A Good For You 2fer

Let's face it. I want the best of all worlds - flavorful, whole, nutritious, fast, and tasty food. My husband, Neal, is happy when I manage to throw a plate of cooked food in front of him. (I love spinach salads, fruit, hummus, sliced cheeses, and almonds.) Add a little wine and bread, most anything can be elevated to the meal category.
Neal is a great cook. His standards for moderate fat and few preservatives are a little relaxed. Meatless Mondays are a foreign concept to him. Why would someone pass up a chance to eat meat? Unless, it is red beans and rice. I know there is bacon or sausage in the various versions of his favorite dish. Smoked meat, used as seasoning, is exempt from the meat category in his world. I didn't grasp the concept, either. Just walk away.
I like large dried white beans, slow cooked with a whole onion and 2 bullion cubes. I find the texture of the bean hearty and smooth. The flavor is mild. It is perfect for thickening and hiding extra nutrition in a vegetarian dish.
Two of my favorite recipes, using white bean base, are Country White Bean Dip and Warm White Beans, Country Style.
Bean Base:
Start by removing stones and loose skins from 16 oz / 1 lb. of large,white, dry beans. I use a colander to rinse them well under running water. Use hand to sift and lift beans to remove any dirt.
Soak beans for 4 hours. Rinse well.
Place beans into a large pan.
Cover beans with water, plus 2".
Add whole onion and 2 bullion cubes (chicken or vegetarian flavor)
Bring to a vigorous boil on stove top.
Reduce heat to low. Slow cook until liquid thickens and beans are tender. (This will take several hours, add additional water and stir, if needed.)
Throw whole onion, away.
Divide beans into 3 or 6 cup containers. This base freezes well.
Country White Bean Dip, serves 8
Start by removing the membrane and seeds from one jalapeño.




Chop half of a small sweet onion to a similar size as the jalapeño.
In a small, nonstick sauté pan add 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 table spoon of corn oil. Heat on medium, Until oil shimmers. Turn pan to coat pan and combine oils.
Add jalapeño for 3 minutes and sauté over medium heat.
Add diced onion. Cook over medium heat for an additional 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Stir in 2 large cloves of garlic. Cook until garlic begins to brown. Stir and watch closely! Burned garlic is bitter!
Remove from heat. Pour into small bowl.




To 3 cups of chilled bean base add:
1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano
freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir.
Using an immersion blender, blend until mostly smooth.
Stir sautéed vegetables into seasoned beans.
Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate dip for 2 hours before serving.
Just before serving, stir in one to three teaspoons of Smoked Tabasco. (Start with smallest amount and increase if your family likes a kick.)
Taste
If you need more salt add 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt. If you are happy with the taste, STOP seasoning. Folks can salt their serving.
To serve surround decorative bowl with pita chips or crisp flat bread. Sprinkle dip,lightly, with smoked paprika.
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Warm White Beans, Country Style - serves 4
Prep:
Warm 6 cups of bean base
Chop one medium sweet onion into a medium dice, set aside.
Remove membrane and seeds from one large jalapeño. Dice fine.
Dice 4 raw slices of lean, center - cut, thick, bacon into large pieces.
Note - Dice veggies before bacon to prevent cross contamination.
In a small, nonstick sauté pan fry bacon over medium heat until crispy.
Remove bacon pieces and all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease from sauté pan. (For vegetarian, omit bacon and sauté in 2 tablespoons of peanut oil.)
Add jalapeño to bacon grease. Sauté over medium heat for 3 minutes.
Add diced onion to jalapeño. Cook over medium heat for an additional 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add 2 large cloves of garlic to onion / pepper mixture.
Cook until garlic begins to brown. Stir and watch closely! Burned garlic is bitter!
Remove from heat. Set aside.
To six cups of warm bean base add:
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt (adjust for saltiness of bullion and bacon).
2 teaspoons of smoked Tobasco (adjust to family's taste.)
Sautéed veggie mixture
Freshly ground pepper to taste.
Sautéed pepper mixture.
Serve warm soup family style. Provide corn bread, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, crisped bacon pieces, and diced green onions. Enjoy!
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Location:Alvin, TX

Soup in summer?

Soups on! The house smells amazing! It is cloudy. We have a break from our summer heat that is muggy and reaches 100 degrees. Don't get me started on heat index!

Our Great Dane mix is brought into the house to prevent heat exhaustion. We bring her in for frost warnings, too. She is in the house twice as much in summer than winter. Don't send hate mail. She is well fed, much loved, physically fit, big grassy yard to romp in, and has her own screened in porch with ceiling fan. There are humans who camp without as many luxuries! Did I mention she has her own pet? She bonded with my daughter's kitten. They play, each day, in my living room. Can we say spoiled puppy?

