absolutely be made again, cellulite be damned!

A little Soboro Don and lack of posts because baby and excessive amounts of Thin Mints.

SO many thin mints, feeling particularly grateful to have a man who likes curvy ladies because things are getting out of hand. Damn Girl Scouts with their pigtails and matching uniform adorableness, they can’t be stopped. I was exceptionally lazy this time what with the eating of the cookies and attempting to fulfill the whims of a tiny overlord. I forgot to take any pictures of the making process and took a few mostly blurry shots of the finished product.

Tiny overlord laughs at mommy’s dark circles and frizzy hair.

This pin hails from norecipes.com I am a big fan of Asian cuisine and this is a big reason why, big flavor and simple production. I love recipes with a short ingredient list! When I was pulling the ingredients for this recipe, I realized the ginger I bought last week didn’t make it home with me. I also had no sake. There was no way I was going to bother going to the grocery store so I decided to forgo the ginger and substitute the sake with a rice wine (mirin). I did a quick google and read that if you substitute mirin for sake and the recipe calls for added sugar that you should leave it out or your recipe may turn out overly sweet. I also added some Sriracha because I may have a slight rooster sauce problem. My picture doesn’t do it justice as per usual, but this shiz was GOOD. My husband devoured two bowls very quickly and it was so easy to make. The mirin substitute was great because I don’t often have sake around the house. I will definitely add the ginger in next time because I imagine it can only add to the flavor.

Sexy? No. Delicious? Absolutely.

Pinterest Semi Fail, it’s a Thing.

So I promise not all of my Pinterest endeavors are food related, just bear with me for a bit. My excuse comes in the form of a tiny 3 week old dictator that demands and distracts pretty often at the moment, but we do still have to eat. My photos leave much to be desired as well but this is a hobby/work in progress sort of thing so I am not going to stress it. Today’s post comes from cherry on a cake  and DAMN if her photos aren’t works of foodie art, but again not going to stress it… I feel the need to clarify/defend my bacon loving street cred by saying we are by no means a vegetarian family, but we do enjoy the occasional veg/tofu centered meal. As with the aforementioned blogger, I am not a huge tofu fan but as it is cheaper than meat, I do feel the need to try to incorporate it into the menu at least once or twice a month. I also made a few modifications based on what I had on hand so there was no ginger or green onion in my version. My husband was a bigger fan of this recipe than I was and he even finished off the leftovers last night. I liked this short and simple ingredient list which is one of the reasons I chose this recipe. Draining and toweling out the extra moisture is a very crucial part of any tofu related recipe. I am embarrassed to say how long it took me to embrace the concept… Mise en place. Bonito flakes and sesame seeds, corn flour and beaten egg. Even badass photography skills couldn’t make this sexy looking. Go look at the original bloggers post I have clearly failed here. Flavor was decent and I imagine would have been even more so with the ginger and green onions. I would probably make this again with all of the appropriate ingredients but even so I doubt it would live up to the aesthetic awesomeness of the original. Also a link to my board of previous Pinterest successes I had before attempting to document and blog about it.

Ruffles Marshmallow Treats, the antithesis of the “New Year, New Me.”

The inaugural post of Pinterest Junky comes from an easy and delicious place. I am stuck indoors, under multiple layers of blankets trying to stave off the grumpy boredom.

In an effort to convince my husband that the countless hours I have spent on Pinterest haven’t been totally in vain, I present to you proof…BOOM. Let’s not pay attention to the close to 2,000 pins I have already accumulated and focus instead on the almost 30 that I have successfully reproduced.

To counter all the healthy exercise/healthy diet business currently dominating your news feed, I give you instead this easy and delicious take on the rice krispy treat.

From tammileetips.com, I am always doubling this recipe for any party/gathering and they rarely last an hour! A nice balance of salty and sweet as well as almost nothing in the way of prep/make time. These are a total win.

Bubbly marshmallow goodness.

Chips instead of Rice Krispies is the stuff of legend!

AND…done. Seriously this is embarrassingly easy.

That’s it folks, 3 ingredients and 3 easy steps and you will be loved and maybe even a little hated for this recipe.