The first time I ever heard of Huevos Rancheros was over twelve years ago — just after I moved to California — when my girlfriend ordered it at a restaurant. Where I grew up, Huevos Rancheros wasn’t a dish that you would ever see on a restaurant menu, but in Los Angeles, where there is a huge Mexican population, it’s quite common.

Four staples I always keep in my kitchen are eggs, tortillas, salsa and cheese, so for me this recipe requires virtually no forethought for breakfast (or even dinner). I actually don’t know why I’ve never tried making it before. And this is one of those dishes that requires no persuading to get the kids excited. Warm tortillas topped with eggs, melted cheese and creamy beans? Nothing could be better whether you’ve been eating Huevos Rancheros for years or for the very first time!

Huevos Rancheros (Serves 4)

1 Tsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
4 Large Eggs
4 Corn Tortillas
1 Cup weelicious Healthy “Refried” Beans (or other refried beans you enjoy)
1 Cup Mild Chunky Salsa
1 Cup Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tsp of oil. Add the eggs, one at a time and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes or until the white is set. Then, cover and cook for an additional minute (you can also scramble the eggs if you prefer).
2. Warm tortillas in a 250 degree oven, in a sauté pan over medium heat for 20 seconds OR between two paper towels in a microwave for 10-15 seconds.
3. Place a warm tortilla on a plate and spread 1/4 cup of beans on top.
4. Place one cooked egg on top of the beans and top with 1/4 cup salsa and 1/4 cup cheese.
5. Continue to make the remaining Huevos Rancheros and serve.

Accompaniments: sliced avocado or guacamole

I was supposed to get this recipe up for you on Saturday, so apologies to all who were waiting for it. This Four Bean Chili Baked Potato is the last installment in my latest 5-in-1 recipe plan. I’m all about recipes that take as little work as possible, especially when friends are coming over. Call me lazy, call me simple, call me whatever you want, but at the end of the day, when I finally get some time to play, I just want to have some fun and not worry about what’s happening in the kitchen. Now that I’ve got leftover chili from Super Bowl in the fridge, I know that all I have to do tonight is pop some potatoes in the oven to bake and then top them off with the chili and our favorite accompaniments. I’m a seriously happy mama!

Four Bean Chili Baked Potato (Serves 4 )

4 Russet Potatoes, rinsed
2 Cups Four Bean Chili

Accompaniments: Sour Cream, Chives, Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Using a fork, poke a few holes on the sides of the potatoes (so they don’t explode in the oven!) and bake for 50 minutes.
3. Slice potatoes in half and top with chili.
4. Serve with desired accompaniments.

Super Bowl is here and so is the stress of feeding a huge crowd of people coming over to your house to watch the game. Who wants to be in the kitchen catering to everyone’s needs when there are so many awesome commercials to watch — oh yeah, of course there’s the football game, too!

This leads me to the reason you have to make this super easy chili this weekend. Besides the fact that the adults will adore it, your kids will have a ball adorning their chili bowls with tons of accompaniments. Kenya usually covers his with so much shredded cheese you can’t tell there’s chili under the surface, but he devours it all nevertheless. Make this recipe the night before the game or early in the morning, and all you have to do when everyone shows up is hang out and enjoy the fun!

Four Bean Chili (Serves 8-10)

2 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil, divided
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Lb Lean Ground Beef
1-15 Oz Can White Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1-28 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with Juice
2-15 Oz Cans Tomato Juice
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Salt

Accompaniments: Sour Cream, Yogurt, Grated Cheddar Cheese, Scallions, Hot Sauce (if you want to take it up a notch)

1. In a sauté pan over medium heat place 1 tbsp of oil and sauté onions for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté another minute until the onions start to caramelize, then remove and place in a crock pot.
2. In the same sauté pan, add another tbsp of oil and sauté the ground beef for 5 minutes, breaking down the beef with a wooden spoon until it’s cooked through and most of its juice has evaporated.
3. Add the cooked beef and the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook the chili on low for 8 hours.
5. Top with desired accompaniments and serve.

If you follow weelicious with any regularity, you know that I have a very intimate relationship with my crock pot — it’s like my best friend. Coming back after the holiday, with school starting back up, endlessly busy schedules to juggle and so on, my crock pot has been my salvation for getting hearty foods that everyone wants to eat made easily. A vendor at our local farmer’s market offers the most beautiful assortment of beans, and since black beans are one of our family favorites and cook beautifully in the crock pot, I buy them from him all of the time. Packed with protein and dietary fiber, black beans make for a filling, inexpensive and nutritious vegetarian meal that everyone can enjoy.

