We finally had gorgeous weather this weekend! It didn’t get stormy until last night, and while it was windy, there was hail – we actually didn’t get the worst of it – tornado warnings were all around us! While I like a good rain storm, tornados scare the bejesus out of me.
I was lucky enough to get an autographed copy of Rocco DiSpirito’s Now Eat This recipe book and Now Eat this diet book. I’ve been intrigued with the black bean brownies, even though my friend Veronica thought they tasted like ass. I decided to buy a box brownie mix to compare, which Tony was all over. He loves brownies. š
I didn’t realize until I was mixing it together that there actual peanut butter chips in the mix. Let’s just say Tony approved!
Let’s face it – we all know these turned out delicious. A nice crust on the outside, chewy and moist on the inside. I knew I had my work cut out for me making black bean brownies.
First off, I changed the recipe. It called for espresso powder, which I didn’t have, and sugar free chocolate syrup and splenda. I decided to use regular chocolate syrup since it was only 2 tablespoons, and sugar for the Splenda. I think those changes made a world of difference – yet the points stayed the same – this recipe makes 12 brownies for 2 points each!
Biz’s Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients:
- 1 can of black beans, drained (15 oz can)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup egg beaters
- 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 8 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat the oven to 350. Spray an 8×8 pan with Pam. I just put all the ingredients into my food processor – I let it run for a few minutes, just to make sure all the black beans were pureed.
Pour the batter into the baking dish – his directions said to bake for 28-30 minutes, mine baked more like 40 minutes. Let cool. Cut into 12 squares. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Here is how the top of the brownies looked – um, not anywhere near what the picture in the cookbook looked like – the ones in the cookbook looked like the peanut butter brownie picture above.
And here is a side view – this shot looks way more appetizing. š
The verdict? We actually liked them! While the texture is not nearly the same as a regular brownie, the chocolate flavor stood out and these would definitely work if you had a sweet tooth. The cookbook compares the calories of a regular brown and Rocco’s brownie – um, his original regular brownie is 1500 calories, which I think is BS, unless you have a regular brownie with a gallon of full fat ice cream! I think next time I’ll add the espresso powder too.
When chicken wings are $.49 cents a pound, I can’t resist. While they aren’t the healthiest piece of meat, I worked them into my meal plan for the week. I had the idea of making salt and vinegar wings. I love, love, love salt and vinegar chips. So I decided to marinate my wings:
For my three wings, I mixed together: 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons Tabasco, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. They marinated for about 4 hours, but next time I will marinate overnight.
OMG, these were so fricken good! You could really taste the vinegar, and they weren’t too salty either. And next time I think I’ll add equal parts of vinegar and Tabasco to make them spicier. I licked my bones clean on this one. Sorry Jenn and Charlie you don’t like eating meat on the bone – you guys are missing out on this one! Also, if you have time, check out Charlie’s last post about our favorite childhood restaurant – Shakey’s Pizza!
So what’s on my menu this week? I haven’t figured out breakfasts yet – so this is just lunch and dinner.
Lunches:
- zucchini meatball sub
- chili stuffed zucchini with melted mozzarella cheese
- grilled chicken caeser with apples and strawberries
- turkey fajita frittata
- spinach salad with grilled shrimp and warm bacon dressing (never made this last week!)
Dinners:
- marinated flank steak with rosemary potatoes and zucchini
- taquitos, refried beans and spanish rice
- shaved asparagus pizza (can’t wait to try this one!)
- grilled chicken cordon blue
- grilled shrimp over fried polenta with sauce and crumbled blue cheese
Goals for this Week:
- 5 days of 30 day shred
- no wine
- in bed by 10:45 at night
Question of the Day: Can you eat meat off the bone?
Don’t forget its not too late to join my 101 Days of Summer Challenge – It begins on May 31 and runs through Labor Day. You can check out the info here.
Have a great Monday!
OK, after reading the comments, I did think of some meat I would eat off the bones, and that is ribs! But no wings, no bone in chicken for me – ever.
Which if funny because remember how excited we would get if we got KFC as a kid? I loved it then!
I’ve made black bean brownies too, but I started with the box and added the beans, and I can’t remember if anything else…I think they were OK, but not life changing or anything.
