Living La Vida Holoka


15 Recipes You Can Make with a Can of Beans

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Canned beans are a cheap and easy way to bulk up meals and add a great source of protein to your diet! Use these 15 Recipes You Can Make with a Can of Beans to make good use out of this pantry staple!

This post may contain affiliate links.  Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.

It’s so weird being a blogger during the Coronavirus pandemic.  I’ve had Easter and spring content (recipes, gift guides, gardening) planned and scheduled for weeks, and part of me has wondered if I should just pull it at this point.  But I want to try and maintain a sense of normalcy around here.  I mean, eventually the dust has to settle.  Right?

So in between those scheduled posts that might not be entirely fitting to our current situation, I’m going to try and publish content that can help make things easier during this crazy time.  Especially when it comes to using what we’ve got so we don’t have to worry about making trips to the grocery store!

We’ve been extremely thankful for our Hungryroot deliveries, but eventually we’ll have to go to the store for some of our everyday essentials.  In the meantime, I’ve taken inventory of our fridge and freezer and I’m trying to make damn sure that we use up every last morsel of food in this house before we have to resort to grocery shopping.

15 Recipes You Can Make with a Can of Beans

 
Thankfully, we have a decent supply of pantry staples in the house right now. When the Coronavirus first started making headlines, I picked up some canned beans just to have on hand.  At that time, we really didn’t know how bad things were going to get.  But now that things are what they are, I could hug those little cans of black beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans, and red kidney beans!

Beans not only have a great list of health benefits tied to them (and they’re especially a great source of protein), they are an easy way to bulk up any meal!  If you need some new ideas for canned beans, I’m sharing 15 of them with you.  These include everything from breakfast, easy lunches and dinners, snacks, and even dessert!  I hope these will inspire you while we’re all toughing it out at home! 

  1. Vegan Breakfast Tostadas
  2. 5 Bean Turkey Chili
  3. Tuscan Meatball and Bean Soup
  4. Chicken & Refried Bean Sheet Pan Nachos
  5. Kale, Chicken, and White Bean Soup
  6. Hatfield® Pork Chile Verde Burrito Bowls
  7. Jackfruit Black Bean Tostadas
  8. Vegetable Stir Fry with Chickpeas
  9. Italian Sun-Dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Hummus
  10. Chili Lime Air Fryer Chickpeas
  11. Chickpea Puttanesca
  12. Homemade Avocado and Chickpea Burgers
  13. Warm Kale and Chickpea Salad
  14. Caprese Style Quinoa Salad
  15. Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Hummus

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Did you make any of these canned bean recipes? Share your pics on Instagram using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!

Mardi Gras King Cake Monkey Bread

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Celebrate Fat Tuesday with this Mardi Gras King Cake Monkey Bread made with premade cinnamon roll dough, pecans, orange zest, and a bourbon spiked icing!

This post may contain affiliate links.  Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.


Here’s the thing about being a blogger – you’re constantly celebrating holidays ahead of time.  We start working on our Christmas content in the summer.  And in the winter, we’ve moved well into spring.  But every year, I’m usually so busy scheduling Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and other springtime content that I completely pass over Mardi Gras.  Not this year!

I’m a Jersey girl, so my apologies if I totally get this wrong.  Even still, this recipe is probably the closest I’ll get to King Cake.  It’s not the easiest thing to find around here.  But I did a little research and decided to take the flavors of King Cake and turn them into a fun-to-eat monkey bread!


I don’t do a lot of baking from scratch because – well, I’m not that good at it.  But I’m pretty good at “almost homemade” baking.  So I grabbed three tubes of cinnamon rolls, sanding sugar in Mardi Gras colors, and made a pretty awesome, King Cake inspired monkey bread! 

If you’re not familiar with King Cake, it’s a Mardi Gras staple.  From what I’ve read, most of these cakes are cinnamon flavored, ring-shaped cakes, decorated with icing and purple (justice), green (faith), and gold (power) sugar.  There’s usually a small, toy baby baked inside.  Whoever finds it has to bring the next King Cake or host the next Mardi Gras party. 

There aren’t any toy babies baked into this monkey bread (because choking hazard!), but I still did my best to represent this iconic Mardi Gras cake! 