I really loved making this soup with my kids, because, like me, they love using the crock pot. But the real fun for them started when it was time to puree everything. Kenya, being an incredibly curious, almost 4 year-old boy who loves anything with a motor, was totally game to help me out with the hand-blender. As he gripped it and pressed the power button, he was enthralled as he made the beans transform into a creamy, rich soup. But if it was fun for me to witness the blast Kenya had, watching Chloe drink three helpings straight out of her bowl ensured that this soup will be in our regular mealtime rotation!

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup (Serves 6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Cups Dried Black Beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1 32 oz Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock, low sodium
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Water

Accompaniments: Yogurt, Sour Cream, Crème Fraiche

1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté onions for 4 minutes.
2. Add chopped garlic and sauté an additional minute.
3. Place the onion garlic mixture into the crock pot along with the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
5. Using either a hand blender or traditional blender, puree the ingredients to your desired texture (I like to get it so a few pieces of beans are still visible so the soup is thick and still has a bit of texture).
6. Top with a dollop of yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche.
7. Serve.

After a whirlwind long weekend of family, non-stop cooking and calorie-packed holiday meals, I feel like it’s finally time to kick up my heels, relax and pick a simple, healthy recipe to feed the family. Whenever I’m looking for the path of least resistance in the kitchen, it usually means pulling out my crock pot.

I ate a lot of Baked Beans as a kid, but they were almost exclusively prepared out of a can. Making these fresh, slow cooked, sweet white beans is a real treat that bears practically no resemblance to their canned cousins. And the taste? Whenever I make them my kids couldn’t be happier, so after the seeming non-stop parade of rich food during the past week, I think we’re all finally ready for something a little bit more healthy as we head towards the New Year!

Baked Beans (Serves 4-6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 16 oz. Pkg Small White Beans
1 6 oz Can Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Molasses
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 32 fl. oz. Box Vegetable Broth
2 Tsp Kosher Salt

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes.
2. Transfer the onions to a crock pot, pour in remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beans are tender.
4. Serve.

One of the dinner time staples for many of my friends are frozen veggie burgers. I informally polled some moms to ask them why they like and make them so much, and the most common answers I got were “my kids love them”, “they’re easy to prepare”, and, most frequently, “they’re healthy”. That last answer, is almost true. Compared to so many other prepared foods you can buy at the grocery, frozen veggie burgers do seem really healthy (and some brands are certainly better than others). The problem is that many of them are packed with sodium, additives and fillers. They also can be pretty expensive, with the “healthier” brands coming out a well over a dollar per burger.

This veggie burger recipe is nutritious, really easy to make and it freezes beautifully, so you get all the convenience and great taste of store bought brands, only these are healthier and much cheaper. And on those nights when you’re in a hurry (doesn’t that seem like every night!), you’ll be glad that you had a few of these in the freezer all ready to heat up, pop in buns and chow down with your gang!

Veggie Burgers (Makes 4 Burgers or 8 Mini Burgers)

1/2 Cup Bulgur Wheat
1 Cup Water
1 15 Oz Can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1/2 Cup Carrot, grated
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Oil

Accompaniments: Bread, Lettuce, Tomato, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayonnaise, Pickles

1. Place the bulgar wheat and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 13 minutes.
2. After the bulgur has cooked, place in a bowl and let cool.
3. Place 1 can of rinsed and drained pinto beans in a food processor and puree.
4. Add the pureed beans, cheese, carrot, salt, garlic and onion powder to cooked bulgur and mix thoroughly.
5. Form into patties.
6. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook the burgers for 3 minutes on each side.
7. Serve with accompaniments.

* Patties can be frozen on a baking sheet for one hour and placed in a large zipper bag or individually wrapped and frozen. Defrost the cook.

The day that Chloe started eating solid foods, I was over the moon. I really love the baby food puree stage, but I find it so much more gratifying making Chloe foods that she can enjoy alongside the rest of the family. I believe that when a baby sees that the food on the plate in front of her is the same as the food mommy and daddy are eating, it serves as a powerful connection to the group for them.

Beans are an amazing first solid food for babies to try because they’re soft, easy to chew, packed with protein and full of flavor. They’re also great for baby’s developing dexterity as he/she learns to pick up the beans and feed him/herself.

In our house we eat black beans like they’re going out of style. Inexpensive, healthy and easy to store in the fridge, we keep a container of cooked beans on hand at all time to add to recipes like Chicken and Rice Burritos, Black Bean Cakes, Nachos or just to eat on their own or with some brown rice. Whether your family has a bunch of wee ones, big kids or all of the above, black beans are always a good idea.

