Baked Beans

Growing up, my paternal grandmother, Polly, was known for her baked beans. We usually had them at our Easter meal at their house, accompanied by white bread sandwiches with homemade baked ham, potato salad, assorted "col'drinks" and lemon icebox pie. After stuffing ourselves, my sister and I impatiently awaited permission to go out in the front yard and hunt the eggs our parents had hidden in the creeping phlox that swept across the front of the property. More than once, we also found some "spring peepers" - the summer's singing frogs. (Always picked them up gently and put them right back - mom would've had a fit to find one in our pockets!)

Polly's beans are probably the best baked beans I've ever had. They're sweet, not overly smoky or onion-y like some homemade baked beans, and *should* retain the shape of the spoon when cooked correctly. (Thanks Joe B. for coining that reference last night - so, so true!) Mix up a batch and try them for yourselves!

2 regular-sized cans of pork and beans
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
2 T. yellow mustard
1/2 lb. bacon, cut into small pieces.

Mix all together in a big bowl, turn out into an oblong baking dish (9x13 works great), and cook at 350 for an hour.

Summer Slaw

My maternal grandmother used to have a big fish fry at least once a summer, complete with homemade slaw, baked beans, sliced homegrown tomatoes, deviled eggs, sweet tea, banana pudding and crappie fried light as air. We'd sit outside on weathered, barn-red picnic tables, chase each other around the yard with sparklers and catch lightning bugs after dinner. It was one of those memorable experiences you don't really think about until you're older, and hope to someday recreate.

I've never been a good fish-fryer, but could manage the rest well enough, save the homemade coleslaw. One day, a hankering for my MeMe's coleslaw snuck up on me, and I called her for the recipe - thinking all this time that making homemade slaw was a difficult and time-consuming endeavor. Pshaw! With only 4 ingredients, her peppery vinegar-based slaw is simply awesome with pulled pork barbecue, fried fish, burgers, or country vegetables. It takes less than 5 minutes to put together, unless you shred your own cabbage, and will instantly transport you to a back yard glittering with lightning bugs, real metal sparklers and the 4th of July.

1 head cabbage, finely shredded
OR
2 small or 1 large bag pre-shredded angelhair coleslaw mix
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white vinegar
dash of salt
pepper to taste

Put the coleslaw greens in a deep bowl. Measure out the vinegar in a measuring cup, add the sugar, and mix with a fork until slurry. Pour vinegar/sugar mixture over the coleslaw, add a little salt, and pepper to taste. I usually use at least 1T. of pepper but keep tasting to see how much works for you. Mix it all up, set it in the fridge overnight, and mix again about an hour before serving. Make sure to use a slotted spoon! Should serve 6, but don't count on it.

Check out Gollum's blog for other Foodie Friday recipes!

Quick Chicken Quesadillas

Don't you just hate it when you're hungry and don't want to wolf down a whole bag of Pringles by yourself? I usually hit this stage around 6 pm when the Bean is attached to my leg, the house is a wreck, and TJ's no where to be found. So what's an industrious girl to do? Create a new recipe, of course! Check out this remarkably tasty concoction. . .

1 12.5 oz. can cooked chicken in water, drained
1/3 white onion, finely chopped (I use my mini chop food processor and do the onion and mushrooms together)
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces, chopped
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 flour tortilla
palmful of shredded cheese
olive oil

Put the drained chicken in a small nonstick skillet and break it up with a fork. Add the onion, mushrooms and poultry seasoning, then heat over medium until onions are cooked and translucent, stirring every now and then. Remove chicken mixture from the skillet and wipe the skillet down with a damp paper towel. Put a teensy bit of oil or melted butter in the bottom of the skillet and swirl it around. Put the tortilla in there, spread some chicken mixture over HALF of the tortilla, then top the chicken mixture with the cheese. Fold over the other half of the tortilla to make a half-moon shape, and cook on one side until golden brown. Flip, and cook on the other side until it's equally golden.

* This would be GREAT with leftover Thanksgiving turkey, shredded, and a little cranberry sauce on top. Fancy, fancy!

Egg Muffins

We have recently discovered a wonderful, easy recipe for the most fabulous little Egg Muffins! Since TJ is limiting his carbs, these are perfect to keep in the fridge for breakfast on-the-go. They also freeze well for up to a month. Seriously, he loves them and they are very quick and easy, plus very adaptable to different flavor combinations. (Combos will be listed at the end of this post)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a muffin pan with two foil muffin liners and spray generously with Pam or similar cooking spray.

Add fillings of your choice till about half full, then top with your choice of cheese to be 2/3 full.

