beans!

This is a very simple way to make your very own beans if you can only find dried beans, or love making things from scratch! It's also a fun activity with young kids, as our girls love to sort & wash the beans, or peel the garlic cloves (I think they like the beans better when they get to help!!).

3-4 cups dried beans, sorted & washed
1-2 T salt
1 onion, chopped fine
6-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
large pressure cooker*
water
Combine all ingredients in the pressure cooker, and fill 2/3 full with water. Cover & seal. Heat over med heat until pressure is reached. Turn down to simmer for 30-40 minutes. Turn off heat and allow pressure to return back to normal. Open pressure cooker & taste your beans to see if they are soft enough. Some beans require longer if they are bigger in size. If so, continue cooking under pressure for 20-30 more minutes until they are soft. You can eat them as is, or use them to make refried beans, use in Huevos Rancheros, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, chili, etc.
*Please read the instructions for your pressure cooker, as each can be very different & sometimes dangerous

corn tortillas - GF

every recipe I have TRIED to make gluten-free corn tortillas has made me frustrated because they taste plain, crack easily, and require heaps of patience on my part. This recipe was an experiment, but it worked!! Xanthan gum is not very common, but its so important for this recipe! I hope you find some....
2 cups corn flour (masa harina)
1/4 cup powdered milk
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp olive oil
1 egg

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water, egg & oil - mix until it becomes a doughy consistency. Form into a ball, and let stand covered for 30 minutes. You can also wrap it in saran wrap, to keep it moist. Then form into 5-8 balls and press individually between wax paper in a tortilla press. Brown each tortilla in a non-stick skillet (about 1 minute on each side) until lightly browned (no oil needed). Enjoy!!

peanut butter balls - GF

1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter (crunchy or plain)

Optional: (1/4 cup) Rice Krispies, Koala Crunch (chocolate/plain), or any rice-crispy sort of cereal, to add some crunch to the yummy-ness. Also, you could use chocolate for dipping.

Mix powdered milk & honey first. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, and then stir in the peanut butter. Add optional ingredients here. Roll into 1-inch (or smaller) balls, and then roll in powdered milk to make them less sticky. You could dip them in melted chocolate if you wanted a more "candy" type of treat. To do this, just melt chocolate in a double boiler, and dip each ball partly into the chocolate, and chill. Chill the PB balls for at least 30 minutes and enjoy! Our girls would devour these in an hour if we let them. We prefer to savor them.... They are quite filling too. Hope your kids love them too!
glory to Violet McNabb, Justin's grandma - who often made them for him