Slow Cooker Black Beans

I found this at budgetbytes.blogspot.com.

This worked really well, the last time I did this.  I love that I can freeze them and they are ready to use when I need them and I don't have to use salt-infused canned beans from the store.

Here is how it's done:

STEP 1: Pour one pound (2 cups of dry black beans) (or two for an extra large batch) of beans out onto a baking sheet and sort through to remove any stones or debris. Transfer the beans to a colander to rinse off any dust.

STEP 2: Place the cleaned and sorted beans in a slow cooker and add 6 cups of water for every pound of beans. Put the lid on, set the cooker to HIGH and let her go. Beans that have not been presoaked will take 4-6 hours to cook on HIGH.

STEP 3: Once the beans are tender, pour them into a colander and give them a quick rinse. Divide the beans into containers (re-sealable or zip top freezer bags), label, date and freeze until ready to use! Easy as that.

One pound of dry beans will yield about 6 cups of cooked beans, equal to about 3 cans.

*one comment recommended adding 1/8th tsp of baking soda if your water is heavily calcified to help soften them.  I didn't do that one time and the beans never became soft and I have added the baking soda in my last two batches and the beans were perfect.  So I will be doing that from now on!

Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

from melskitchencafe.com

Serves 8-10 as a side dish

2 slices hearty white or wheat sandwich bread, torn into pieces

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons butter, melted; plus two tablespoons chilled

1 garlic clove, minced

2 pounds broccoli (about 3-4 medium heads of broccoli), florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stems chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups long grain white rice

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Pulse bread, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and melted butter in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add garlic. Set aside.

Microwave broccoli florets (save stems for later), covered, in a large bowl until bright green and tender, 2 to 3 minutes (no need to add water). Be careful not to overcook or they will become soggy and discolored. Melt remaining butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion and broccoli stems until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, half-and-half, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in cheddar cheese, cayenne, remaining parmesan and broccoli florets.

Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve.

Add cooked chicken and it becomes a meal!

Zucchini Cakes

Found this recipe here.

Makes: 8 cakes
You will need:

• 1 large zucchni grated, excess water removed (Note: To do this, after you grate the zucchini, put the grated zucchini into paper towels and squeeze to release the water)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• sprinkle of ground nutmeg, about 1/8 teaspoon (Note: If you add too much it can quickly take over the taste, less is more)
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Using a heaping tablespoon form the mixture into 8 patties.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once heated, add patties and cook until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes per side. Serve.

These are great when served with a dollop of  ranch dressing. Enjoy!

Skinny Taco Dip

This recipe is from www.skinnytaste.com

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 8 oz reduced fat sour cream
• 16 oz jar mild salsa
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 2.25 oz black olives,

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and taco seasoning and mix well with an electric mixer. Spread on the bottom of a large shallow glass dish. Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and black olives. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

*I would change out the iceberg lettuce for a different lettuce to make it healthier, such as red or green leaf, romaine or maybe lettuce from spring mix bag.  Iceberg lettuce has no nutritional value.

*Someone suggested adding black beans to add some protein.  I think that sounds yummy!

Mexican Rice

This recipe from melskitchencafe.com.  Sounds yummy, but I will have to change a few things so the whole family might possibly eat it.  Like use less cloves of garlic (like 1 or even just garlic powder)  and maybe substitute parsley for the cilantro.  Also, I usually use brown rice instead of white rice.

*Serves 4-6

1 cup of long grain white rice

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup of tomato paste

1 tablespoon of lime juice, from about 1 lime

1/2 cup of freshly chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons cumin

Salt to taste

In a medium-sized pot, add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer for 17-20 minutes. Remove from heat and keep the pot covered for 5 more minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions in the hot oil for 10 minutes, until translucent and starting to brown. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato paste and cumin and cook for another minute or two. Mix in hot, cooked rice, lime juice and cilantro. Mix until well combined. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately.

Taffy Apple Salad

 Found this recipe on tnt-cook.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
4 large apples, cored and diced with peel
2 cups unsalted peanuts
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed



1.In a medium saucepan combine the flour, sugar, egg yolk, vinegar and reserved pineapple juice. Cook over medium heat until thick. Remove from heat and chill.

2.in a large bowl combine the pineapple, apples, peanuts and chilled cooked mixture. Fold in whipped topping and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Healthy Corn Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Time: 30 minutes or less!

Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

 

 1 1/2 C flour

1 C cornmeal

1/2 C sugar

1 t baking soda

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 C blended up canned corn (don't get all squeemish on me)

1 egg, whisked with a fork until frothy

3 T butter, melted

 

1. In a small food processor or in a blender process your can of corn until it is all saucy and smooth. Don't worry your pretty little head about this ingredient. I fed these lovely treasures to a bunch of neighbor kids and they all loved them. They didn't even realize they had less fat. This blended up corn will replace some of the butter that the original recipe called for. Only some folks. We don't want to omit the butter all together now do we?

2. In a mixing bowl combine the 1/2 C blended corn, egg and melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon.

3. In a separate bowl combine all other ingredients.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.

5. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Carefully spoon the batter into each cup. Only fill them 2/3 of the way. You want to leave room for them to rise up.

6. Bake at 350 for 13-16 minutes. Enjoy!

Pizza Sauce

I haven't found a pizza sauce that we love just yet.  I hope this one that I found on Jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com.


1 -14.5 oz can Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 t sugar
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t lemon juice
pinch red pepper flakes

1. Combine all ingredients into a small food processor and blend. No mini food processor? You could easily just use a whisk to combine it all together.

2. Spread it onto your pizza dough...top with your favorite toppings, some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

3. Bake your pizza at 475 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Pasta with Pancetta & Leeks

I love food blogs!  I don't think I'll ever have to buy another recipe book again!  I found this recipe on Pioneerwoman.com.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces, weight Pasta, Cooked Al Dente
• Reserved Pasta Water, If Needed
• 3 ounces, weight Chopped Pancetta
• 3 whole Leeks, Sliced Thin
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• ½ cups Dry White Wine (I will use chicken stock)
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
• Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Saute chopped pancetta until fat is rendered and it starts to brown. Add sliced leeks and cook for 8 minutes. When you add the leeks, you can also throw in a pat or two of butter if you want to. This’ll give the dish some scrumptious flavor. I add it after the bacon is browned because I don’t want the butter to brown. After 8 to 10 minutes, pour in wine, then cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until reduced. Reduce heat to low, then pour in cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in Parmesan shavings. Toss in pasta, adding a little pasta water to thin as needed. Serve with Parmesan shavings over the top—delicious!

*Some people suggested substituting portabello mushrooms for the Pancetta/bacon (if you want it vegetarian).  I might try turkey bacon instead. Others suggested add nutmeg, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes or zucchini. Others said half & half or Greek yogurt could be substituted for the heavy cream. In some of the comments, they suggested saving the leek ends and bottoms in the freezer with all their other leftover veggie bits (ends of carrots, leaves from celery, onion ends, Parmesan rind and/or chicken carcasses) to make stock when you have enough.  What a good idea!  I guess people left out the butter (b/c it wasn't in the original directions) and it was yummy without it.

Baked Brown Rice

This sounds interesting.  I'll definitely have to try this method of cooking brown rice!

Baked Brown Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the above ingredients in a 3-quart baking pan or casserole dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes before removing the aluminum foil and fluffing with a fork.

Variations:
Before baking, slice one small yellow onion into dices or half moons and caramelize and brown in 1 teaspoon of olive oil until golden and soft (about 10 minutes in a nonstick skillet). Stir onion into rice and broth mixture and bake according to recipe.

After removing riced from the oven and letting it sit for five minutes, remove aluminum foil and stir in the zest and juice from 1 lemon, 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 apple, finely diced.

Chewy Pretzel Bites

I've tried making pretzels before and it was a horrible flop.  I hope this recipe from melskitchencafe.com helps me make YUMMY pretzels.  Then we won't crave those ones from the mall!

Just as a side note, Mel has included pictures for each step of the way.  Very handy when making bread or anything new!

*Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites

Dough:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Coarse salt (optional)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn't overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8  minutes or until they're golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time - it won't hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

UPDATE:  YUM! YUM! YUM!  Sorry I forgot to take a baked/done picture.  I guess I was distracted with all the yumminess!  I let my dough rise in the bowl with a damp towel on top.  I don't think it made a difference.  Now I need to find a yummy chessy dip to dunk them in!  I also coated some of them with cinnamon/sugar and it was yummy too!

Mexican Rice & Bean Burritos

This recipe is from allrecipes.com.  Sounds yummy and better than buying those packages from the store that are loaded with sodium and other things.  I hope its yummy and that my kids will eat it.  Okay, I hope I can at least think its yummy.....