Beat together 10-12 eggs with a little milk (like 1-2 T.), season with salt and pepper, and spoon into muffin cups. We fill about halfway, then let it settle a few minutes, and add more to fill to the very top.

Bake for 30 minutes. "Muffins" will be tall and poufy when you take them out, but will fall within a few minutes like a soufflé.

Store in zip bags in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to a month.

Suggested filling combinations:
• crumbled bacon with chopped tomatoes and bleu cheese
• cubed ham with finely chopped apple and havarti
• taco seasoned shredded chicken with chopped onion and mexican blend
• pulled pork barbecue with a hearty cheddar
• smoked salmon with a little onion, cream cheese and capers
• tiny cubes of leftover steak with diced fresh mushrooms and swiss

Keep on mind that you can always add veggies and fresh herbs of your choice! See what unique flavor combinations you can come up with - and enjoy being a mad kitchen scientist!

Foodie Friday - Chicken Stuff

I'd thought I'd posted this before, but since it was mentioned in the Husband MeMe I posted on my other blog, I figured I'd better put it in this one. It's also my Foodie Friday post, so check out Gollum's blog for more tasty recipes!

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 10 oz. package frozen broccoli flowerets
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise (you can use heavy or lite mayo, just not fat free)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1.5-2 cups bread crumbs
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Boil the chicken cubes in water until done. While chicken is cooking, cook the frozen broccoli in the microwave for 3-5 minutes until defrosted and slightly cooked. Drain the broccoli and layer it in the bottom of a square baking pan. Chicken will probably still be cooking, so go ahead and mix up the cheese, mayo and soup in a mixing bowl and add black pepper to taste. After chicken is done, drain it and create a layer of cooked chicken on top of the broccoli. Spread the cheese/mayo/soup mixture over the chicken to create the final layer. Top with bread crumbs and squirt the top of the casserole with some spray butter or margarine if you have any. Bake for 30-35 minutes until crumbs are toasted and casserole is bubbly around the edges.

Since this is a rich one-dish meal, side dishes (if you choose to serve them) should be light and refreshing - good choices are a crisp green salad, congealed salad, or fruit.

Lamb Stew with Olives - Emeril's Way

Back in my more adventurous days, I liked to cook "weird food" for kicks. Somehow, I stumbled on this recipe for a Moroccan Lamb Stew with Olives on foodnetwork.com and, I have to say, it's awesome. I have a "thing" with cooking lamb around Easter because lamb has been a historical and Biblical symbol of Christ. I only make this recipe once a year mainly because it's really hard to get good lamb in Alabama unless you special order it from your meat market, and also because all those spices can get really expensive! However, if you have a good number of them already in your pantry, I will be calling the meat dept. at Publix to order some lamb this week - maybe they'll order a little extra for you too!

1 pinch ground saffron
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. salt
3 T. olive oil
3 lbs. lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into cubes like stew meat
1 cup grated yellow onions, rinsed and squeezed dry
more black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
2/3 c. chopped parsley
1/3 c. chopped cilantro
1 lb. crack green olives, drained & pitted
3-5 T. lemon juice
cooked couscous

In a small food processor, combine the saffron, ginger, 1 tsp. black pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt and 2T. oil. Process until smooth. Place cubed lamb in a big bowl and toss with the spice mixture to coat evenly. Heat the remaining 1T. oil in a cast iron pot over medium and add the lamb to sear 2-3 minutes. Stir in the onions, season with additional black pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, add herbs and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. After an hour and 45 minutes, heat oven to 450. After the 2 hours have passed, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat and put it in a shallow ovenproof serving dish and cook until the meat is slightly crisped, about 15-20 minutes. While the lamb is in the oven, it's time to re-focus on the sauce. Remove any scum that has risen to the surface of the liquid. Add the olives, increase heat to high, and boil for 10 minutes until it's like a really thick gravy. Stir in lots of lemon juice and reseason if necessary.

Spread the couscous in the bottom of a large, pretty serving dish, top with the cooked lamb, then pour the olive gravy over the top. This dish is very rich, and seldom makes it to the refrigerator as leftovers.

* Tips and Tricks: To pit the olives quickly, smash them with the flat side of a broad knife then just pick out the pits and discard.

Pimento Burgers

I never liked pimento cheese until I started making it myself. For some reason, the consistency and flavor of the store-bought stuff just repulsed me and I began to take matters into my own hands. I have no idea why it took me so long to discover how good pimento burgers can be, but I saw on a website today that it was a fave among many so I tried it out for myself tonight. And let me just tell you, after 1 bite TJ asked me to make him his own serving so he didn't eat all of mine! Y'all, this is really, really good - even if you don't like pimento cheese.

