this is our happily ever after

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

I really like Red Beans and Rice and this is my favorite recipe.  It's from Southern Living and I barely altered it.  It's healthy and very economical...beans and rice...about as cheap as it gets.  I made a batch a couple of weeks ago and we had it for dinner, lunch the next day, and then I froze a small container for Brian to have when I'm gone in a few weeks.  You may or may not want to add more salt to it, but I find if I add spice I don't need salt.  This Black and Red Seasoning from Penzey's is my favorite for spice! 

Printable Recipe Download Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

1 lb dried red beans, rinsed

¾ lb smoked sausage, thinly sliced

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning

Cayenne pepper (for extra heat)

Finely chopped green onion for garnish

Cooked long grain white rice (I prefer Jasmati rice)

Combine first 7 ingredients in slow cooker with 7 cups of water.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until beans are tender.    

Serve bean mixture over cooked rice and sprinkle with cayenne pepper if desired.  Garnish with green onions. 

Taco Soup

I LOVE Taco Soup and there are quite a few recipes out there for it...this is a combination of several and it's very simple.  Here's the printable for you.  Download Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

½ tsp chili powder

1 ½ tsp dry Ranch dressing mix

2  (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (medium or mild)

2  (15 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

 1-2 cups chicken or beef stock

Optional: grated cheese, avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips

 

Directions

In a large soup pot brown ground meat and onion over medium high heat until cooked through.  Add in seasonings, tomatoes, beans, and stock (as much as you want).  Cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes.  Add in frozen corn and cook another 10 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and serve with optional fixings. 

Black Bean Soup (crock pot meal)

Super easy recipe...if you don't want to eat this as a soup...it's still a great way to cook black beans to use for tacos, burritos, nachos, etc. 

Black Bean Soup (crock pot meal) Download Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb bag of dried black beans

1 ham hock

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 small bunch chopped cilantro, about ½ cup (more if you like cilantro)

2 jalapenos, sliced

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for each bowl of soup

 

Directions:

Rinse beans in a colander.  Place beans, ham hock, chili powder, cumin and black pepper in a slow cooker.  Cover the beans and ham hock with water so there’s about 2 inches of water covering the beans.  Stir to mix and cook on low for 6 hours.  Remove lid and stir.  Add cilantro, jalapenos, and tomatoes.  Cook another 2 hours on low.  You may end up with a lot of broth.  I ended up taking some of the broth out so it wouldn’t be too soupy.  Serve in a bowl with yogurt or sour cream. 

 

This will make quite a bit, so I plan on portioning it out into 2 cup portions and freezing in Ziploc bags.  I can add it to chili, taco meat, or use them in burritos or on nachos. 

 

Christmas Minestrone

Mom, Brian, Karsten and I returned from Fredricksburg, TX in the early evening on Sunday.  It was cold and drizzly outside and going to the grocery store was out of the question.  We had a couple zucchini and were craving soup.  I threw this minestrone together in about 20 minutes and it really hit the spot.  I call it Christmas Minestrone because there's red, white, and green in the soup.  You could add kidney beans as well, I just didn't have them in my pantry.  This pot fed the 3 of us with virtually no leftovers---which was a miracle.  Typically when I make soup it grows and grows and we eat it for days and days. 

Download Christmas Minestrone

2 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 zucchini, diced

1 can of petite diced tomatoes

1 qt beef or vegetable broth

1.5 Tbsp Italian seasonings

1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup small shell pasta

Kosher salt

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a soup pot.  Add onion, garlic, pepper flakes, a pinch of salt, and zucchini.  Saute for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften.  Add can of tomatoes with juice, broth, and Italian Seasoning.  You may also want to add a cup of water.  Simmer on low for 20 minutes.  Add beans and shell pasta.  Simmer on medium low for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked.  Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and top with parmesan cheese. 

 

 

spicy pinto beans

I love a big pot of bean soup in the Fall and Winter and I also love Borracho Beans.  This is kind of a combination of the two.  It was delicious and simple.  You just need a few hours at home, but once you've got it on the stove it's pretty much hands off. 

Click here to print the pdf Download Spicy Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb dry pinto beans

½ lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 T. ground cumin

1 T. Southwest Seasoning

1or 2 jalapeños, cut in half and sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 T. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

 

Rinse the dried beans in cool water, picking through them to toss out any debris.  Pour beans into a soup pot and cover with 2-3 inches of water.  Add raw bacon, cumin, and southwest seasoning.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and cover.  Simmer (don’t boil) for 2 hours.  Beans should have a thick broth, not too soupy.  Add in jalapenos, red pepper, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for another hour.  Check for seasoning and serve with cornbread. 

 

**If the broth is evaporating too quickly just add another cup of water and continue simmering**

Crock Pot Chicken Chili

I made this recipe last week and it was awesome.  I love using my crock pot in the Fall/Winter and almost always use it on Wednesdays (which is my Bible Study day)  I love that when you cook meat in the crockpot it shreds so easily. 

I found this recipe via Pinterest, but I adapted it a bit. Download Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chil2

1 small onion, chopped

1 (16 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16 oz) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce

10 oz package of frozen corn kernels

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

2 T. Southwest Seasoning or 1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 T. cumin

1 T. chili powder

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used two because that’s how I package them when I freeze them. If you have a bigger family use 4. Could also be made with thigh meat.)

Optional Ingredients:

Rice, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, tortillas

Place onion, beans, tomato sauce, corn, diced tomatoes (rinse the cans with water and pour the water into crock pot), and seasoning in slow cooker and stir.  Place chicken breasts on top and cover.  Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours.  Remove chicken 30 minutes before serving and shred it into small pieces.  Stir the shredded chicken into the crock pot. 

