Myriel's Four Bean Baked Beans

My mom's cousin Myriel, was a wonderful cook, who introduced a lot of recipes into our family.  This is my favorite.  I love the different beans that go into it, and the sweetness and many flavors.  It is just soooo good.  I added a little bit of molasses to the mix, because, I love molasses, and it is, um healthy, so go team!  :)  Add this to your next bbq.  I just made it for a bbq with some friends, and while I am used to the beans being a hit, this time, my friend Anne's hamburgers won hands down.  She added to some high quality hamburger (from real cows ;)  ) : diced onion, serrano pepper, bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper and an egg.  We slapped a slice of pepperjack cheese on top, and they were awesome!!!!  So, bbq away!!!

4 Bean Baked Beans

½ lb bacon, cut up, raw  ***I use a full pound, really like maple bacon in this, and cook it before I put it in

1         lb (16oz) can of each: (you can pick any kind of beans you want, these are just suggestions, except pork and beans)

kidney beans(drained)

black beans (drained)

northern beans (drained)

pork and beans, do not drain

ADD:

                1 large chopped onion

                ¼ cup vinegar

                1 cup brown sugar

                1TBS processed mustard

                1 teas. Garlic salt (I use 3 minced garlic cloves)

               **I also add 1 tbsp molasses, and 1 tbsp ketchup

Directions:

                Bake at 350 degrees for 3-31/2 hours or 5 hours at slow in crock pot.

Bruschetta ala Trader Joe's

I have a love hate relationship with Trader Joe's.  I love their food,
I hate that I can't buy it all.  I went in today to buy salad stuff.  I did buy salad stuff, and falafel, hummus, chicken satay, stir-fry vegetables, whole wheat sourdough bread and a lavender plant.  Now, overall my purchases were healthy, but do I really need a hundred little baby sweet tomatoes?  However, my cousin mentioned bruschetta....I love bruschetta.  Now I didn't have fresh basil leaves, but I had everything else, and I substituted with dry basil leaves...so go team!!  So using that sourdough bread and the cherry tomatoes, I bruschettaed (my word invention...add it to your Sara words!)  So bruschetta away!!!

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Recipe
INGREDIENTS
• 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
• 1/4 cup olive oil
METHOD
1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2 Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3 While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4 Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
5 Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.
Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Original Recipe Yield 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Place the vinegar, onion, soy sauce, honey, sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes into a blender. Puree on high, gradually adding the olive oil. Continue pureeing 2 minutes, or until thick.

Calabacitas

I made this the other day, to go along with green chili enchiladas.  I didn't end up taking a picture of the final product, but it was pretty, and delicious.  Of course, it had cheese...how could it not be delicious?!!  So have some cheesy, squashy fun!!!  I did :)

Calabacitas Prep and Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thin
• 4 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups zucchini , diced into ½ -inch cubes
• 2 cups yellow squash, diced in ½-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup sweet corn
• 4 oz can of diced green chili (I added chili's I broiled and chopped)
• 1 TBS + 3 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 TBS fresh chopped fresh oregano (or 1 TBS dried oregano)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• *Optional: drizzle with olive oil before serving

Directions:

1. Slice onion and chop garlic and let sit for at least 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting benefits.
2. Prepare all the vegetables.
3. Heat 1 TBS broth in 11-12 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onions in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
4. Add zucchini, yellow squash, remaining broth, green chili, corn and cook for another 3 minutes or so until vegetables are tender, stirring often. Add cheese and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
5. Stir in herbs, salt, and pepper.

Making up for the creme brulee

So...although I am crediting the creme brulee for my best 5 mile run (okay there was some walking in there, but more running) in awhile...I know it has actually been my commitment to running, hiking and walking 6 miles a day and watching what goes in this little mouth.  I saw this lentil/brown rice recipe on the Today show, and I have been wanting to marinate chicken and make some fajitas.  So I did them both, and, well didn't eat it with a tortilla...is it not a fajita then?  Well, whatever....it was fabulous, and made me feel good.  So enjoy your health!!!

Lentils and rice, with or without pork

 

(I did not cook with pork, or some of the spices... and I added a tablespoon of chicken bouillon)

Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 4 ounces bacon or sausage, chopped, optional
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• 3 or 4 bay leaves
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Preparation

Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, celery, carrot, and meat if you're using it and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to become tender and the meat begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and some salt and pepper and cook for another minute or 2.
Add the lentils, rice, bay leaves, and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the liquid bubbles gently and cover.
Check the rice and lentils after 30 minutes. If both are tender and the liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready. If either is not tender, add enough more liquid to keep the bottom of the pot moist, cover, and cook for a few more minutes. If the rice and lentils are soft and there is much liquid remaining (which is unlikely), raise the heat a bit and cook, uncovered, stirring once or twice until it evaporates. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve, garnished with parsley.

Serving Size

Chicken Fajitas


 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1 1/4 lb.), cut into thin strips 2 tablespoons oil 1/3 cup water 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips 1 medium onion, sliced Marinade...store bought, or apple juice....I used a combo of mango marinade and citrus juice. Marinate chicken in fruit juices for 24 hours

1. COOK and stir chicken in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet 5 minutes on medium-high heat.  Mix, water, green pepper and onion; cook and stir on medium heat 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

 

Acorn Squash Supremeo!

A couple weeks ago, a lady at bountiful baskets asked about an acorn squash and what to do with it....and boy do I know how to make an acorn squash quite delicious....mmmm....I think I will go eat some now. :)

Brown Sugar Acorn Squash

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Using a strong chef's knife, cut the acorn squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds  stuff in the center of each half. Make cuts on the inside of the half several times with a  knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side down. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan.  Cook for 40-50 minutes, depending on size...just check by poking a fork in to see if it is soft.

Flip the squash over, add in a pat of butter and a Tbsp of brown sugar into each half and cook again for 5 minutes, until butter and sugar are melted and bubbly. 

Serve and eat!!

Poblano Cilantro Rice

Still looking for ways to use the poblanos, I happened upon this recipe by Emeril.  I added a lot more vegetables and then some more plain while rice to dilute down the overpowering flavors.  It turned out quite nice. 

Poblano Pepper-Cilantro Rice (with sara additions)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped white onions
• 2 diced carrots
• 2 diced celery
• ½ diced peppers
• 2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup long-grain white rice

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chiles, and vegetables and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, salt, cilantro, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender with 1/2 cup of the stock. Process on high speed until smooth.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the puree and cook, stirring, to evaporate most of the liquid, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining stock, stir and cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer without stirring, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit without stirring for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve, garnished with additional cilantro.