To make a batch of pimento cheese, stir all the following ingredients together and refrigerate overnight:
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. mayonnaise
1 4 oz. jar chopped pimentos, drained (could use 2 if you want)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
several good shakes of ground red pepper
1-2 T. lemon juice

Feel free to adjust seasonings to your taste, this is just what I use and what we like at our house.

Take 1 frozen hamburger patty and cook it on the George Foreman grill until it's not bloody anymore. Place cooked patty on a microwave-safe plate and top with a good dollop of pimento cheese. Microwave 20 seconds on high to melt the cheese a little, and serve on hamburger buns or just by itself.

Tortilla Pizza

We are having a hard time with vegetables at our house, mainly that the Bean won't eat them. In the absence of refrigerated pizza dough coupled with the lack of desire to make a whole pizza, we've started eating tortilla pizzas. They would probably be better if we had a pizza stone to crisp up the bottom, but are really tasty even without it.

1 10 in. flour tortilla
5 T. pizza sauce (We use Ragu cause that's what was in the pantry)
shredded cheese
toppings of choice (mini pepperoni, diced veggies, pineapple tidbits, whatever!)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and lay out your tortilla. Thinly spread the pizza sauce around the tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 in. away from the edges. Add cheese, pepperoni, veggies, etc. Bake for 5-6 minutes until cheese is melted and "crust" is crispy. Cut into 8 pieces - the Bean usually eats 3 small slices with pineapple on her favorite Princess plate. (Can't you hear me say "This dinner is brought to you by the letter P?")

Jessica's Lenten Crawfish Monica

Since there's no meat-eatin' during Lent, my dear friend Jessica shared one of her favorite ways to get through the Lenten season - with crawfish! Although I haven't tried her recipe, she swears it's marvelous. And knowing Jessica, there's no doubt that it's anything less than spectacular for a fancy meal at home or an impressive dish for a dinner party. Get out your fancy dishes, y'all!

1 lb. crawfish tails, boiled and peeled (preferred)
OR 1 lb. shrimp, peeled OR 1 lb. lump crabmeat OR 1 lb. oysters, drained and quartered

1 stick butter (the real stuff- don't be foolin' around with margarine!)
1 pint half-and-half (Look, relax. Just don't eat this every day..)
1 good-sized bunch green onions, chopped (tops, too)
3 - 10 cloves garlic, chopped (to your taste)
1-2 tbs Creole Seasoning
1 lb. cooked fresh rotelli pasta (Dry is fine if fresh is not available.)

Cook pasta according to the directions on the package, drain, and rinse under cool water. Drain again, thoroughly. Melt the butter in a large pot and sauté onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the seafood and saute for 2 minutes. Add the half-and-half, then add several big pinches of Creole seasoning, tasting before the next pinch until you think it's right. Cook for 5 - 10 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Add the pasta and toss well. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so over very low heat, stirring often. Serve immediately, with lots of French bread and a nice dry white wine.

Joelle's Spicy Chicken with Spaghetti

A friend of mine from work passed along this recipe with the warning that it is SO GOOD, but makes a ton of food. WOW, I thought – that’ll make it a lot easier when I make casseroles for my pregnant friends this spring! BTW, frozen casseroles are one of the BEST gifts to give a pregnant woman – she won’t have to cook when she gets home from giving birth, and if hubby can turn on the oven and timer they’re set! Anyway, here’s the recipe from Joelle:

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¾ of the big block of Velveeta (you can use Lite, but not fat-free)
4-6 Chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
garlic salt and black pepper, to taste
1 can EACH regular and spicy Ro-tel (or 2 cans regular if you prefer)
1 pkg. spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

Combine all ingredients in a gigantic bowl, then divide into 2 9x13 casserole pans or several 9x9 square pans for freezing. When ready to cook, thaw overnight and bake for 45 minutes on 350.

"Healthy" Roasted Potatoes

I made these for Thanksgiving this year and they were a big hit. I was so honored when my grandmother asked for the recipe! Anyway, it’s a healthier way of cooking potatoes because there’s not cheese, sour cream or butter involved and it’s just as good. We also cook vegetables like eggplant, zucchini and summer squash like this and they’re awesome! Feel free to adjust the seasoning amounts to your liking – this is just a starting point.

1-5 lb. bag of red potatoes, cubed
1 c. olive oil
2 T garlic salt
1 T. pepper
1 T. paprika
1 tsp. ground red pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all ingredients except potatoes together until slurry. Dump cubed potatoes out onto a rimmed baking sheet and baste with 1/3 of the olive oil mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the potatoes out and mix them up with a spatula. Some will probably stick to the bottom of the pan; that’s okay, just scrape them up and mix them all around. Baste again and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Repeat the spatula mixing and basting process again and cook for a final 15 minutes.

