Cajun beans and a New Ranch Dressing

Hello friends ,

I hope everyone is loving this warm weather we are having today.

I have been taking the warm weather as a sign that I should start spring cleaning. I have been sweeping and mopping, wiping down baseboards and removing spider webs and dust from the ceilings...

Winter, I am glad you are gone!!!!

My house smells and looks like spring. Gone are the heavy curtains and in their place beautiful lace curtains have taken their place. Tons of spring flowers and pale crisp colors surround me daily. I am happy! My favorite part of spring is listening to the birds sing early in the morning while I prepare my morning smoothie. I used to start every morning with a pot of coffee, now it is a huge pitcher of green smoothie! Can life get any better? I don't think so!

So today I was rummaging in my pantry to try and figure out something for dinner. Kaiti was off spending the night at her friends house for two nights , so I was alone. I decided on making me some cajun bean jambalaya with okra over brown rice. Then the door opened and in walked Kaiti and her friend. They informed me they had more fun at our house and were going to stay here tonight, oh and by the way they were starving. So dinner became lunch.

With all the hulabaloo I didn't think to write the recipe down, because I was not going to post it, but it was so pretty that I had to take the picture. Which led me to posting it for you!Since I do not have a recipe for this, I will just give you basics until I can recreate it for you.

Cajun bean Stew

I used, 1 red bell pepper diced, red onion diced, 7 stalks of celery sliced, and 4 garlic cloves sliced. 2 cans salt free black beans, 2 cans salt free pinto beans, 1 large can crushed tomatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes. 2 tsp. cajun seasonings, 1 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. parsley, 1 tsp. cracked black pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp. garlic powder. I cooked the veggies in a little water until tender and then added the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 30 minutes and serve over brown jasmine rice with okra.

So I decided that for dinner I would throw together a quick homemade pizza and salad for the kiddo's and myself. I was talking to Alicia the other day and she suggested I try making ranch dressing with cashews. Here is my first try. I have to admit, I was not hopeful...But it turned out great!!!
Creamy Cashew Herb Salad Dressing
Makes 3/4 cup

Ingredients:

½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, or two days if you forget them...
½ cup water
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 tablespoons dill, dried
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping tsp. dried parsely

Directions:
Combine everything in the blender and puree until smooth. The mixture will thicken in the refrigerator. It took quit awhile for the dressing to get smooth. I soaked my cashews for 2 days, mainly because I forgot about them until today. I thought that this dressing was awesome and I will be using it alot during the summer for salads and dressings!! The possibilites are endless, I am going to add some avocado and salsa in my next batch for a southwestern style topping for salad!!!
Here is our pizza, I made a homemade sauce then grabbed a whole wheat pizza crust topped it with yellow peppers, red onion, olives, sautee'd mushrooms and baby spinach. YUM!
Since I haven't posted a baby picture for awhile, here is Evangeline Lily. She says Hello!

XOXO

Viv~