Life has been a little nutso lately with crazy amounts of activity and this poor blog has been suffering because of it.  We've been busy hosting both friends and family and as much as I am loving being able to finally calm down from the craziness that is December (yes it takes me until almost March) and be able to open up our home to love ones, it does cause for a lot of extra hustle and bustle.

  In keeping with the theme of my last post and speaking of hosting loved ones….my mom and dad are here right now from Iowa!  Much to the delight of all of us and especially the grandkids.  They are staying at our house, and so expect to see pictures of them popping up on the blog now and then in the next week.

  With hosting comes the inevitable menu planning, and when you have friends or family members with special dietary needs (dairy intolerant, gluten free, etc) it can be such a lifesaver to have a staple item that you can turn to again and again.  And I'm here today to share one of mine…..allow me to introduce to you, the one, the only………...

   O.k. I'm sure they are not the only ones, you could probably find like 50 different variations on Pinterest.  Whatever.

   These have been my saving grace when entertaining guests who eat gluten free, and as far as I'm concerned, they're fail-proof because they are a baked good that has turned out wonderfully twice for me, so that's a total win in my book.  It doesn't take much, folks.   So here they are in all of their gluten-free, healthy-ish glory.  Well, healthy as far as desserts are concerned, anyway.

• 15 oz can of black beans
• 3 eggs
• 3 TBSP oil
• 3/4 C sugar
• 4 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt

   That's it! Blend all of the ingredients in the blender.  You heard me right, no sifting or folding, gently stirring or mixing….just literally throw it all into the blender and turn it on until pureed.  That's my kind of mixing.

   Pour into 8x8 glass pan (but I usually double the recipe and pour it into a 9x13) and bake @ 350 for 30 minutes or until the center is set.

Enjoy.

   Not only is it gluten free, but it's amazingly guilt free too.  Every time I eat one I feel like I'm basically eating a healthy side, it having beans inside and all.  That counts for something right?  It's like a bean and egg omelet with cocoa powder! And a little sugar.  And tastes like a brownie.  Need I say more?

   Oh and I usually do less sugar than it calls for.  You could also try Stevia as a sugar substitute for an even healthier version. And if this isn't the easiest gluten-free dessert you make in your life, than I want to know what is, because I want to try that too.  *Bonus* You don't have to buy those expensive GF flour mixes to make it!  It's all items you would most likely have stocked in your pantry.  So go ahead and do yourself a favor and make these today.

Thank me later.