Beans Bourguignonne

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

This hearty dish is a vegetarian version of Beef Bourguignonne and just as tasty.

  • 1 large Sweet Onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 1 large Carrot, cut in rounds
  • 1 large Potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup Water
  • 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
  • 1 teaspoon dried Thyme
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 1/2 cup dry Red Wine
  • 4 cups cooked or  canned Pinto Beans
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 8 oz White Mushrooms, sliced

In a medium size soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and saute onion for about 5 minutes. Add carrots and potatoes. Stir in water, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender about 15 minutes.  Add more water if needed to keep vegetables covered.

Add wine, beans, garlic, and salt. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and discard. In a medium saute pan, saute the mushrooms over low heat with the remaining butter. Combine the mushrooms in the bean mixture and serve with crusty bread with butter.

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Black Bean Dip

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

With the tailgating season started, this dip goes a long way to feed hungry sports fans!

  • 2 cups canned Black Beans, rinsed
  • 1 1/4 cup mild Salsa
  • 3/4 cup Green Onions, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon Red Cayenne powder
  • 3/4 cup packed fresh Cilantro leaves

Mix all ingredients in a food processor and blitz til smooth. Chill in fridge for several hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips, guacamole or sour cream.

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Double Baked Cheesy Potatoes

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is an easy dish to make with any type of beef.

  • 1 baked Potato per person
  • 2 tablespoons of a creamy type Cheese, Swiss Gruyère, Brie or Camembert per potato
  • 1 teaspoon Butter per potato
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cut potatoes in half. Remove the potatoes from the skins. Mix the cheese, butter, salt and pepper. Mix well. Put the mix back in the shells and return to oven until the mixture is melted and potato skins are hot.

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French Style Potatoes

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

Way back in the mid 1980’s I watched a cooking show called “The Frugal Gourmet”. I got some good tips from that show. This is a recipe that I kept. It is supposed to a recipe from an old French cookbook from the 1770’s.

  • 5 medium Potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour 
  • 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh Parsley, destemmed and chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven 450 F.

Mix everything in a baking dish. Bake until brown for 30 minutes.

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Colcannon

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

Almost any Irish pub has a version of colcannon on its menu. The word Colcannon comes from the Irish Gaelic word “cal ceannan” meaning white headed cabbage.  Is excellent with a mushroom gravy sauce.

  • 6 medium White Potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 4 cups White Cabbage, shredded
  • 1 bunch of Green Onions, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons Butter
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Milk
  • 1 tablespoon fresh Parsley, destemmed and chopped
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

Cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. As the potatoes are cooking, cook the cabbage in hot water until tender about 15 minutes. Drain. Saute onions in butter and some milk.

Mash potatoes. Don’t make them creamy or smooth should still have some chunks in them. Mix in butter, green onions and enough milk to make them fluffy. Stir in cabbage. Add Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the parsley. Serve warm.

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Corn Pudding Casserole

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is comfort food at it’s finest. I like to make this around the holidays.

  • 2 cans (15 oz each) Cream Style Corn
  • 6 tablespoons Butter
  • 2 whole Eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Cornstarch
  • 1 can (13 oz) Evaporated Milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 1 hour.

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Asian Style Coleslaw

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

This dish is a nice change of pace from the regular mayo type slaw.

  • 5 cups Green Cabbage, thinly shredded
  • 2 cups Red Cabbage, thinly shredded
  • 2 cups Napa Cabbage, finely shredded
  • 2 Sweet Red Peppers, thinly sliced
  • 2 Carrots, peeled and grated
  • 3 Green Onions, chopped

Dressing:

  • 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 3 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Sugar or Sugar Substitute
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh Ginger Root
  • 1 tablespoon Garlic, peeled and pressed

In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, pepper, carrot and green onions. Fold in the dressing just before serving.

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15 Bean Soup

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is a recipe that my mom gave to me about 25 years ago.  I think she must have got it from a bag of 15 bean soup mix. Either that or the dried bean company copied her recipe! LOL!  Anyway, this is a good emergency cooking dish because it uses dried and canned ingredients. It is one pot cooking and can easily be doubled or tripled to feed alot of people.  One pound of dried mixed beans will make enough soup for 12 to 14 servings.

  • 1 pound of mixed beans include: large Lima Beans, small Lima Beans, Navy Beans, White Kidney Beans, Lentils, Green Split Peas, Yellow Split Peas, Blackeye Peas, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Northen Beans, Speckled Butter Beans, Garbanzo Bean, Pink Beans, Red Kidney Beans, small Red Chili Beans. And Barley (Although not a bean, barley is very good in this mix.)
  • 2 tablespoons Sea Salt
  • 2 quarts Water
  • 1 large Onion, chopped
  • 2 Smoked Ham Hocks or 1 pound of cooked Ham
  • 1 can (16 oz) stewed or diced Tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning (I use our home-made Fuzz’s No Salt Cajun Blend)
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • Pepper to taste

Rinse beans and place in large soup pot. Cover with water to 2 inches above the beans. Add salt, soak over night. In the morning, drain the beans. Return to large soup pot and add 2 quarts of water and ham hocks.  Bring to a boil and add onion, tomato, Cajun blend, lemon juice and pepper. Reduce heat to medium or medium low to keep a simmer. Cook for 3 hours. Remove ham meat from the hock before serving.

 

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Crispy Oven Baked Chicken

Posted on August 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

Around here we love fried chicken, but we do not love oil from deep-frying it. I found this recipe in a Paula Deen magazine several years ago and make this dish often.

  • 2 cups Cornflake type Cereal, I have even used a rice chex style and it was great.
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Red Cayenne powder
  • 2 Whole Eggs (Original recipe calls for only egg whites)
  • 5 or 6 split Chicken Breasts 

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put alumium foil on a rimmed cookie sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a shallow dish combine dry ingredients.  Beat eggs in a separate shallow  dish.  Dip each chicken breast in the beaten eggs and dredge them in the dry ingredients to fully coat them. Press cornflake mix onto the chicken to ensure it adheres.

Place on the cookie sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 F in the thickest part of the breast.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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Pickled Okra

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

Last year I had a bumper crop of okra. It is a plant that loves the heat but also likes a good supply of water. This year because of the extreme heat and drought even the okra didn’t want to grow. This photo is a pleasant memory of last year’s crop.

  • 2 pounds fresh Okra, small tender pods work best
  • 9 Whole Red Cayenne Peppers
  • 18 cloves Garlic, peeled
  • 3 tablespoons Dill Seeds
  • 4 cups White Vinegar
  • 4 cups Water
  • 1/2 cup Pickling Salt
  • 1/4 cup Sugar

In 9 wide mouth, sterilized pint jars, put 1 pepper, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon dill seed in each jar. Pack washed okra with stems cut short into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Boil vinegar, water, pickling salt and sugar and pour over okra, leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Remove the air bubbles. Wipe rim and threads of the jar with a wet paper towel. Place hot lid on jar, adjust and tighten screw ring. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.  Remove from water and let jars situndisturbed for 12 hours.  If any jar doesn’t seal, you can reprocess immediately to try to seal again. If it still doesn’t seal, place in fridge and eat.

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