Black Beans (Serves 4)

16 Oz (2 Cups) Dried Black Beans
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, diced
1 Clove Garlic
1 Bay Leaf
4 Cups Water
1 Tsp Salt (optional)

1. The night before you want to cook the beans (about 8-12 hours prior to cooking), cover the beans with water and soak them overnight (this reduces the cooking time of the beans). * If you don’t soak the beans overnight, just double the cooking time in step #5 and keep tasting until the beans are tender.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan.
3. Add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
4. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
5. Add the bay leaf, black beans, water and salt (if desired). Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.
6. Serve.

*Allow to cool, place in appropriate tupperware or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in a pot over low-medium heat or allow to defrost in fridge for 24-48 hours.

As I’ve written here many times before, we love hummus. Actually, I find most kids really enjoy the smooth creaminess of hummus as a spread on sandwiches, as a dip for veggies or just on it’s own. Traditional hummus is made from garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice, but there’s no reason that you can’t get creative and come up with an array of new hummus flavors using different types of beans or nuts.

For this recipe, I wanted to do a Mexican inspired hummus with flavors I know my family likes, so I chose pepitas (pumpkin seeds), black beans, cumin and cilantro. And just to keep everything homemade, instead of buying fried chips at the store, I decided to make my own healthy, crispy ones. Both dishes are easy to make and kids have fun breaking up the tortillas into chips themselves.

Whether you’re inviting friends over for a party, want a protein-packed school lunch box snack for your little one or just need something healthy and delicious to nibble on throughout the day, this Mexican hummus delivers. Olé!

Black Bean Hummus with Toasted Corn Tortillas

1/3 Cup Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 Small Garlic Clove
1 15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Water
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped (you can use the stems — they have tons of flavor)

1. Place the pepitas in a dry sauté pan and toast over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the pepitas start to turn golden.
2. Place the pepitas and garlic clove in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
4. Serve.

Toasted Corn Tortillas

1 Package Whole Corn Tortillas (about 12)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place corn tortillas directly on oven racks and toast for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
3. Serve whole or broken into chips.

This is a vegetarian dish that I keep in the fridge at all times. It’s a great recipe to prepare on a Sunday (when things are hopefully calmer in your house) to have on hand all week for lunches and dinners. We all love it in my house, even baby Chloe. I feed her individual lentils one after the other and she can’t seem to get enough of them. As for Kenya, as soon as he found out that the type of kale I use in the recipe is called “dinosaur kale”, he was downing it by the spoonful!

I buy nearly all of the ingredients for this recipe — the lentils and the vegetables — at the farmers market where they’re certified organic, in season, and cost the same price or less than I would find them for at the grocery. When you can make a healthy, high protein, tasty and exotic recipe like this one that everyone in the family loves, it makes for a very happy mommy!

Indian Lentils (Serves 4-6)

1 Tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
1 Garlic Clove, grated
1 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Ground Coriander
1/4 Tsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Shallot, minced
3 Tbsp Tomato Paste (mixed with 3 Tbsp Water)
1 1/4 Cups Green Lentils
1 Cup Green Beans, chopped
1 Cup Carrots, cut into coins
1 1/2 Cups Kale, shredded (I used Dinosaur Kale)
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Cilantro, chopped

1. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl with 1/4 cup of water to make a paste.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the shallots over medium heat for 1 minute.
3. Add the spice mixture and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the tomato paste mixture and cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until the liquid is almost evaporated.
5. Add the lentils and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook for 25 minutes.
6. Add the vegetables, salt and cilantro and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender.
7. Serve.

*Allow to cool and place in appropriate tupperware or ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in a pot over low-medium heat or in the fridge for 24-48 hours.

Hummus is a food that no matter what age people are when they first discover it, they fall in love. OK, maybe not everybody, but I certainly find hummus to be an “everybody loves….” food among people I know. Kenya loved it from his very first bite at 12 months and my father-in-law still devours it at age… well, I can’t tell you his age, he’s my father in law. For those of you who haven’t discovered this delicious dish yet, hummus is a Middle Eastern spread made from chickpeas. It’s healthy, full of flavor and versatile — I use it as a dip, as a spread on sandwiches, or just enjoy it on its own.

One of Kenya’s favorite snacks is edamame, so I thought I’d try a variation on the classic hummus recipe and make it for him with edamame instead of chickpeas. Kenya was in heaven with the final result — the bright green color and creamy texture has a ton of eye and taste appeal for kids. And I was thrilled knowing it’s a great source of iron, vitamin C and protein for my growing boy. With kids, I find hummus very useful as a dip. it’s a great way to try to get even the most resistant little ones to take their veggies and dunk away!

Edamame Hummus (Makes 2 1/2 Cups)

2 Cups Edamame, hulled (I use frozen and defrost it)
2 Tbsp Tahini
Juice of 1 Small Lemon
1/4 Cup Water
1 Small Clove Garlic
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cumin

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree.
2. Serve.