COOKING WITH KIMBERLY

• 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/8-inch slices
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Lay out the tomato slices on a large sheet of paper towels. Cover with more paper towels and allow to drain for approximately 30 minutes (this is crucial to not getting a watery tart). Meanwhile, remove the sheet of puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Unfold the puff pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, pinching to close any holes in the seams. Using a fork, prick the dough all over to prevent it from puffing up during baking.
4. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise over the entire puff pastry. Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Arrange the tomato slices over the cheese. Season generously with kosher salt and pepper. Grate a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on top and garnish with freshly chopped basil.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden-brown and the cheese is melted. Remove the pastry from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut into 9 squares and serve immediately.

Between homemade, restaurant, and store-bought, these are the best black bean burgers I’ve ever tried. With great reviews from taste testers around the world, I’m confident you’ll be satisfied with this veggie burger recipe! The trick is to partially dry out the black beans so the burgers do not taste mushy. Grill or bake the black bean burgers and enjoy on a bun, plain, or on a salad. They’re big, thick, and hearty and even meat eaters LOVE these.

• 2 (14 ounce) cans black beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper (1/2 of a pepper)
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or oat flour
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup, mayo, or BBQ sauce
• pinch salt + pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spread beans evenly onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until slightly dried out.
2. Meanwhile, sauté olive oil, chopped pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until peppers and onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Gently blot some of the moisture out.
3. Place in a large bowl or in a food processor with the remaining ingredients (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, worcestershire, ketchup, salt, and pepper). Stir or pulse everything together, then add the black beans. Mash with a fork or pulse the mixture, leaving some larger chunks of beans.
4. Form into patties– about 1/3 cup of mixture in each.
5. To bake: Place patties on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F (191°C) for 10 minutes on each side, 20 minutes total.
6. To grill: Place patties on greased aluminum foil and grill 8 minutes on each side. Heat temperature is personal preference as all grills differ. Generally, black bean burgers should grill on medium-high heat about 350°F (177°C) – 400°F (204°C).
7. Serve with your favorite toppings. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freezing Instructions: Cooked or uncooked black bean burgers freeze wonderfully for up to 3 months. Stack between parchment paper in a freezer container or zipped-top bag. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to your liking or, if uncooked, cook according to instructions. If desired, you can skip thawing and reheat/cook from frozen for an extra couple minutes.
Vegan: These black bean burgers are not vegan. To make vegan, leave out the cheese, replace the Worcestershire sauce with a different vegan condiment (your favorite BBQ sauce would be great!) and replace the eggs with 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato.
Special Tools: Glass Mixing Bowls, Ninja Food Processor, Cast Iron Skillet, Baking Sheet

• 1 ¾ cups old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using regular table salt, scale back a bit)
• 2 cups mix-ins* (nuts, seeds, chocolate, shredded coconut or dried fruit)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
• ½ cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to fit neatly against the base and up the sides. The parchment paper will make it easy for you to slice the bars later.
2. Place the oats in a large mixing bowl**. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
   Now we’ll blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor or blender (or, you can chop them by hand). Add any large nuts (like almonds or pecans) first and blitz for a few seconds. Then add the rest and run the machine for a few more seconds, until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky nail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
3. In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Stir until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it’s close to room temperature before you pour it into the dry mixture (this is especially important if using chocolate, since it will melt).
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it! If the mixture was easy to mix together, that’s a sign that you need to add some more oats—sprinkle in more oats until you can’t incorporate any more.
5. Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
6. Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight. (The oats need time to soak up some of the moisture so they aren’t sticky.) When you’re ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 4 even columns and 4 even rows.
7. Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper (if you store them all together, they will stick to one another). Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.

*MIX-IN OPTIONS: Any combination of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.), seeds (pepitas or sunflower seeds), chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, shredded coconut and/or dried cranberries or cherries. For the bars shown here, I used 1 cup pecan halves, ½ cup pepitas, ¼ cup shredded coconut and ¼ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate. Keep in mind that anything larger than your pinky nail will need to be broken into smaller pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, chop them by hand.
**GRANOLA BAR TEXTURE: If you’re using old-fashioned oats and would prefer a more smooth, less chewy texture (shown in my photos), blitz your oats in a food processor for 3 to 5 seconds to break them up. Then, add them to the bowl.
CHANGE IT UP: These bars can be sweetened (mostly) with Medjool dates, if you’d like to increase the fiber content. Soak 12 dates in piping hot water for 10 minutes, then tear them in half and remove their pits. Place them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey and blend until completely smooth.
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
MAKE IT NUT FREE: Do not use nuts (pepitas and sunflower seeds are good options) and replace the nut butter with sunflower butter.
MAKE IT VEGAN: Use maple syrup instead of honey.

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice (or can sub apple cider vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or fresh chopped chives
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons water to thin dressing
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon honey

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl or a mason jar and mix until well combined. If using a mason jar, you can simply put the lid on and shake the jar until well combined. Dressing serves 4, 2 tablespoons each.

• PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 pkg (8.5 oz each) corn muffin mix
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters® Original
• 1/3 cup reduced fat (2%) milk
• 3/4 cup Birds Eye® Sweet Kernel Corn, divided
• 1/2 pound ground chuck beef (80% lean)
• 1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
• 1 can (8 oz each) Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend

• 2 heaping cups rolled oats (certified gluten free if necessary)
• 1 small ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced finely
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 12 oz. dried elbow pasta (I use Jovial Brown Rice Pasta)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 cups milk (if you want this to be dairy free, just do 4 cups of beef broth)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (optional-I used Mexican blend, but shredded cheddar is fine)
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley (optional)