Pinto Beans {Slow Cooker}

Who loves pinto beans?  I do, I do.  I must admit, in the interest of time and with two little boys and a third on the way I usually opt for canned pinto beans or vegetarian refried beans {gasp}.  My sweet hubby is always trying new things, which I love because it gets me out of a cooking rut.  He decided to try making pinto beans in the slow cooker, much like our very popular Peruvian Bean recipe.  They, of course, turned out wonderfully delicious and oh so much more tasty than anything out of a can.  Best part...they're easy to make, just soak the dried beans overnight then put that slow cooker to work.  We had ours with our Baked Chicken Taquitos and Spanish Rice. *TIP* It's especially tasty to use the broth from our Crock Pot Chicken, if you're using that to stuff your taquitos, in the Spanish Rice, in place of the chicken broth and water (2 1/2 cups)! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Recipe: (serves 8)
Ingredients:
3 cups dried pinto beans
2 pieces of cooked bacon and 1 pieces worth of grease
2 T agave nectar (or 1 T brown sugar)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
3 c chicken broth (low sodium)
1-1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. Soak beans overnight in a pot with 6 cups of water.  In the morning, drain and rinse the beans.
2. In a large pot, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil.  Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the beans and boil for about 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse the beans.  (This flash boiling is an optional step, it really helps remove the {ahem} excess gas from the beans)
3. Place beans into your slow cooker and add remaining ingredients, stir to combine and cook on high for 4-6 hrs.
4. About a half hour before serving, check the consistency of your beans.  If they are too liquidy, remove the lid of your slow cooker for the last 30 minutes of cooking time.  Stir beans a few times near the end of cooking to mix well and to make the beans creamy.  Serve hot.  These reheat well and are great for leftovers too. ...click here for the recipe!

Banana Bread {Gluten Free, Dairy Free}

It's been awhile since we've had banana bread so I was excited that my hubby wanted to make some. He came up with this recipe and you'd never guess it's gluten free and dairy free! It was so moist and dense and flavorful and the whole loaf was eaten in one day, yum! You may also like to try our Low Fat banana bread or our Low sugar, Vegan banana bread. Enjoy!

Recipe: (makes one loaf, 10-12 slices)
Ingredients:

{dry ingredients}
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1 Tablespoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

{wet ingredients}
3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (or use 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for dairy free)
1 1/3 cups oat milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs

extras: 1 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350'F.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or stand mixer, beat wet ingredients together until well combined.
3. Slowly (by the 1/2 cup) add the dry ingredients into the wet with your mixer on low speed.
4. Gently fold in walnuts by hand with a spoon. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan (about 9"x5" size), or use a Stoneware loaf pan like us, then no cooking spray is needed. Bake at 350'F for 60-70 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 170'-200'F and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy. ...click here for the recipe!