M: Chipotle Bean Burritos and Candy Cane Cookies!

Woop woop it’s the weekend!!! The hubs and I will be doing some crazy Christmas shopping today and getting lots of stuff done. Hope everyone’s weekend is off to a good start!

Speaking of all things Christmas, I must warn you that I will probably be doing a good bit of Christmas baking this month. Starting with these awesome candy cane cookies.

But, first I must tell you about this fantastic healthy dinner I cooked up for the hubs and I last night. This is Cooking Light’s Chipotle Bean Burritos, and it is the second time I’ve made them, and it is the second time that it was a success =) This was just another easy dinner for the hubs and me this week, but such a nice change from what we’ve been eating the last couple of weeks.

These burritos are SO good…They are meatless as the recipe would have it, but they would be just as tasty with some marinated chicken or steak as well. We are meat-eaters, but this burrito is seriously so good without it.

It’s a little spicy with the chipotle chili powder (which, if you can’t find, just regular chili powder would be perfectly fine, maybe with a little cayenne for some extra spice!) and with all of the tomato, lettuce, and salsa goodness added to it, it is even better! Of course you can add whatever kind of burrito toppings you would like, but I stuck pretty close to what the recipe calls for.

Anyway, another super easy dinner idea for ya!

Chipotle Bean Burritos

From Cooking Light

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (or regular if you can't find it)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup water

1 can black beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

3 tablespoons salsa

6 (10-inch) flour tortillas

1 cup shredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese (I used organic monterey/colby blend)

1 1/2 cups chopped tomato

1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions

6 tablespoons light sour cream

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan and sauté approx. 1 minute. Stir in chili powder and salt. Cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Ok, so onto these candy cane cookies that I stumbled upon on the Joy of Baking’s site. They are obviously a little more time consuming than a regular sugar cookie, but these are really super easy. And I don’t think I have to say how cute these would be on a holiday dinner party table!

They are light in texture and have a really nice slight almond taste. It is basically a sugar cookie with some almond extract =) There is no baking powder - you don’t want the cookie to rise much since it’s in such a tight shape. Otherwise, your candy canes would just be all over the place!

Just follow this recipe from the Joy of Baking, and you won’t be disappointed!

Lastly, don’t forget about the Daisy’s Place Rescue event today from 2:00 – 6:00! And, don’t forget about our Tate’s Bake Shop Giveaway! You have until tomorrow, Dec. 5^th to enter!

Happy Weekend!!!