How to make Mardi Gras King Cake Monkey Bread

 
Start this monkey bread by cutting the premade cinnamon roll dough into halves. Then, roll those halves into balls and stick them in a bowl with crushed pecans and orange zest.  Toss everything with melted butter and stick the dough balls into a greased bundt pan.

The monkey bread bakes for 30 minutes.  When it’s completely cooled, icing is poured over it.  The final touch is decorating the monkey bread with purple, green, and gold sanding sugar.

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Mardi Gras King Cake Monkey Bread

Mardi Gras King Cake Monkey Bread

Ingredients

    For the monkey bread:
  • 3 - 12.4oz Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, icing set aside
  • 2/3 cups pecan halves, crushed
  • 2 tsp. orange zest
  • 1 stick butter, melted
    • For the icing:
  • 3 icing cups, from Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
  • 1 tbsp. milk
  • 1/4 tsp. orange zest
  • 1 tsp. bourbon
  • Purple, green, and gold sanding sugar

Instructions

    For the monkey bread:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a bundt pan.
  2. Cut the cinnamon roll dough in halve and roll into balls. Set aside in a large bowl.
  3. Once all the dough balls are formed, add the pecans, orange zest, and butter. Stir to coat all the dough balls completely.
  4. Place the dough balls into a bundt pan and pour in any extra butter or pecans. Gently press down the last layer of dough balls so the layer sits evenly in the pan.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. Allow the monkey bread to cool completely before turning it over onto a plate.
  7. Once the monkey bread is cool, prepare the icing.
    8. For the icing:
  8. Spoon the icing cups into a small bowl.
  9. Stir in the milk, orange zest, and bourbon.
  10. Pour the icing over the cooled monkey bread. Then, decorate with purple, green, and gold sanding sugar.
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The flavor of this monkey bread kind of reminds me of coffee cake.  Just pull off a few pieces and enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee!  It’s a delicious way to celebrate your last hurrah before the Lenten season begins!   


Did you make this Mardi Gras King Cake Monkey Bread? Share it on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!

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Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Hummus

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Craving something chocolaty and sweet? Dip into this healthy and delicious Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Hummus to satisfy your cravings!

This post may contain affiliate links.  Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.


January is kind of cruel joke when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.  We’re just getting over celebrating the holiday season in the most gluttonous way.  Then, we get a month to straighten ourselves out before we’re tempted all over again by Valentine’s Day (chocolate), St. Patrick’s Day (heavy food and beer), Mardi Gras (cake and booze), and Easter (candy, candy, and more candy)! 

My chocolate cravings have already started and – being a low sugar kind of gal – I haven’t given myself allowance to slip up.  Sweets always seem like a good idea at the time for me.  Then, after a few pieces of candy or chocolate, I begin to feel the regret set in.  Usually in the form of a headache or stomachache.  It’s just better if I avoid it altogether.

But those nagging cravings for something chocolately haven’t left me alone.  Then, I remembered wanting to try making another dessert hummus.  I made an amazing pumpkin pie hummus during the fall that satisfied my craving for a slice of pie (it tasted exactly like pumpkin pie filling!).  So with Valentine’s Day coming up, I decided to make a chocolate strawberry hummus.

Like chocolate-covered strawberries without the sugar!

 
Chocolate-covered strawberries are one of my favorite desserts!  On Valentine’s Day, I’ll usually make some or head to the bakery to buy a couple, plus a mini cake for us to split.  Since the holiday is still about a week away, this hummus has definitely hit the spot until then! 

This dessert hummus is full of strawberry flavor and just the right amount of chocolate!  Honestly, you’ll forget that you’re eating hummus while you dip into it!  The best part is that there’s no sugar in it.  Just a splash of honey and some stevia! 

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Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Hummus

Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Hummus

Ingredients

  • 1 - 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced
  • 1 1/2 tsp. stevia
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, or blender, pulse the chickpeas, cocoa powder, honey, and vanilla extract.
  2. Add the strawberries, stevia, cinnamon, and salt. Blend until incorporated and smooth.
  3. Spoon hummus into a bowl and serve with fruit and cinnamon tortilla chips.
  4. Store hummus in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Notes

To make cinnamon tortilla chips: Cut tortillas into triangles. Spray with cooking spray and toss with cinnamon and sugar (I use Flavor God's Buttery Cinnamon Roll). Cook in an air fryer for 8 minutes at 400 degrees, shaking the basket halfway through cooking.