"Sandwich"

Yes, this wonderful delicacy was simply dubbed “sandwich” by my adorable husband, who professes that this is one of his favorite things in the world. Perfect for feeding friends during a spirited football game, “sandwich” is easy to prepare and really good!

1 lb. hot bulk pork sausage
1 lb. ground beef/chuck/whatever’s on sale
1 onion, chopped
2 T mustard (or more, depending on how much you like mustard)
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 baguettes or twin loaves of French bread (we use Pepperidge Farm)
spray margarine
garlic salt

Preheat oven to 375. In a skillet, cook sausage, beef and onions until done, making sure to break up the meat into little bits, and drain. While meat is cooking, cut the loaves in half and hollow out the middle on both sides, leaving a shell similar to how you’d hollow out a twice-baked potato. Place the loaves on a large sheet of aluminum foil. When meat is cooked and drained, pour it into a big bowl and add mustard, cheese and eggs. Mix to combine, and spoon mixture into the hollowed out bread loaves. Do the next steps for both loaves: Use the foil to help roll the top of the loaf onto the bottom, and push any mixture that has “escaped” back into the bread. Spray the top with spray margarine and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Form the aluminum foil around the sandwich to help hold in the stuffing, making sure to leave the top open so the sandwich can brown on top. Bake for 35 minutes and cut into fourths. Serves 8.

Drunk Mushrooms

This is so, SO good over pork chops, chicken breasts, and especially steaks or other red meat. It’s very easy to fix, doesn’t take a lot of time, and looks (and tastes) much fancier than it is. We like ours with LOTS of dill, so be sure to taste along the way to make sure you’ve got the seasonings like you like ‘em!

2 8 oz. pkgs. whole or sliced white mushrooms
1 cup red wine
1 beef bullion cube
1 and a half sticks of butter
1 T. dill or more, to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
Sprinkling of dried sage
A few tablespoons of soy protein powder or flour (optional)

Cook all together over medium heat until mushrooms are softened and have absorbed some of the cooking liquid, turning them a darker brown color. If you prefer, thicken the gravy by sprinkling in 1 T. soy protein powder or flour at a time, combining thoroughly and letting the flour taste cook out before adding more.

"Somewhat Italian" Wedding Soup

Got the original recipe from the Mayo Clinic website and thought it could use some improvement! It’s still pretty low-carb, very flavorful and tasty, and perfect when you want some comfort food that won’t require that you let out your belt. If you’re looking for a more traditional style Italian Wedding Soup, just throw in a little uncooked orzo pasta or rice at the end, and cook 5-8 minutes until pasta/rice is done.

1 lb. mild Italian sausage
½ white onion, minced fine
1 box frozen chopped spinach, cooked & squeezed dry
¾ cup frozen crinkle-cut carrots
1 32 oz. carton chicken broth
1 T. Italian seasoning
1 palmful fresh chopped parsley

Cut open 1 end of the casing of the sausage and pull out little blobs of the sausage. Shape into 1” balls and brown on all sides in a skillet with a little olive oil, like you would a meatball. When the sausage meatballs are cooked, place them in a large soup pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook over medium to medium-high until the carrots are soft, and serve with crusty bread.

Summertime Tomato Pie

In the summertime, it seems like everybody you know is trying to give you homegrown tomatoes. But what do you do with them? This pie is a great way to use up the sackfuls of tomatoes that I end up with every summer, and is great as a side dish or for brunch. Caution! It’s VERY rich!

1 deep-dish pie shell
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
¼ c. chopped green onions of a few snipped chives
12-14 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 c. light mayonnaise
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
½ lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

Put the tomato slices over a plate or colander lined with paper towels and lightly salt. Let the tomatoes drain for 15 -30 minutes, then layer them in the bottom of the pie shell. Sprinkle basil, onions and half the bacon over the tomatoes and season with salt & pepper to taste. Mix mayonnaise and cheeses together and spread over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until crust is lightly browned. Top with more bacon pieces and serve warm.

Laura's Green Game Day Dip

What a great dip for game days! When you don’t have tickets and it’s just TOO dang hot to tailgate, have a tailgate party in your own living room with yummy dip, hot wings, and a big screen TV. After all, it counts as a veggie, right?

