Easy Baked Beans Deluxe

My dad used to do these in a big dutch oven over a fire in the backyard. Tasty and delicious and really easy to throw together. Here's my bake-in-the-oven take on it.

Easy Baked Beans Deluxe

1 large can kidney beans (16-20 oz)
1 18 oz can pork'n'beans
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. ketchup
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 T. worcestershire sauce

Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Stir everything together. Pour into a 2 qt casserole dish. Cover and bake at 325°F for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 30-45 minutes, until thick and bubbly.

Thursday Recipe - German Potato Salad

Yes, I'm still on hiatus, but as I find recipes I've overlooked, I'll add them.

Thought I'd posted this one. It's a family favorite.

Hot potatoes, crisp bacon, sweet onions, all wrapped in a creamy, tangy vinegar sauce. How can you possibly pass it up? I get to, because I haven't found a good potato substitute and me and potatoes are no longer friends.

Enjoy!

German Potato Salad

4 medium potatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
4 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T. flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. celery seed
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. vinegar

Put potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 20-25 minutes, until barely done.

Cook bacon in a large frying pan until well-done and crispy. Remove bacon and set aside.

Cook onion in bacon grease until tender. Stir in flour, sugar, salt, celery seed, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture gets all bubbly. Stir in water and vinegar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat.

Crumble bacon into sauce, then slice warm potatoes and add to sauce. Put back on low heat. Stir gently just until potatoes are coated and everything turns into a nice, starchy mess.

Serve hot.

Gluten-Free version:
Follow all directions until you come to adding the flour.
Skip the flour. Stir 1 T. cornstarch into the water. Stir into the onion and spice mixture with the vinegar. Cook and stir until it thickens and comes to a boil.
Continue with the rest of the recipe.

Thursday Recipe - Noodles Romanov

Costco has enormous tubs of sour cream. Really big ones. I was running on habit when I went Thanksgiving shopping. I'm used to making food for giant crowds - minimum of ten and up to thirty or forty or more for things like Thanksgiving. We had a grand total of nine for dinner this year. And only five of us around to eat all the leftovers. I don't know how to cook or shop for only five.

So I have this giant tub of sour cream in my fridge. We're not that big on dairy at my house. One child can't eat any. Most of the rest of us can only eat small portions. We usually get our dairy allowance from cheese. Or Tillamook Vanilla Yogurt. That stuff is really tasty. Point is, we really don't eat much sour cream.

I'm getting creative at ways to use it in cooking. I made a lemon sour cream pound cake the other day that was pretty tasty. And last night, I made Noodles Romanov. The plan was Beef Stroganoff, but my daughter wouldn't have been able to eat the meat sauce if I'd done it traditional. But since she can't eat the noodles anyway, we put the sour cream in there.

Serve this stuff with a hamburger and mushroom gravy and you have a pretty close approximation of stroganoff. At least close enough for me.

Noodles Romanov

1 12 oz package pasta (I used spaghetti, traditional would call for egg noodles)
1 T. butter
1 t. garlic salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper (adjust to your taste)
1/2 c. shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 c. sour cream
1/3 c. chopped green onions

Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente noodles. Drain, then dump back into the pot.

Add the butter and gently stir until it's melted and the noodles are coated. Stir in the garlic salt and black pepper. Add the cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Gently stir until coated.

Serve warm.

Thursday Recipe - Italian Pasta Salad

This is a classic for a lot of reasons. It's easy. It uses up all sorts of vegetables. You can lighten it up by using less oil. It won't spoil nearly as fast as a mayonnaise coated pasta salad. And it just plain tastes good.

Enjoy!

Italian Pasta Salad

1 large box of pasta - bowties or the little salad ones are both good in this
1/3 c. red onion, diced small
2 T. red wine vinegar, or use another mild vinegar like rice vinegar
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 c. cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters
1 c. bell pepper, chopped into chunks, use a mix of green, red, and yellow
1 c. sliced olives
1 c. sliced radishes or daikon
1 c. shredded carrots
1 c. mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes

Dressing:
1/2 c. white vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 t. salt
1 t. ground black pepper
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. garlic powder

Start by making the dressing - put everything in a bowl or shaker bottle. Beat until blended. It will separate quickly, so just whisk it together again or shake it up good right before you pour it.

Set the dressing aside.

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the pasta. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to finish draining.

Put onions and vinegar in the bottom of a large bowl. Let it soak for at least 5 minutes.

Add the vegetables and cheese to the onions. Toss to coat with vinegar. Add the pasta. Pour half the dressing over the top. Toss everything gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Toss salad again. Add more dressing if desired. Serve cold.

Thursday Recipe - Sautéed Zucchini

I think my black thumb curse is finally lifted! Or at least changed to a brown thumb. One of the dozen zucchini seeds I planted survived. I have zucchini in my garden. Only one plant, but with zucchini, that's plenty. I also have tomatoes (HUGE bushes with LOADS of green tomatoes right now), a few spindly hot pepper bushes, a few onions, a very short row of yellow wax beans, and some popcorn. It's the best garden we've grown in years.

