5 posts tagged “beans”
I brought home leftover ham from Thanksgiving. I was determined to spring some life into it. It wouldn't be a piece of ham on the plate tonight. What's the name of that foodnetwork show? Oh, Ham on the Street. I don't like traditional ham and beans, but when I saw this recipe I thought it looked pretty good. It essentially is a "light" soup with bacon! Can't be that bad. Space cadet me, however, forgot to bring home the bacon from the store, so this was an even lighter soup...and quite good. Finally, a delicious ham and beans. Imagine what it would taste like with bacon? Where was this on those school lunch menus? Bacon, Ham and Lentil Soup came from Cookinglight.com. I, as well as other reviewers, left out the fennel and reduced the amount of lentils. Also, halved the recipe.
What goes with ham and beans? Cornbread, of course. For my birthday I received a cookbook from 1954. It was a ladies church cookbook that they probably used for a fundraiser at the time. My grandma had a recipe for pecan pie in the book. It's probably the same recipe she uses today. I'll have to ask her. Anyway, I found a sour cream cornbread recipe in this book and thought I should give it a try. It was great. There was a bit of an ordeal at the store. They were out of yellow cornmeal, so I fought my temptation to buy an easy fix - Jiffy mix cornbread - and I tried the white cornmeal. It didn't seem to make much difference in this recipe. I think I'll make this again. Below is the original recipe. I halved it for just the two of us.
Sour Cream Cornbread
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. shortening, melted
Sift dry ingredients, add beaten egg. Add cream, then melted shortening. Pour in 8x8 pan and bake at 345 degrees until golden brown.
Soup season is here! In addition to the Celery Soup we made a couple of weekends ago, we've had Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup and a Venezuelan Pork and Potato Stew. The pork stew came from a Latin soup cookbook I got for my birthday. I have a feeling you'll be seeing some of these soups on the blog this fall/winter.
The soup above, however, I chose because of my love for sweet potatoes, and not the sugary-cinnamony sweet potatoes you're used to on Thanksgiving. Uck! I like my sweet potatoes savory. The above soup did the trick. It really was delicious. Please try it.
Curried Sweet Potato Soup (adapted from Cuisine at Home Magazine, Oct. 2006)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. diced carrot
1/4 c. diced celery
1 bay leaf
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/2 T of olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 c. peeled and cubed sweet potato
1 t. curry powder
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 c. apple cider
4 c. chicken broth (vegetable broth if vegetarian)
1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 c. brown lentils (I rinsed these according to package instructions first)
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Plain yogurt
Saute onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes in oil over medium-high until soft about 8-10 minutes. Season. Add sweet potatoes, curry powder and ginger; saute 1 minutes.
Deglaze with cider; simmer until almost evaporated, then stir in broth, tomatoes, and lentils. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, 25-30 minutes.
Off heat, stir in 2 T. cilantro, lemon juice, and salt. Garnish each serving of soup with a dollop of yogurt and some remaining cilantro.
Last weekend = crazy! Without going into the details, husband and I did a LOT of driving. Saturday night, husband and I left for my parent's house. We planned our arrival around dinnertime. There's nothing like showing up for a great meal already on the table. (If we were lucky, we may even get out of clean-up). :)
We arrive not to a meal, but to the news that sister is in the emergency room along with her fiance, mom (the chef for the evening!?!), and sister-in-law. Okay, it was dinnertime and the chef was not in the kitchen. (By the way, my sister is now on the way to a speedy recovery).
Seizing the moment, I channeled a recent episode of Bravo's Top Chef (the restaurant wars). I immediately took my post as Executive Chef. Dad and husband were acting sous chefs. Brother was able to help only during commercials of the football game, so not much. Mom had already picked the menu for the evening, so that was done. I barked out orders, my helpers fell in line, and dinner was on the table shortly after the hospital crew came home.
It tasted quite nice. The Carnitas on Corn Cakes recipes can be found in Cuisine at Home magazine. Not wanting to take all the credit for this incredible meal, here's what my helpers were able to do:
Dad - pico de gallo, chopping, jalepeno poppers
Husband - beans, corn cake fryer, a lot of stirring
Brother - checking the corn cakes
Okay, so I've finally found a "patty" that I can successfully cook. Last night's Middle Eastern Cannellini and Chicken Patties were delicious, not to mention they held together...a first for me and a patty. The recipe came from Mooesewood Restaurant's Low-fat Favorites Cookbook. I made a tahini yogurt sauce for the patties from Moosewood as well. Since Moosewood's recipes are all vegetarian, I did alter the patties for my carnivor husband and I.
Our favorite from this meal, however, were the Zucchini Oven Chips. I found the recipe on cookinglight.com. The zucchini, even though they were baked with no oil, reminded us of fried mushrooms. Delish!
Middle Eastern Cannelini and Chicken Patties (adapted from Moosewood Restaurant's Low-fat Favorites Cookbook)
1 t. olive oil
1 c. minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. minced bell pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1 20-oz can of cannellini beans, drained
1 1/2 c. cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 T fresh lemon juice
pepper to taste
Warm the oil in a non-stick skillet. Add onions, garlic, bell pepper and salt and cook on medium-low heat, stirring often, for 5 - 10 minutes. Add cumin and cook for 5 minutes more until veggies are soft. Remove from heat. Set aside.
Thoroughly mash the beans by hand in a large mixing bowl. (This is a good job for husband). Combine chicken, and lemon juice with mashed beans. Add the cooked veggies and mix well. Pepper to taste.
Shape the mixture into patties. (I used a 1/4 c. per patty). Prepare a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Cook the patties until golden brown. Flip and repeat.
Tonight was one of those nights. Hunger was setting in and inspiration was not coming, so off to the cookbooks I went. I had one goal: not to go to the grocery store. (Tonight I was too lazy to do that). I took an interest in Food and Wine's "Frank and Beans Cassoulet" and Moosewood Restaurant's "Cassoulet." Not having the exact ingredients for either, I decided to combine them. Here's what I came up with.
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t. paprika
2 t. cumin
1 t. basil (dried)
1/2 t. thyme (dried)
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 T dijon mustard
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1/4 c. ketchup
2 cans red beans, drained
2 Italian sausages, casing removed, crumbled and browned
Salt and Pepper
1/4 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil. Saute onion, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic in oil until softened. Add paprika, cumin, basil, and thyme. Cook for a minute or two. Add tomatoes, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and ketchup. Stir. Add beans and sausages. Season. Stir. Place in casserole dish. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serves 4.
The verdict? I've never had a true French cassoulet, so not sure how mine compares. It did the job tonight. My honest opinion: cross between chili and baked beans.
