White Bean Galore

When I made the gumbo last week I was originally going to add white beans.  I started cooking a bag of dried white beans and by the time I realized the gumbo didn't need beans they were already half way through cooking.  After that I knew what I would be eating for awhile. 

There is a restaraunt by me that sells white bean and artichoke bean dip with olive tapenade.  Its super yummy!  I knew one day when I had an abundance of white beans that this is exactly what I was going to do with them.  I found plenty of recipes online for artichoke white bean dip.  Some call for cheese, which is easily left out.  I found this recipe from the Sprout and Pea blog.  I made a few adjustments to it based on what I had.  Kalamata olives are my favorite so I went with a kalamata olive tapenade to top it off.  I found this recipe from My Life as a Mrs. Blog.  Both came out great.   

The spread is good on top of crackers or toasty bread.  I even came up with a yummy sandwich.  I spread vegan butter on two slices of bread.  Heat a panini press, George Foreman Grill, or pan on the stove top.  Put butter side down on the grill.  Spread the one slice of the bread with the white bean/artichoke dip, top with the kalamata olive tapenade.  Add a slice of vegan cheese and spinach.  Top with the second piece of bread.  And Grill.  Delicioius!  Those lovely onion rings next to the sammy came from a recipe I found on pinterest.  They were super easy to make.   My only advice is when you dip the onion rings in the batter lightly shake the rings to get excess batter off.  Then when you dip in the bread crumbs lightly dip once on each side.  This will help keep the bread crumbs from getting clumpy. 

I still had a ton of white beans left and I found yet another recipe on Pinterest.  I left out the cheese of course.  It was good but needed a lot of seasoning.  I even took a tablespoon or so of the olive tapenade and mixed it in with the soup and it was surprisingly delicious.  It was a good hot soup for a cold winters day.    

I didn't take any pictures but I also made a white bean chili.  Here is the link for the recipe.  It was a quick and easy chili when you need something in a rush.  Thought I'd share for those who need aquick chili recipe. 

That is all for now.  Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!