Best of the Month March 2014

A recap of my most popular recipes in March 2014

I didn't make any big changes this month.  I made some minor changes to make my blog look nicer.  I put my profile picture and about me blurb front and center and I changed the style and color of my social media follow buttons.

I'm still making 2 posts a week on Monday and Friday and co-hosting Great Idea Thursdays on Wednesday/Thursday.  I have started going back and updating a few of my earlier blog posts.  My Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of those.  I'm taking new and hopefully better pictures of recipes that I make frequently and then I update the old post with the new pictures and a more current layout.

Here are my best of March:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Soft and chewy cookies studded with semisweet chocolate chips.  My husband's favorite cookie.  195 views and 34  +1s.

Egg and Cheese Crepes

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Protein packed crepes filled with more protein of eggs and cheese. A very filling breakfast.  172 views and 18 +1s.

Guacamole Black Bean Tuna Salad

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Canned tuna mixed with black beans and guacamole served on top of a green salad. That's right, a tuna salad with no mayonnaise.  140 views and 65 +1s.

Bean and Barley Stew

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A healthy, meatless, one pot meal stew with beans, barley, and veggies.  138 views and 29 +1s.

Avocado B.L.T. Salad

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Crisp green lettuce tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, and creamy avocado.  The avocado isn't the prettiest perfectly ripe avocado that I would like in a picture, but when over ripe avocados are 3 for $1 I can't pass by them.  This is how a real person eats, not just a perfectly staged photograph.  131 views and 21 +1s.

Thanks to all of my viewers.  

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Wednesday Roundup, Full Plate, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, 2 Cup, LouLou Girls, Tasty Tuesday, Brag About It

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Guacamole Black Bean Tuna Salad

Canned tuna mixed with black beans and guacamole served on top of a green salad. That's right, a tuna salad with no mayonnaise.

Canned tuna was on sale recently at Costco.  My husband brought home a pack of the Wild Planet tuna and wow is this stuff good.  The first thing I noticed was that the can stated that no liquid or fillers are added to their tuna just sea salt so no need to drain the can.  When I popped the can open it was stuffed tight with an intact tuna steak.  Most canned tuna I'm used to is just shreds and pieces of tuna but this actually looked like tuna steak.  The taste was wonderful it tasted like real tuna.  Even my husband commented on how good the tuna tasted.  Also great about this tuna is it claims to be sustainably caught and they pick the smaller tuna which (hopefully) has accumulated less mercury.  I obviously have no idea if any of that is true but it's great if it is.

With such great tuna this didn't need to be hidden in tons of mayonnaise so I chose to use guacamole instead.  No mayonnaise.

Guacamole Black Bean Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup diced celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot,  minced
1/2 cup diced dill pickles (or relish)
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp minced jalapeño (or to taste)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tuna, drained
1/2 cup guacamole (mashed avocado, lime juice, garlic, salt)

Opitonal:
lettuce
balsamic vinaigrette
grape tomatoes
cilantro
toasted sliced almonds

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Taste for seasoning add salt and pepper as needed. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Serve atop a green salad garnished with cilantro, tomatoes, and toasted sliced almonds, and/or with crackers.

Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper, Saturday Night Fever, Random Recipe Roundup, Much Ado About Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Brag About It, Whimsy Wednesday

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