Fideo

I'd never heard of Fideo before this week when my husband asked me to make some. His mom makes it so I decided to give it a try. It's basically Mexican rice made with noodles instead of rice. Typically it would be served with Carne Guisada but we don't eat much meat so I made Slow Cooker Pinto Beans and wilted spinach instead. If your unsure of how beans and pasta will taste together don't worry, I was skeptical but it's delicious. Enjoy.

Approx. 2 T Oil

1 green bell pepper

1/2t cumin

1/2t salt

14 oz can chopped tomatoes

8 oz cappellini broken into 2-3" pieces (I have found that most organic pasta is not enriched but be sure to read the ingredients)

Approx. 8oz water

1. Heat oil in large skillet. I prefer cast iron because they heat so evenly.

2. Saute bell pepper, cumin, and salt until peppers just begin to get soft.

3. Remove bell pepper from pan and set to the side.

4. Add more oil to skillet and brown the uncooked pasta. I use tongs to toss the pasta and make sure most of it gets browned.

5. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, and water to the pasta. Stir until all the ingredients are combined.

6. Let pasta simmer, uncovered, until tender. This only takes a few minutes. If you prefer a soupier version you can add more water and tomatoes as desired.

Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

We eat a lot of beans in our house. They are tasty, cheap, and a good source of protein. I won't say I never buy cans of beans but I prefer to make them myself, they just taste better. I've made them on the stove top in the past but I find they require too much attention and I always end up with burnt bean crusted to the bottom of the pan. Slow Cooker Pinto Beans are great because they require absolutely no attention. Just so long as you remember to soak the beans the night before you can put them in your slow cooker in the morning before you head out to work and they will be ready when you get home.

They are so easy I don't even measure. Here's how I do it.

Dry Pinto Beans (I usually make a little less than 1lb)
1 Onion
Water
1-2 Serrano Peppers

1. Soak beans for 8-12 hours.

2. Rinse soaked beans and put them in slow cooker.

3. Cover beans in water. Have the water level about 4" above the soaked beans.

4. Cut onion into quarters and add to slow cooker.

5. Add whole serranos to slow cooker.

6. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours. They can cook a little longer or shorter it doesn't matter too much. They are pretty hard to mess up.

Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

My husband's favorite birthday cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I made these cupcakes for him this year and they were delicious. I hope you enjoy them as a much as we did.

Cupcake Ingredients

2/3 c Fructose Crystals

½ c Earth Balance Margarine

2 Eggs

2t Vanilla Extract

1 1/2c Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbromulated White Flour (Whole Foods also has an Organic White Flour that is not enriched.)

1 1/2t of Baking Powder (or if you choose not to use baking powder you can make a mixture of 1/2t baking soda and 1t cream of tartar as a substitute.)

1/2c Trader Joes Original Unsweetened Soymilk (WestSoy and Edensoy also make an unsweetened, un-enriched soymilk)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pan with papers or grease 9x9 pan.

2. Cream Fructose and Earth Balance. Beat in Eggs one at a time. Stir in Vanilla.

3. In separate bowl combine Flour and Baking Powder.

4.Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Mix well.

5.Stir in Soymilk until batter is smooth.

6.Spoon batter into cupcake papers. There is enough batter for 12 cupcakes so don’t fill the papers to the top. Or, pour batter into greased cake pan.

7.Bake cupcakes 22-25 min. For cake bake 33-40 min. You can use a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through. Be careful not to burn your cupcakes; this is easy to do because fructose burns at a lower temp than sugar.

8.Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Frosting

3/4 c Non-hydrogenated Palm Shortening

1 ½ T Agave

2 t unsweetened Cocoa

1-2 drops vanilla extract

1.Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix at medium speed until consistency is smooth and fluffy.