Quick and easy Bean Tacos

We love fast and easy meals in this house.

I will admit in our house we have had some pretty nasty experiments in the name of making a real quick dinner.

Back when Noah and I were newly married and then for several years after that he would cook dinner using no recipe and just throwing in things he found in the kitchen. 

Its not easy to tell your kids to eat their dinner when you are also moving it around on your plate in an effort to look like you are eating. 

One dark and stormy night, a few years ago, Noah was going to be cooking dinner because I was running late and I remember ending our conversation with, "Please follow a recipe, don't make one of your experiments, okay?" It was on that night that our world changed forever..... Noah started following recipes and we realized that he actually is a very good cook, as long as the recipe is pretty straight forward. WAHOO!!!! Noah's secret was discovered, never to be hidden from my eyes again, and our house became a two cook home.

Here is one of our quick and easy, no brainer, super delicious meals that will be sure to fill you right up. Its also pretty easy if your kids want to help out. Landon (our oldest) likes to help me out with this one.

Black Bean Tacos

2 cups black beans

1/2 minced onion

1 small can diced green chiles

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

4-6 oz Mozzerella or Cheddar Jack Cheese

Corn Tortillas

3 TBS olive oil

Sour cream

Hot sauce

Salsa

Start by combing your beans, green chiles, cumin, paprika and onions together.

Get your oil hot and add on one side, black bean mix and a small hand full of cheese.

Fold the other side of the tortilla over and press it together with your spatula. 

Let it cook for about 3 minutes on each side.

Move your taco over to the side of the pan and add another Taco repeating the same steps.

You should be able to fit at least 2-3 tacos in your pan. 

I used a cast iron skillet  (any skillet will work) and could fit 3 tacos in. 

Some of the beans will fall out, so I just scooped out any extra before I put a new taco on to cook.

Move the tacos onto a paper towel to absorb the oil and when you are all done, enjoy!!!

The sour cream, hot sauce and salsa are for dipping..

YUM!!!!

Best chicken dip EVER

This last week has been super crazy. Braddoc got into a school that is for kids with Autism, we are so excited about it but he is in half day kindergarten and the school is anywhere from 30-45 minutes away, one way. Noah drops him off in the morning before work and I leave to pick him up at 11 and get home around 12:30. The little and I spend a lot of time in the car.

I had several follow ups for my kidney disease (Medullary Sponge Kidney) along with a CT scan  and a couple of appointments for a Dermoid Cyst that they found on my right ovary. And in the middle of all that I woke up in the middle of the night to a nasty sinus infection that was pushing fluid so hard against my ear drum that I thought I had ruptured my right ear drum. My head has been hurting so bad all week. Its the sinus cavity that's above and behind your eyes and I have felt like someone was stabbing me in the forehead and temples. I got put on lots of meds that are making my depth perception totally off and I am ready to just feel healthy again.

Noah's brother woke up from his coma on Valentines day and so we get to talk to him every night on face time. And are really enjoying seeing him and are so grateful that he is awake.

Needless to say through the last week I have not gotten on here and updated much of anything. When I think about sitting down on the computer when I have a few minutes to breath I really just want to rest my head and my eyes, so the blogging got put on the back burner.

Anyway today I wanted to share my ALL TIME favorite dip. We literally make this dip every weekend during College Football season, Roll Tide, and for any gathering that we are going to have. We are trying to save money for when Noah gets out of the military so when Noah and I started to talk about Valentines day we decided we wanted to have Cider, Chicken dip and Peanut Butter M&M's and play some Ticket to Ride. With Noah's brother waking up on Valentines day our SUPER romantic date night plans changed to talking to his brother. So we made up for it through out the week. One night of Ticket to Ride and M&M's and one night of Chicken Dip, Cider and a movie that we both fell asleep too after 25 minutes (we were/ARE exhausted).

This dip is super easy to make and really takes ZERO thought at all.

CHICKEN DIP

1 cup of Ranch (I like name brand for this, the generic usually gives too much of a Ranchy taste)

1 cup of mozzerella cheese

1 small can of Chicken

1 8oz block of cream cheese

1/4 Tapatio hot sauce (we have tried other hot sauces and this is by far the best one)

In a crockpot combine all of the ingredients and cook until the cheese's are melted (it takes about 30-45 minutes)

Stir together and ENJOY.

We often times will double the recipe to have leftovers. 

We do a single batch in our small crockpot and a double batch in the large crockpot.

Crack Coconut Chocolate Bars

I found a delicious looking pin on pinterest a few weeks ago and it has been on my mind almost daily since then. 

I had a house full of sick kids and then surgery to remove a kidney stone and just have never gotten around to making the beautiful creation I found.

That is until yesterday.

I finally pulled the pin up and dove into baking.

And I kid you not it was so EASY that it should be illegal. 

Its so delicious and addicting that it should be illegal too.

In fact as soon as we finished off the pan I wanted to make more. (I'm trying to be strong and not make them till Tuesday... that's enough time in between right? right?)

I have dubbed them (because of there quickly addicting nature) Crack Bars.

Doesn't that just look delicious?

If you never listen (or read, whatever) to another word I say promise me you will at least listen to this..... You need to make this, you won't regret it. 

{Okay maybe you're waist will, and your inner thoughts of "did I really just eat 5 of those?"will}

But really you'll just be glad you listened.

So this deliciousness is over at Inside BruCrew Life.

 I seriously wish this lady was my best friend because she has some absolutely delicious recipes.

You can find her recipe here.

All you need is...

1 chocolate cake mix 

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

4 cups shredded coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup whipping cream

Go Visit her site to find the full details of her recipe!!!

So side note... does anyone else love to lick the can of sweetened condensed milk clean? No? Just me? Okay well know yall know my dirty little secret!!! Shhh, don't tell!

I of course had to do some adapting because we are Gloriously Gluten Free, (I have to add the gloriously in there to make me feel special, since there is such a lack of Gluten Free specialness {yes its a word, or maybe I made it up} out there.)

So In my adaption I used Betty Crockers Devils Food Cake mix. 

Seriously Betty has saved me so from so many hair ripping out incidents. 

Before she started making these GF boxed cake mixes I was forced to look at heavenly treats like these Crack Bars with only the wish of being able to have them. It was either wish or spend many painstaking hours trying to figure out how to make a GF boxed cake mix on my own (yes I tried, and obviously I was not successful.) 

I also VERY RARELY have whipping cream in my house. 

Is that a staple in houses? Im clueless about that, cause its sure not a staple in mine.

So I have learned to adapt.... us Gloriously Gluten Free peeps have to learn have to do that a lot.

I make my own whipping cream, and its super easy.

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of whipping cream and the following recipe makes a cup. 

So for this recipe just half it. Also this recipe is not as thick so I threw it in the freezer for about an hour to get the chocolate to harden up faster. Then I left it out on the counter covered and the chocolate stayed hard.

All you need is whole milk and butter.

3/4 cup whole milk

1/3 cup butter 

1. Melt the butter.

2. Pour it into the milk, and stir.

3. Use in place of one cup of heavy cream.

See? Super easy right?

You can do this!!! 

Go make them now! You know you want too!!!!