Back to the zucchini. There are several ways to deal with it. Giant baseball bat size zucchinis are great for stuffing or grating up and using in recipes like zucchini muffins, fudge cake, or zucchini pie. Medium size ones are great for chopping up into pickles. And teeny little ones are great for slicing and sautéing. This recipe makes a great vegetable side dish for a summer dinner party.

Sautéed Zucchini

3-5 small zucchini, sliced into circles about 1/4 inch thick
2 T. butter
1 t. Italian herb mix (make your own with oregano, basil, sage, thyme, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, garlic, and dried onions. And maybe a pinch of lemon zest. That recipe sounds good for next week...)
salt to taste

Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Toss in the zucchini slices. Fry for a few minutes, stirring often, just until the squash wilts and some slices get browned. Sprinkle the herbs over the top. Salt to taste. Toss it once to mix in the herbs then serve.

This also works great with crookneck squash, yellow squash, pattypan squash, or any other summer squash with a tender skin. Use the tiny baby ones if you've got them.

Thursday Recipe - Rice Fantastic

A friend asked me how to use curry powder. You know, that yellow stuff they sell in the grocery store? Some people tell you not to buy it, and mix your own, but sometimes I just want fast and easy. Plus, I like the way it tastes. I like to add it to rice - 1 or 2 teaspoons in a batch of 2 c. rice and 4 c. water. It turns it yellow and gives it a fun flavor. You can also make tandoori chicken and throw some curry powder into the sauce.

It also gives a lot of flavor and color to this dish. Next time you want rice to be a whole lot more than just rice, try this one out.

Rice Fantastic

2 T. butter

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1/2 c. celery, sliced thin

1 tart apple, peeled and chopped small

1/2 c. slivered almonds

1/2 c. raisins

1/4 c. dried cranberries

2 c. white rice

4 c. hot water

1 t. salt

1 T. curry powder

1/4 c. slivered almonds, toasted

Melt butter in heavy 3 quart saucepan. Sauté onion and celery until translucent. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, except toasted almonds. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until rice is tender. Tilt lid to let steam escape. Let rice sit for about ten minutes. Fluff with a fork, stirring well to mix all ingredients. Garnish with toasted almonds.

To toast almonds: Heat a small skillet on medium high. Add almonds and stir constantly for about five minutes, just until almonds begin to brown. Spread almonds onto paper towels to cool.

Thursday Recipe - Twice-Baked Potatoes

I know it's summer and it's hot. But these are so tasty. If you make a big batch ahead of time, you can keep them in the fridge and just microwave them as needed. They'll keep for up to a week. They make a great side dish for summer cookouts, too. You can heat them on the grill to go with steak or burgers or even hot dogs and chicken. Try them sometime. They even work for a main dish.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

12 potatoes, medium to large work best, scrubbed well. DO NOT PEEL
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. onion powder
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)

Heat oven to 400°. Place potatoes on foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about an hour, until potatoes are done. Let cool for at least 1 hour.

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the center, leaving a shell with the peel. Set the shells back on the baking sheet. Put the potato insides into a mixing bowl. Repeat with all potatoes. You should have 24 shells and a mound of baked potato middles when you finish.

Now the fun begins. Add the sour cream, onions, spices, cheese, and bacon to the potato middles. Mash together until it's a creamy mess. (BTW, these make really delicious mashed potatoes if you want to give up and just eat the shells as potato skins, but if you keep going, you won't regret it.) If it's too stiff, stir in a couple tablespoons of milk. You want a thick mashed potato consistency.

Scoop the mashed potato mix into each shell, mounding it slightly. It should fill all the shells nicely. You can stop and refrigerate them at this point. They'll keep for about a week. Just make sure they are tightly covered. Microwave a few at a time as needed for meals, or stick them on the grill until they're hot, or:

Heat oven to 400°. Bake the filled potatoes for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.

Variations:

Use anything you'd use on loaded mashed potatoes:
diced sweet onion (about 1/2 c. will do)
any variety of cheese, don't stop with cheddar, try parmesan with pepperoni
1 t. of paprika with more sprinkled over the top
1 c. cooked, crumbled sausage or hamburger
1 c. cubed ham
1 c. chopped broccoli

OR fill the shells with thick chili and save the mashed potato insides for another day

Dairy free option: Substitute mayonnaise for the sour cream. Or use 1/2 c. canned coconut milk. Use goat cheese or skip the cheese entirely.

Thursday Recipe - Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

This is what I made for Thanksgiving instead of bringing mashed potatoes. It's a tasty alternative. In fact, I prefer these. Easy and delicious.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

6 c. bite size chunks of potato, about 8 medium (leave the peels on, but scrub them well)
2 T. oil
1 t. dried rosemary
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. paprika

Toss everything together until potatoes are well coated with seasonings. Spread on a baking sheet and roast at 400° until golden brown and slightly crispy. Stir every 15 minutes or so. It usually takes 35-45 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!