Those wings & fries look AMAZING. I’m all about S&V chips – so these are on my Biz’s must make list! (Thankfully one of the goals is to do a new recipe a week for the challenge – I think you’re making this very easy for me!)
I don’t mind the bean brownies because they are chocolatey and moist. I can eat meat off the bone. I am a wing lover!
I’m a big fan of black bean brownies. I have to be on the lookout for the pb brownies – the hubby would flip! I can eat meat off the bone. It’s good!
I can eat meat off the bone…and sadly I do remember Shakey’s Pizza!
The black bean brownies look like fudge to me – super yum!!! I’ve been wanting to try this and reading the comment above where you use Starbucks Via in place of the espresso powder makes me all that more ready, since I just happen to have a few of those packets lying around!
I can eat meat off the bone – hello ribs! But lately I’m not liking a lot of meat. Weird. Not opposed to eating it, but it just isn’t doing it for me very often.
To answer your question – oh yeah baby! Otherwise I would miss out on my luscious friend chicken and hubs’ great bbq chicken. I do have a habit of eating it with a knife and a fork tho’, but that is only because I take small bites.
Wings are yummy & my kids love salt & vinegar – I should make ’em for them. š
Hope you guys are having a good one Bizzy.
You had me craving brownies until I saw the pic of the second batch and was reminded of the horror of my batch! LOL! I’m so glad they turned out better for you. I’m too scared to try again. I don’t like wings for some reason, but I like the sound of that marinade!
I don’t know if I can do black bean brownies…they scare me!
I’ve been waiting on this post wondering how the brownies turned out! I’m not sure I’m brave enough yet to try them, I don’t make brownies very often at all, so when I do…I think I’ll stick to the box kind š haha
I LIVE for brownies!! I never met a brownie I didn’t like, so I’m sure I’d love the black bean ones, too!
Glad you had a good weekend, Biz! I’m off to do some Shreddin’, too! š
The brownies look like they turned out great. I agree…I’ve made black bean brownies in the past…very strange texture…I think I just used the mix plus a can of beans and some water…I don’t remember the exact recipe, but I do remember they hit the spot for chocolate cravings.
I never use expresso powder when its called for ( too expensive!) , but sub plain old instant coffee and it works just fine. The new stuff from starbucks..the via stuff works really good when you need a bit of coffee in a recipe. And I will always go for the non chemical stuff ( sugar vs artificial sweetners) if it doesn’t make a diff in points at the end…and I think ppl would be surprised at how little difference there is in the end counts with sugar free vs regular stuff in most recipes anyway. You NEED sugar when you bake….without it, the texture of stuff is all off.
Glad you got some sunshine…us too. Raining now. sigh. And so it goes…spring 2011.
I’ve never made the black bean brownies but I’m always tempted.
And I can’t wait to see the recipe for zucchini meatball subs – sounds right up my alley!
Happy Monday, Biz!
Did the brownies make anyone gassy? I’ve been dying to ask someone that ever since I first saw this recipe!
Ha! Nope – didn’t make me gassy, although I need to run the recipe through caloriecount.com to see what the actual grams of fiber are. š
Thanks for the brownie recipe! It looks really good!
I don’t eat meat anymore but I was a big fan of chicken wings back in the day.
Just the words ’30 day shred’ scare me. It’s such a killer.
Looking forward to your asparagus pizza!
OOH! I’m so trying those brownies and not telling my kids! I’ve been meaning to do that forever and I just keep forgetting! Do you think the espresso powder will just bring the chocolate out or actually make it taste like coffee? I don’t want coffee tasting brownies.
I actually think it will bring out the chocolate flavor š
I love your goals for the week š 5 days of Shred!?! You’re a machine!!!
And those wings sound awesome!!!!
Meat on the bone does gross me out, sorry to say. The idea of eating chicken wings is making me shudder a little š
Great goals & meal plan for the week – happy Monday!
Hey hey! How are you? I have made black bean brownies once and enjoyed them, but they’re definitely not a brownie brownie! I think they’re more fudge like! Glad you guys liked them too. grilled chicken caeser with apples and strawberries? mmmm sounds awesome! I’m in for lunch that day! I don’t like eating meat off the bone…but I have done it š
I sooo want to try black bean brownies someday!