1 small box frozen chopped spinach
1 can artichoke hearts, packed in water – NOT OIL
1 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened - reduced fat is fine
1-2 c. shredded Italian-style cheese blend
½ c. mayonnaise
1 T. minced garlic
¼ to ½ lb. crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled

Cook spinach according to package directions and drain. Wrap several thicknesses of paper towels around the spinach and squeeze or press out as much moisture as you can. Put the spinach in a large mixing bowl. Drain the artichokes and add them in. Add the cream cheese, Italian cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic. Mix thoroughly, making sure to break up the artichoke hearts as you mix. Turn into a 9 x 9 casserole pan or pie plate. Bake until cheese melts and mixture is hot & bubbly, and then top with crumbled bacon. These are excellent with white corn tortilla chips.

* If you wanted to be really fancy, you spoon the mixture into hollowed-out peppers, tomatoes, eggplant or mushroom caps, top with toasted breadcrumbs and serve as an appetizer or side dish.

Thai Meat with Crispy Beans

This is truly a strange-sounding recipe, but it’s really good no matter what meat you choose to use.

1 lb. pork, chicken or shrimp, cut into bite-sized pieces
3-4 T. olive oil
1/4 c. Equal or Splenda
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (the kind you find at pizza restaurants)

Coat meat with olive oil. Mix sugar substitute with red pepper flakes and coat meat in this mixture. Add a few swirls of olive oil to a nonstick skillet or wok and cook meat over medium until done. Really good with Crispy Beans (below):

Crispy Beans
1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1-2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
Olive oil

After you cook Terrific Thai Meat, wipe out your stir fry pan and add olive oil, soy sauce and minced garlic, stirring to combine. Add trimmed beans and swish them around a little to coat them with the sauce. You can cook them 2 ways – stir fry until crisp-tender over medium high heat, resulting in a very crisp cooked bean that retains more of its vitamins and innate “green bean-iness” OR cook over medium, covered with wax paper and finish over high heat, resulting in a mushier, more flavorful green bean. Either way, they remind me of the green beans at the Chinese buffet – one of my faves!

Hot Rhonda's Hot Vegetable Casserole

I got this recipe from mom several years ago (I won’t say how many!) and it’s always been a hit! It’s another recipe from Aunt Tene - a GREAT casserole and has never failed to impress both kids and adults. I like to serve it with ham, and it’s even good cold and leftover the next day. . . seriously! TJ’s Uncle Johnny ate about half the pan by himself at the Joseph family Christmas party one year.

1 8 oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, etc.)
1 c. mayonnaise (you can use light, but NOT fat free – yuck!)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
½ c. finely chopped celery
Salt to taste
1T. or more black pepper
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 sleeve buttery crackers, crushed

Preheat oven to 350. While oven is heating up, microwave the vegetables according to package directions and drain. Place into the bottom of a 9 x 9 casserole pan. In a bowl, combine, mayonnaise, cheese, celery, salt and pepper. Spread mayo/cheese mixture over the vegetables. Now for the “tastes really good, bad for you” part – mix the melted butter with the crushed crackers and spread evenly over the top. Yep, add more butter to buttery crackers! Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so until the top of the casserole is browned and the innards are bubbly. Even confirmed vegetable haters will ask for seconds – I’ve seen it in real life.

Aunt Tene's Mac N Cheese

TJ surprised me one night by calling to ask for my mom’s mac and cheese recipe. Seems he’d told his co-workers he made the best mac n cheese ever, so Kraft in the blue box simply wouldn’t do. Mom said she got this recipe from her Aunt Tene (Mac’s sister), who is well known for being an AWESOME cook. By the way, TJ said he had NO leftovers the next day, and I can promise that you won’t either!

1 box macaroni noodles, cooked and drained
1 block Colby cheese, shredded OR 2 c. shredded Colby Jack in a pinch
1 egg, beaten
1 c. milk
Salt and pepper to taste (we use LOTS of pepper)
coupla good shakes of red pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar
¼ stick of butter, cut into very small pieces (dots)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cooked noodles, shredded Colby or Colby Jack, egg, milk, and seasonings in a bowl and turn into a greased 9 x 13 casserole pan. Top with shredded cheddar and butter dots and bake until bubbly around the edges. If you really want to get MaMaw with it, throw a good handful of buttered breadcrumbs on top before you pop it in the oven.

Fake Mashed Potatoes

1 c. chicken stock (check carb count) or 1 cup water w/ a bullion cube dissolved
1 head cauliflower, cut into flowerets
¼ stick butter, softened
Garlic salt
Pepper

Cook the cauliflower in the bullion until you’ve cooked it into submission! It should be VERY mushy. Drain off the bullion and put the cauliflower in a bowl. Mash together with the butter, or process cauliflower and butter in a food processor until smooth. Season with garlic salt and pepper to taste. It’s also good with a little shredded cheese and crisp, crumbled bacon stirred in.