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.

Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

*Some recommendations/comments in the reviews section (that's why I love allrecipes!)

-Tried it as written, just with the cumin, and it was not nearly as good as it was when I did it a second time using Taco Seasoning I (from allrecipes.com site). I just sprinkled in what looked like enough, about 1-1/2 tsp.

-Cook onions before browning rice, so onions are more soft and not crunchy (which is very yucky in my opininon!)

-Don't worry about puffing the rice, just brown it.

-Use fresh garlic instead! saute with onions...before adding rice

-Use a rice cooker instead.  Saute the onions, minced garlic and cumin in a skillet, then throw it into the rice cooker along with the 1 c. rice, 1-1/2 c. chicken broth and all the other ingredients, omitting the garlic salt.

-Use sea salt (to taste) instead of garlic salt and added 2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed) - (In my family 1 clove might be enough)

-Didn't have any tomato sauce so I used a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with the juice. I still used the same amount of water and it worked out perfectly

-Omit the salt and just used fresh minced garlic instead and add some green onions along with the regular onions, also use olive oil instead.

-Add 2 TBLS of picante sauce to bring out the mexican flavor a little better and cut that garlic salt by half.

-Omit the tomato sauce and add "Rotel" in its place.

-Use tomato paste mixed with water when don't have any tomato sauce on hand.

-add just a pinch of saffron at the end for another wonderful layer of flavor

Bean Burritos

I was referred to the Mexican Rice from hip2save.com because she puts that rice in her burritos.  The basic recipe for the burritos is cooked black beans, shredded cheese and the rice rolled in a burrito/taco shells.  Then she wraps them up in foil and freezes them.  Then when you want to eat them just take of the foil and pop them into the microwave.  Great for a quick lunch or dinner!

Chili's Salsa

I ate this salsa recipe at my sister-in-law's baby shower.  It taste just like Chili's salsa. YUM!!!  I got the recipe from her sister.  Thanks!

CHILI'S SALSA RECIPE

1/4 Cup yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. diced jalapenos
Mix together just a little in a blender

Add in blender:
1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 - 14.5 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. sugar

Blend together just a little, not pureed....then stir to blend everything
together a little more before pouring into a jar. Refrigerate.

Crispy Shoestring Onions

Yet another recipe from ourbestbites.com.  I love these onions when I get them at a restaurant, now I can make them at home.  That might be bad!  Here a link to the  recipe Crispy Shoestring Onions.

First here is the tutorial they provide to make the perfect crispy shoestring onions.

You'll need three bowls. One with an egg and a little milk, one with some white flour and seasonings, and one with your sliced onions. You can slice your onions however you like. I slice them about 1/8-1/4" wide and then quarter the slice of whole onion so the pieces are only an inch or two long. (ya, ya...forgot the picture of that one...)

Take a small handful of onions at a time and dunk them in the egg. Lift them up and let any excess egg drip off. We don't want to deep fry clumps of egg here. Actually, that would probably taste good. Pretty much anything deep fried tastes good, but that's beside the point.

After they've had a dunk in the egg, then just toss them around in the flour mixture until everything is coated. This is where you can personalize these little bits of yumminess. The recipe here is the most basic one, add seasonings to your heart's delight. 

The next step is to pop them in a pot of hot oil, for just a couple of minutes.  Take them out when they're golden brown and let them drain on some paper towels.  Now eat one warm. And if no one's looking, bust out the ranch dressing and give it a dip. Just to be naughty.

Let them cool to room temp and then you can use them on salads (they'd be seriously awesome on this salad), to top casseroles, on burgers or sandwiches, or just to snack on!

Now here is the actual recipe!

6 oz onion slices (1 large onion)
1 egg
1 Tbs milk
3/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
vegetable oil for frying


Heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees. Make sure to use a pot with sides (as opposed to a skillet style pan) so the oil doesn't boil over when you add the onions). Working with a handful of onions at a time, dip in egg mixture and let excess drip off. Then dredge in flour and lightly toss to coat. Place onions in hot oil and cook until golden brown. Remove and place on folded paper towels to absorb oil. Repeat process until all onions are fried.

Yield: About 4 C of shoestring onions. Note that this is a lot! If you're not going to use extra for snacking, you may want to half the recipe.