What I Do When I'm Mad At My Kids...

We all have those days when frankly you wonder why you chose to have children in the first place. One more moody silent treatment, one more argument between the siblings or one more question of "Mom, Can I Buy....(insert Nintendo DS game) and you start feeling a bit taken for granted. I love my kids passionately but I don't always have to like them. I have my ways to get even so to speak because I am mature like that and know how to handle adversity in a very positive, healthful manner.... Enter the infamous Black Bean Brownies. Mwhahahahaha. I get even by hiding all sorts of disgusting healthy ingredients into what they think are decadent, ooey gooey desserts. Yesterday I told my daughter that I thought I would make her some brownies in hopes of cheering up her day. Because there is nothing like using food as a means of improving emotional health? Don't tell my therapist. Anyway, she was thrilled and both kids couldn't wait to dive in. My response? "Have as many as you want kids - after all I made them just for you because I love you so much." If my kids have a working conscious this was the way to prick it. So I had cooked a large amount of black beans and what I do is store them in the fridge and pull them out for a variety of meals. Pretty handy but only depending on what you make with them, sometimes that can be really gross. I had heard a lot of ruckus about Black Bean Brownies so of course I had to check out what all the fuss was about. They were super fun to make because everything is done in a food processor so the prep is like 5 minutes tops and yes, there are actual black beans in them. Like a 1 and 1/2 cups worth and yes, you grind them up in the food processor and yes, it looks completely disgusting but stay with it... There is no flour in these brownies and the texture is a bit spongy/cake like. The flavor is a very deep chocolate because of all the cocoa and the addition of chocolate chips on top kicks it up. So here is the recipe. I pulled it off of Pinterest from a blog called Hip2Save.com In a food processor place 1 (15oz) can of black beans, rinsed OR 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked black beans. Process until mashed and then add the following: 3 Eggs 3 Tbsp Coconut or Vegetable Oil 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 3/4 Cup Sugar 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1 Pinch Salt Process all of this just until smooth. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Bake for approx 30 min at 350 degrees. I had some leftover chocolate icing I had made so I used it up on these brownies. Let's just say the kids were thrilled, asked for seconds and were none the wiser. Now the two of them are happily performing rap battles Eminem style but minus the F bombs. I'm almost hoping they act up again because I have some pretty awesome add ins for their smoothies....