Serve with any or all of the optional ingredients! 

 

 

Food Network Magazine

One of the many magazines I subscribe to is the Food Network magazine and I love it! 

Some of my favorite articles/features are

• Interiews with Foodnetwork Stars and glimpses of their personal kitchens
• Mix and match recipes,
• 50 feature book (such as 50 dips, 50 summer drinks, 50 things to make with pesto)
• Copy That! (where they try to recreate favorite recipes from chain restaurants)

Others may say Saveur, Cooks Illustrated, or Bon Appetit' are a foodies dream magazine, but I really like this one.  The recipes they feature are relatively easy and you can find most ingredients.  Click here to subscribe or give a subscription as a gift to the foodie in your life.

Here are some recent recipe finds I've cut out and placed in my recipe binders. 

Capellini with Spicy Zucchini-Tomato Sauce

 

 Grilled Vegetables with Couscous

Agnolotti with Artichoke Sauce

Coconut Popsicles

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Fried Chickpea Hummus, Pizza Dip, Tomatillo Salsa

Almost Famous Broccolii-Cheddar Soup (Panera)

Salami-Mozzarella Calzone

Tilapia Masala with Rice

Triple Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Chicken Enchilada Suizas

 

Sweet Minted Iced Tea

Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto

Almost Famous Cheddar Biscuits (Red Lobster)

Bell Pepper Slaw

and to end on a sweet note:

Five Layer Bars

all photos are from the foodnetwork website

cinco de mayo menu ideas

Instead of waiting until Thursday, Cinco de Mayo, to post yummy Mexican recipes I decided to post some today so that you can plan your menu and get to the grocery store ahead of time. 

**all photos from the specific recipe website**

From My Recipes.com

Chicken and Green Chili Enchiladas

 

Black Bean Taco Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Three Bean Tacos

From Pioneer Woman

Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Beef and Bean Burritos

Restaurant Style Salsa

Mexican Layer Dip

 

cooking through the seasons {vegetarian chili}

On this very chilly day (so chilly that there was a sheet of ice covering the city this morning) I decided to make chili for dinner.  Granted I don't need a chilly day to make chili...I've been known to make chili during the summer months just because I love it.  You can find my regular chili recipe here

Below is what I used today:

 

• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 T. chili powder
• 1 T. chili 3000 seasoning
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 tsp. paprika
  
• 3 cans of beans (2 kidney, 1 pinto)
• 1 can of petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can of mexican diced tomatoes
• 1 (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
• 1 (4oz) can diced green chiles

 

Start by heating some oil in a soup pot..(I use this Le Creuset and I love it! I bought it at a Le Creuset outlet) 

Add in the onion, peppers, and garlic...saute over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. 

 

Add the seasonings and stir

Then add about a cup of water

 

Add the tomatoes and rinse cans with a little bit of water (about 1/2 full for each can) Also add the green chiles.

 

Now the beans...PLEASE rinse your canned beans...every single time!  The liquid that they sit in is a disgusting, stinky, salty mess.  I pour mine in this handy little strainer and run it under water until all the foam/bubbles are gone and the water runs clear.  Then, and only then, do you dump them into the chili.  sorry if I seemed a bit stern...it's just really important to rinse the beans :) 

Now stir it all up, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for at least 40 minutes...longer if you've the time.  I simmered mine for a couple of hours, stirring it every 30 minutes or so.

 

Then add the corn for the last 15 minutes or so.  I'm not sure why I wait to add the corn, I just always do.

 

Then serve it in bowls and top with shredded cheese.  Brian loves fritos with his chili, Frito's scoops to be exact....I like Fritos, but I LOVE macaroni.  I know, I'm an odd bird...macaroni in chili...is it a Midwest thing?  I know chili 3 way and chili 5 way is a Cincinnati thing, but they use spaghetti and their chili is kind of sweet.  Anyways...I love chili with macaroni...chili mac I guess you would call it.

Brian's bowl of hot and steamy chili

My bowl of hot and steamy chili

 

crab "gumbo"

Why quotations marks around gumbo???  Well that's because I don't make traditional gumbo...it's just not my thing.  I don't make it with a roux.  My gumbo always consists of a few simple things.

I start with the trinity, as in the Louisiana cooking trinity, which consists of green bell pepper, 2 stalks of celery, and onion. 

I get that chopped up with a little evoo and cooking in a soup pot.  Then I add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic.

Then slice up a bunch of fresh okra...I love lots of okra in gumbo.  I cut off the tops and throw them away because I think they're too tough.  Slice the okra into 3 or 4 slices.  Toss them in with the trinity and stir. 

Add about 1-2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning.  I use Penzey's and love it.

Let all the veggies saute for about 5 minutes to soften. 

Then I add a can of diced tomatoes with green peppers, onions, and garlic (these are basically diced up stewed tomatoes) Rinse the can out with some water and add that to the soup pot too.

Then I add a can off diced tomatoes with green chiles to add some heat...if you don't want the gumbo spicy then add another can of plain diced tomatoes. If tomatoes aren't your thing, then leave out the second can. 

Then pour in 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth. I just used the boxed kind last night.  I also added about a cup of water. 

Turn the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile bring 3 cups of chicken broth or water to a boil in a saucepan.

Add 1 1/2 cups of rice, return to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Once the rice is finished and the gumbo has simmered for about 20 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add lump crab meat.  I LOVE crab...so this is my favorite kind of gumbo! 

Make sure to pick through the crab to ensure that there aren't any shell fragments...then dump it in and stir gently.  The crab tends to fall apart, so don't stir very much. 

Then place some cooked rice in a bowl and top with gumbo.

I add a sprinkle of black and red before I dive in...if you don't have that then use tobasco. Enjoy!