We had a really busy weekend so I threw together things that were easy and quick to put together. On Saturday night we got together with 20ish family members and they had BBQ so I wanted to bring something that was similar, but easy to make. Luckily I had a can of Trader Joe’s organic baked beans in my pantry so it was perfect! I paired that with brown basmati rice and roasted brussel sprouts and carrots.

Baked Bean Bowls

1 can organic baked beans (TJ’s)

2 cups brown basmati rice, dry

1 tbsp vegetarian Better than Boullion chicken flavor

1 bag brussel sprouts, cleaned and halved

2 cups baby carrots, halved long ways

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1. Put rice, water, and bouillon into your rice cooker and cook. This gives the rice a really savory, delicious flavor.
2. Preheat oven to 400* and put brussel sprouts and carrots on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with seasonings and bake 30ish minutes until golden brown and tender.
3. In a small sauce pan heat up baked beans.
4. Scoop rice into a bowl, top with  roasted veggies, and warmed beans.

For appetizer I made a huge batch of oil free hummus and it was a hit! I got several comments about how good it was and it only takes a few minutes to make and SO much cheaper than grocery store hummus. You jazz it up with some spices on top and it looks pretty and feeds an army. I made 3 cans of chickpeas, but I’ll make the recipe for 2 because you might not be trying to make it for the year.

Garlic Oil Free Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, reserve liquid from half of 1 can, drain the rest

1/2 can aquafaba (chickpea liquid)

1.5 tbsp tahini

2 heaping tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

juice of one lemon

1. Combine all ingredients into your food processor and put on high until smooth. It should have a thick consistency.
2. Sprinkle with cumin, smoked paprika, and Everything but the Bagel Seasoning (TJ’s). (optional) You can top it with any spices you like!
3. You can store in the fridge up to a week.

Last night I made a crispy kale and roasted veggies thin crust pizza, and we might have eaten the whole thing…but it was healthy so it’s fine right? I bought a pack of two sprouted whole grain pizza crusts at Trader Joe’s and topped them with oil free marinara, roasted mushrooms and onions, cherry tomatoes, kale, and cashew parmesan. The crust got really crisp as well as the kale so it combined some of my favorites, kale chips and pizza!

Crispy Kale and Veggie Thin Crust Pizza

1 sprouted whole grain pizza crust

1/2- 2/3 cup Organic Marinara Sauce (TJ’s) fat free

10 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

3 handfuls chopped kale

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

few tbsp of cashew parmesan

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375* and add mushrooms and onions to a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Roast for 20-30 minutes. After removing veggies, turn up oven to 450*.
3. Spread marinara on one pizza crust and top with roasted mushrooms, onion, kale, and tomatoes.
4. Sprinkle cashew parmesan on top and bake until crispy. Watch kale because it cooks so quickly.