Every time I am asked to make green bean casserole, I am so frustrated that the recipes that I have call for either frozen or canned green beans. I love using fresh produce when I can, especially in the summertime when I can go down to a farmer's market and just pick up the freshest items, so fresh green beans for a green bean casserole seems like a no-brainer. However, after several attempts to use fresh green beans, it became very clear to me...they need to be cooked a bit before they are cooked in the casserole, because 30-35 minutes just isn't enough time to get them as tender as my family would prefer.
When I cook green beans normally, I boil them in water for about five minutes and then sautee them with garlic, butter and a touch of olive oil until they are done to my liking, and have amazing flavor from the garlic and butter. Finally, it hit me! Why not just cook the green beans like I normally would, BEFORE mixing them into the casserole! HOLY COW! I can't believe it took me so long to realize that the solution to my casserole issue was right in front of my face.
Ingredients:
1 10 3/4 oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp soy sauce
Pepper
About 1 lb fresh green beans, ends snapped and cut
1 1/3 cups french fried onions
Tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic
Olive Oil
First, you want to cook your green beans. As I said previously, I boil mine for about 5 mins, and then toss in a pan with olive oil, garlic and butter. Set aside once they are cooked. In a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, combine cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, 2/3 cup french fried onions and green beans. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Remove and top with remaining french fried onions and place back into oven for an additional 5 mins.
This is a recipe that was one of my favorites from my childhood. I can remember a segment on our local news channel at noon everyday where a guy name Mr. Food would create a recipe. My mom loved this portion of the show! Most of the things that he made were either not good, or sounded good but came out completely terrible. This is the one recipe that my mom made over and over of his, and since I am not an apple pie eater, this became the apple cake that she would make for me since I am not a fan of pie. The smells that float around my house from making this cake remind me of my childhood, and the recipe could not be simpler, but the outcome is amazing.
Ingredients:
2 medium apples, skins removed and diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 egg beaten
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl combine egg, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and sugar. Then gradually add flour, only stirring until everything is combined. The slowly add the apples, folding them in until combined. The batter is only enough to cover the apples, so don't be alarmed by the lack of excess batter. Pour mixture into a 9in pie pan, and cook for 30 mins. You can top this with whip cream, powdered sugar, or ice cream!
My husband is a meat and potato type of guy, which by now you probably realize, I am definitely not! However, I feel the need to keep him happy and his belly full...I'm not sure why that is... :) So to keep both of us happy, I try to come up with new ways of making the same meat and potato dishes. If I come up with new ways to make the same old stuff, it not only keeps my brain working, but also makes him happy because he isn't eating the same flavors all the time. A few years back, we were both tired of eating plain mashed potatoes, so I decided to experiment with some different flavors. I found that by mixing garlic, (or garlic powder) and parsley, along with leaving some texture in the potatoes, it made them much more exciting! So without further adieu, here is my recipe for some slightly more exciting potatoes!
Ingredients:
Red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes with the peel left on
Milk
Sour Cream
Butter
Garlic Powder
Parsley
Salt and Pepper (of course)
Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring up to a boil and let them cook in boiling water until you can stick a fork through them easily. When they are cooked, drain them, and place them back into the warm pot. (do not turn back on burner) The heat that is left in the pot will help them to dry off. Depending on how many potatoes you cooked will depend on how much of the remaining ingredients to use. I think I used about 6 potatoes, so I needed about 1 tbsp of sour cream, 1/2 cup milk, 3 tbsp butter, 1.5 tsp of garlic powder, pinch of salt and pepper, and 2 tbsp Parsley. Put all ingredients in the pot and mash until you get your desired consistency. You can add more milk if you want it thinner, or less if you prefer it more chunky.
For every recipe that doesn't turn out so well, another one is AMAZING! As I had mentioned in a previous blog, I have been daydreaming about combining some of my favorite items for lunch. I cannot seem eat chicken salad without a tomato to accompany it, so I have been thinking about stuffing a roasted tomato with chicken salad and topping it with a little cheese for quite some time. I am very proud to say that I have successfully created this recipe and it is insanely delicious, and pretty healthy!
Ingredients:
1 tomato per serving
1 can of chicken, or leftover roasted chicken, cut into small pieces
1 Tablespoon mayo
Half of a celery stalk, minced
Shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Take your tomatoes and cut around the top of the tomato, just like you would if you were carving a pumpkin. Once you remove the core, take a spoon and spoon out all of the insides, just be care not to penetrate the sides or bottom of the tomato. Once the tomato is carved and scooped out, place it on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 15-20 mins.
In a separate bowl, combine chicken, mayo, celery, a tablespoon of shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
After the tomato has been removed from the oven and cooled, stuff it with the chicken salad. Top with cheese and place it under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes, just until the cheese has melted.
We are starting a new tradition in my house, where my husband and I are going to do Lazy Sundays. Lazy Sundays will entail lots of pajama wearing, laying around, and the two most important aspects: Just the two of us, and amazing food!
Since our weekends have become jam-packed with people to see and things to do, we decided that we need a day to ourselves to enjoy our marriage, especially before we have children. So we will be locking ourselves away from the world and I will be cooking up tons of good food to keep my husband happy.
Yesterday was our first ever Lazy Sunday. For breakfast, I made some delicious pumpkin bread (since the weather has been cooler, I was in the mood for some Autumnal flavors), we had sandwiches for lunch, and then some Kabobs using wonderful in- season produce! The kabobs definitely take a little prep work, but it is completely worth it because the flavors are just amazing! I typically do all the prep in the morning and then all I have to do come dinner time is assemble the pieces. You can make these so many different ways and with different veggies (or fruit) and different meats and marinades, that you will never get tired of them.
Ingredients:
Kabob sticks (metal or bamboo)
Some type of meat, cubed (I used chicken)
Your favorite veggies (I used red onion, grape tomatoes, and yellow bell pepper)
Your favorite marinade (I used Roasted Garlic Marinade)
Salt and Pepper
If you are going to be using bamboo Kabob sticks, make sure to soak them in water all day so that they do not burn on the grill.
Cube up the meat, and place in a zip lock baggie. Add marinade, salt and pepper. Seal the bag and massage the marinade gently into the meat. Place baggie in the refrigerator to allow the meat to soak up all the amazing flavors of the marinade. Cube up all of your veggies, (you can leave the grape or cherry tomatoes whole since they are small enough already) make sure all veggies are approximately the same size so everything cooks evenly.
When you are ready for your kabobs, simply arrange veggies and meat on the kabob sticks.
You can cook these on an indoor or outdoor grill. We used a George Foreman grill last night and it worked wonderfully. Place the finished kabob on the grill, and rotate after a few minutes, turning until the meat is cooked and the veggies are nice charred.
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