Black Beans

Funny story...We had our grandmother dinner the other night for mutual and I was in charge of making beans for the dinner (which I found out about the night before). When I do beans, I do dry....so its a long process, it would have been nice to know a night earlier. Anyway, so I made them and then get a text at 6:10 (mutual is at 7:00)...."paula, did you remember that the dinner is at 6:00".

Ya, nobody told me and I didn't get that memo!

So now I have a ton of black beans that I need to use up.

Recipe:

Boil dry beans for 2 minutes, let sit in water for an hour, drain and rinse.

1 quart water
1 lb beans
garlic clove
1 cup dry onions
2/3 cups bacon bits
pepper

Put all ingredients in crockpot and slow cook for two days. Serve with any mexican food meal...or make a TON of burritos and freeze.

Aren't you all so proud of me for actually posting something on here?

Tres Leche Cake

First of all, Love, Love, Love the look of this blog, nice work Rachel.

Disclaimer: I know this is not following the theme, but Rachel said I could post it.
Since yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make a Tres Leche cake. I have never had it, nor has Tyler but he has been asking me to make one for quite some time. I found this recipe here, which does provide good step by step directions if you want.

But here is the recipe:

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 5 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ⅓ cups Milk
• 1 can Evaporated Milk
• 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
• ¼ cups Heavy Cream
• _____
• FOR THE ICING:
• 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.

Baked Potato Soup

I got this from the Family Favorites Website. It's mostly no oven, if you bake your potatoes in the microwave.But it was REALLY good. I thought it rivaled restaurant soup. Too bad I didn't have those cool looking breadsticks.

4 to 6 potatoes (baked, peeled, and cubed)

½ c. butter

½ c. flour

2 tsp. chicken
bullion

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. minced garlic

6 c. milk

16 oz. sour cream

10 bacon strips,
cooked and crumbled

1 can corn, drained

shredded cheddar
cheese

In a large saucepan melt butter on low heat. Stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add
milk and turn heat up to medium. Add minced garlic. Bring to a boil, cook and stir 2 minutes until thick. Remove from heat. Whisk in sour cream. Add potatoes, corn, and bacon. Serve in individual bowls topped with cheddar cheese.

May's Theme

With summer looming (at least our here), I am looking for meals that don't require an oven. I used my oven today and we are still roasting, six hours later. We don't have AC so I really think limiting oven use is our best bet. So, that's what I'm looking for - no-bake, crock pot, stove top, skillet meals, etc.

Looking forward to all the fun and new recipes!

Baguettes

I found this recipe today and just made them this afternoon. So good! Matt said they were my best bread yet. Definitely post-worthy. And super easy. Try em out.

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast
2 tsp. sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl mix the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes - foam should form on the top.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball and knead for 5 minutes. (I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook)

Cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. To make them smooth and pretty, roll each half of dough into rectangle and roll up lengthwise. Pinch the edges to seal and place on lightly greased cookie sheet (or silpat) with seam down. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a very sharp knife (I like to use a serrated blade) gently make a slash down the length of each baguette. This will give it that authentic look. Pour water in a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Half way through, brush the bread with melted butter. **I tried it with olive oil too... it was less crispy and salty. We liked the butter a lot more!

**Original recipe found here.**

Favorite Recipes!

Alright everyone! Here are some of my all-time favorite recipes, as requested by Alicia. :) Happy eating!

Summer Pasta Salad

1/3 cup olive oil

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tbs oregano

1 tbs basil

2 packages 12 oz. rotelli pasta (spiral)

2 cups tomatoes, sliced

8 oz. mozarella cheese, cubed

1 pkg. salami, low fat, sliced into strips

olives (optional)

In a large bowl, mix vinegar, oil, salt, oregano, and basil. Add cheese cubes, tomatoes, and salami. Mix. Add noodles and toss. Cover and chill overnight or for several hours (MUCH better cold). Toss before serving and add more balsamic vinegar as desired.

Serves 8

Cranberry Apple Turkey Crockpot

2 tsp melted butter

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 or 2 large apples, cored and chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

2 cups seasoned crumbs

2-3 lbs. turkey breast cutlets

Combine all ingredients and mix. Add to crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Ashley's Healthy Salsa

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

2 avocados, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

2 T cilantros, chopped

2-3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 pkg dry zesty Italian dressing mix

vinegar

tortilla chips

Combine beans, corn, avocado, onion, cilantro, and tomatoes in a bowl. Prepare italian dressing according to directions on package. Pour dressing over salsa ingredients. Serve with chips, quesadillas, or nachos.

Mom's French Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Mix and let proof:
1 1/2 Tbs yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar

Then add 2 Tbs. crisco
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
2 cups HOT water (tap hot)
6-8 cups flour

Mix together and knead for 10 minutes or so, then let rise to double in size; 1-2 hours. Divide dough into 2 portions. Roll each into a thick rectangle, then roll up jelly roll style, pinch it closed and then pinch and tuck the ends in. Make slits across the loaf and let raise again for 1-2 hours or until it is double in size. Bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Put melted butter or crisco on the top of the warm loaf.