Butter Bean & Artichoke Tomato Sauce

There's nothing like the smell of homemade tomato sauce. You really feel like you made a gourmet healthful meal pus it is SO easy. The stuff in the jar works for last minute meals but if you have some times please please try making your own. You will love yourself for it. All you need is high quality crushed tomatoes in a can (I used an Italian brand from my local grocery store), garlic, salt and thats it! The rest is up to your imagination. I dumped in a can of artichoke hearts and a can of butter beans. The butter beans gave sort of a smokey undertone which I liked. I also threw in some sliced kalamata olives. Absolutely delicious!

Butter Beans with Caramelized Shallots and Parmesan

This side dish took literally 5 minutes to make. It also took me literally 5 minutes to make up. I grabbed a can of butter beans (they are a wide lima bean), a shallot, some grated parmesan and that was it! I sauteed the shallots until they were sweet and caramelized then I threw the beans in with the shallots until warm and crisp on the outside. To top it all off, I grated fresh parmesan cheese on top as well as chopped parsley for some color. It may not be the prettiest dish, but it was SO good! The smoky shallots and crisped beans were a great combo and will definitely be made again. If you can't find butter beans, lima beans will work as well.

Butter Beans with Caramelized Shallots and Parmesan

1 can butter beans, or lima beans, washed and drained

1 shallot, sliced

Parmesan cheese, grated

Chopped parsley, optional

1 Heat a medium skillet with olive oil and saute the sliced shallot until light brown and sweet.

2 When the shallot is soft and browned, throw in the butter beans until lightly crisped on the outside. Add more olive oil if needed.

3 Garnish with grated parmesan and parsley. Enjoy!

Beef & Bean Stew

I know its still hot outside, but even in the scorching summer I still crave beef stew. I love the fall-apart beef and hot flavorful vegetables. This time I added a can of soft cannellini beans that just melt in your mouth. I threw everything in the crock pot (the best invention ever!), went about my day and forgot about it. When I got home, dinner was ready and delicious!

Beef & Bean Stew

1.5 lb boneless beef chuck or round cut into 1 inch cubes (I bought mine already cut)

olive oil

Salt 'n' peppa

1 leek, sliced

3 cups stock

1/2 cup red wine

3 medium potatoes, cut into quarters (I left the skin on, but you can peel them if you want)

1 carrot, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 can cannellini beans, washed and drained

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 Heat a saute pan over medium heat with olive oil and let get very hot. Season beef cubes with salt and pepper and brown on the hot pan. Work in batches as to not overcrowd the pan. Cook on both sides until brown.

2 Throw browned beef into the crock pot. In the same pan, cook leeks and carrots until softened. Season with salt and pepper and throw into the crock pot with the beef.

3 Pour stock, red wine, potatoes, and beans on top and give a good stir in the crock pot. Set on low for about 8 hours or 4 hours on the high setting.

Beef Enchiladas

Some of you may know how much I love Mexican food. But for those of you who don't, let me reiterate: I LOVE Mexican food! Ok now that we got that out of the way, let's chat. I grilled some burgers the other night alongside those yummy grown up fries. Apparently I made too many burgers. 3 too many to be exact. So instead of freezing them, I crumbled them up and used them in these enchiladas. They came out so cheesy and beefy, plus I threw some pinto beans in there which made all the difference. They were moist and a perfect way to use up leftover hamburger patties. Other ways to use up leftover patties: - Freeze them - Crumble and cover with cheese and guacamole and sour cream for some meaty nachos - Crumble and use in taco soup - Crumble and use in chili - Crumble on pasta or use in meat sauce

Beef Enchiladas

2 cans enchilada sauce

3 leftover ground beef patties, or about 1 lb ground beef

1 can pinto beans

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

6 flour tortillas

Shredded Cheddar

Shredded Mozzarella

1 Bunch green onions

1 Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees.

2 Crumble hamburger patties, or brown raw ground beef in medium saute pan if not using leftovers

3 Once beef is browned, pour one can of enchilada sauce with the beef, add oregano, garlic powder and pinto beans. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4 Prepare a bowl with the other can of enchilada sauce. Grease a baking pan and pour enough of the sauce to cover the entire bottom of the pan.

5 Using tongs, dip the tortillas in the bowl of sauce and cover entire surface. Place on a separate plate, and put beef mixture in the center in a line, then Cheddar cheese, then some green onions. Fold and place in the baking pan, seam facing down. Continue assembling the tortillas until the pan is full. I had to turn some of mine to make them fit.

6 Cover the rolled tortillas with the rest of the enchilada sauce and sprinkle with plenty of mozzarella cheese on top.

7 Bake in the oven/toaster oven for 10 minutes until hot and bubbly.