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Hummus is one of my favorite snacks and I’ve become a big fan of dessert hummus (and, trust me, I was skeptical at first). If you’re looking for a healthy snack to satisfy your craving for something chocolately and sweet, give this recipe a try!

I served it with a mix of berries and some cinnamon tortilla chips I made in the air fryer (check the recipe notes to make your own).  It’s pretty addictive stuff!  Serve it as a healthy dessert on Valentine’s Day or a tasty snack any time you’re craving something sweet! 


Did you make this Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Hummus? Share your pics on Instagram using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!

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Mini Reindeer Brownie Bites

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Turn a box of brownies into adorable red-nosed reindeer with this Mini Reindeer Brownie Bites recipe! Chocolate frosting, candy eyes, cinnamon drops, and pretzels transform brownies into the cutest Christmas treats!

This post may contain affiliate links.  Making a purchase through one of these links helps support my blog.


My husband can take a box of brownies and turn them into the most magical brownies you’ve ever tasted in your life (no, not like those brownies)!  They’ve got a perfect outer edge and a deliciously chewy inside!  And somehow, he manages to be consistent every single time!  So I’ve basically left brownie duty to the master.  That was until about a week ago when I finally learned some of his tricks!

I had a craving for brownies, but I wanted to make them festive for the holidays (and to get me in the mood to start my long list of holiday baking).  Thankfully, the brownie master just happened to be home from work the day I made these!

When I asked my husband how he makes his perfect brownies, he told me to bake them for the longest time on the box.  Basically, bake the brownies for the longest recommended time for the type of pan you’re using. 

Make sense?  No? 

Say, you’re using a standard, non-stick brownie pan and the box of brownies says to bake them at 325º for 30-35 minutes.  Bake the brownies for the full 35 minutes and don’t open the door while they’re baking!  There’s definitely something to that!  Because after 35 minutes in the oven, the brownies had a perfect crust on the top and chewy bottoms!  It was hard not to eat any before decorating them!


But instead of using a regular brownie pan, I made these brownies in a mini muffin pan to create small, brownie bites.  I used the same time and temperature as a regular brownie pan.  Then, I turned them into reindeer with chocolate frosting, candy eyes and cinnamon drops to create the face and broken pretzels for antlers.  So stinkin’ cute!  And my husband said they were really good, too!

Moms, if your little ones want to get in on the baking action, these are an easy Christmas treat they can help you make!  Just frost the brownie bites with chocolate frosting.  Then, let the kids decorate them with the candy eyes and cinnamon drops.  They might need a little help pushing in the pretzel antlers, but they’ll love turning brownies into reindeer!

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Mini Reindeer Brownie Bites

Mini Reindeer Brownie Bites

Ingredients

  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 1 box brownie mix
  • Chocolate frosting
  • Candy eyes
  • Red cinnamon drops
  • Pretzels

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Prepare brownie mix according to package. Spoon the brownie batter into the mini muffin pan, filling the pan almost to the top.
  3. Bake the brownies for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the brownies.
  4. Allow the brownies to cool completely. Then, carefully remove them from the pan. You might have to use a knife to loosen the sides and lift the bottom, but they should come out easily after that.
  5. Frost the top of the brownies. Then, add two candy eyes and a red cinnamon drop to make a face.
  6. Break up a pretzel and stick two pieces into the brownie to create antlers.
  7. Enjoy with a big glass of milk or eggnog!
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I’m really only a baker around the holidays.  The rest of the year….not so much.  That’s why I usually stick to box mixes and premade cookie dough.  But if you have a favorite homemade brownie mix recipe, I’m sure it would make these brownie bites taste even better than they already do! 

These reindeer brownies would be adorable for a class party or make an easy treat to enjoy during a holiday movie marathon!  Add them to your holiday cookie trays or leave a couple out for Santa! Who could possibly resist an adorable red-nosed reindeer?  Especially when it’s made out of brownies! 


Did you make these Mini Reindeer Brownie Bites? Share it on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!  Merry Christmas! 

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