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Okay guys, I have a story to tell you.

A few weeks ago my mom invited us over for Sunday dinner. Some old family friends were in town and she had invited them over and was planning on making her famous tacos.

She initially asked me to bring lettuce. Well, the day before the dinner I asked if we could bring something else because we did not have lettuce and I didn't want to have to go buy any. She asked if we had any refried beans and I said yes, and we could bring those.

Well, Sunday morning I looked and what I thought was a giant can of refried beans turned out to be enchilada sauce. Oops...

As you may or may not know, we do not shop on Sunday. It is one of several ways that we try to keep the Sabbath day holy, by refraining from making purchases and running similar types of errands that could be done on any of the other six days of the week.

Well, we did have several cans of beans, just not refried and I thought, "I bet I could make refriend beans because... the internet." So I snooped around and learned a few things and made these fast, simple, tasty, and VEGAN homemade refried black beans! That's right, these homemade refried black beans are vegan! You don't use lard to make these refried black beans, and with no animal fat, it meant Madalynn could have some too. Hooray!

These homemade refried black beans are so tasty and versatile, You can use them as a base for a bean dip, put them in some burritos, or serve as a side like we did with my mom's tasty tacos.

So, if you're looking to really impress your friends at your next potluck, whip up these tasty, vegan, homemade refried black beans and you will be everyone's hero!

Homemade Refried Black Beans

Some tools you may need to create this culinary delight:

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I know, I know. You read the title of today's post and said, "uh... it's February. Also, polar vortex." Hear me out!
I know that winter is not the time we generally want to drink a nice cool smoothie, but this one has pumpkin in it, which makes it velvety and delicious. It is also healthy! I had some banana I needed to get rid of, and really, your winter options are bread, or cake, or cookies. Do you know what is faster than all of those and requires way less clean up? A pumpkin banana smoothie, that's what! You just throw all the ingredients into your blender (or your Ninja like I used) and whip it up.

My daughter ate half of mine. She wanted it all to herself really. Which is why she climbed on my lap and stared at me, mouth open like a little bird, waiting for me to give her another bite.

Honestly, she is the cutest.

Honestly, this smoothie is delicious. It'll keep you healthy and full, and remind you of warmer days, which are really just around the corner!

So, make this smoothie. Drink it, and imagine yourself sitting pool side. You look good in your swimsuit because you didn't eat so much cake this winter, but opted for a delicious and healthy smoothie instead!

Pumpkin Banana Smoothie

So guys, PH has finally admitted that he has a gluten problem. He and gluten are not friends. While I am proud of him for coming to this conclusion, it means that when I ran out of flour a couple weeks ago I didn't buy more. To be perfectly honest I completely forgot about it, and so I didn't buy any gluten free flour either. (You know I love Bob's Red Mill)!

However, we had a family holiday party to go to and I was supposed to make a dessert to bring. My mom suggested I make Florida fudge, which I did. However, I decided I also wanted to try my hand at creating a recipe that vegan Maddy and my vegan Aunt Ada could also enjoy.

I had a few jars of cashew butter from Thanksgiving when I had planned to make a different vegan dessert that I just never got to due to time constraints. I had some graham cracker crumbs, sugar... as I looked around my kitchen I thought, I bet I could come up with a vegan cookie bar that would be delicious! So, I set to work and the results are in, the cookie bars are yummy! I was happy to hear this because the party was the week after I had gall bladder removal surgery and so I still wants allowed to taste or try anything I made. It's been rough, but hey, my wedding ring fits again! Yay!

These bars are gooey and rich, my mom said a small portion would go a long way. However, they were a little difficult to cut. Which is why I've suggested pressing the toppings into the filling before baking so you don't get pretzels and chocolate chips rolling around like I did.
Madalynn and Ada gave their stamp of vegan approval so, my vegan friends. Make this and take it to your holiday parties and convert everyone to your vegan ways!
It made a ton! I am going to have to make more since Alicia is coming into town this week, and hey, this time I can eat them too!!
Oh, and don't worry about PH. I'm going to make him a gluten free holiday delight, stay tuned!