Speaking of spoiled, I am sad that the summer's crops are slowing down. Our local farmer's market shows a little less selection than the weeks before. I want to save some of the beautiful produce to savor in the coming months. The soup, sitting on the stove, is a celebration of what was fresh in the farmer's market. It will freeze well. My dutch oven is full of deliciousness. Enough soup for tonight's meal and a future meal. It will be a good memory when I pull the soup from the freezer.

Since, tonight's soup is a tiny bit of an experiment, I can't share it's recipe until it is perfected. I am teasing you with a photo. It is a blend of my two favorite recipes.

The one I can share is my source of inspiration in seasonings and V-8 Vegetable juice. The original recipe is from The Busy People's Slow Cooker Cook Book by Dawn Hall. It is full of flavor, vegetarian, and waist line friendly. I discovered it on one of my favorite web sites as recipe 247111 on Food.com, formerly Recipe Zaar

Hearty Hobo Soup






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Location:Alvin, TX

Texas Quick Chili and Easy Entertaining

I made Texas "quick" chili, this afternoon. When I say quick, I mean 1.5 hours. My "real" Texas chili simmers ALL afternoon. A slow simmer keeps both versions easy. Don't skimp on this one with mixes or high fat ground beef. Use fresh ingredients, lean meat, and quality spices. Chili feeds a crowd, holds well, reheats well, freezes well, and is economical. Leftovers turn into Chili Mac or Frito Pie. It's a super food.


Are you scratching your head asking why Texas chili is different? Who needs two recipes for it?! The short answer is the slow cook chili uses 3 lbs of chuck roast chunks, extra chilies, and no sausage. The larger, tougher meat is browned and simmered for hours. The faster recipe uses less liquid and flavorful large grind meats. In the quick chili, savory lean sausage makes up for the loss of the rich chuck pieces and shorter simmer.

To entertain with a chili bar, lay out the following for self serve: slow cooked pinto beans, baked potatoes, grated sharp cheddar, diced onion, rice, red chili flakes, diced jalapeño, Frito brand corn chips, sour cream, and fresh corn bread. If there are Yankees in the house, I will boil spaghetti noodles. Since, the fixings for the chili bar can be held in crock pots and platters, you are free to mingle with your guests. One bowl means your guests aren't bound to a table to use knife and forks. Guests wander out to our screened porch during the fall. Freeze left over chili. It's perfect to toss into the cooler for your next camp fire with the gang.

Momma raised my sisters and I to believe a good hostess keeps guests happy. I don't understand the beauty of chili over spaghetti. If a dime's worth of pasta makes you happy. I will boil it for you! I don't drink beer from a bottle, either. Some Texans insist on pairing beer with chili. Heck, some of them cook it into their chili recipes. I don't mind, It saves the margaritas for me!

........Sigh, with these health and diet changes, Neal and I will drink milk or tea. At least our guests will enjoy a frosty beverage! The carb counts are moderate in this recipe. While it is filled with meat, it can be used as a topping and eaten in moderation. It is not a "diet" recipe. Lean meat and careful draining of the meat's fat are secrets to fitting it within a balanced diet.

Did I mention that I clean as I cook? It is a good habit. I am a very messy cook! If I want counter space, I have to rinse and load the dishwasher. See that pic, above? I keep produce bags for the tin container. As I peel and remove seeds from veggies, I place the waste into the container. It keeps me organized and processing those veggies faster. It looks pretty good for an item that cost a buck.

Quick Chili Recipe
Do all of your prep work before you begin browning meat:
Dice 1 very large onion into dime sized chunks.
Wash, remove seeds, and membranes of 1 poblano chili. Dice it into small bits.
Optional, fresh jalapeño diced fine
Mince four fresh cloves of garlic. I use Pampered Chefs gadget. You can bang a knife, peel, and dice finely.
Open 2 cans of quality diced tomatoes
Place a small mixing bowl near stove top.

In a large sauce pan, brown one pound of lean sausage and one pound of lean chuck, large grind over medium heat. (My butcher makes lean sausage for me. He also grinds the chuck.) Jimmy Dean's reduced fat sausage works well.

With slotted spoon remove meat to bowl. Allow any grease to drip back into the pan. Discard all but a tablespoon of meat drippings from pan into empty tomato can. (Were you wondering why you left that empty can on the counter?)
Meat remains in the bowl while veggies are sautéed.

Sauté diced chili(s) on medium heat for five minutes. Add onion and stir well, cook until onions are softened. Stir in garlic and continue to sauté for one minute.

Return meat to sautéed vegetables.
Add two cans of diced tomatoes.
Add two cans of water, using cans from the tomatoes.
Stir well.

Fill one of the tomato cans with water a second time. Place it near stove top.
Allow second, empty tomato can, to sit on counter.

Keep tomato, water, and meat mixture on medium heat until it comes to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Don't cover, you want the liquid to reduce down and concentrate. If chili loses too much liquid or sticks on bottom of pan, check your heat and add a small amount of water.

Skim the top of the chili for any fat that has risen to the top. Place fat in tomato can until it hardens, then throw it away.

Avoid the temptation to spice the chili until the end of it's cooking time. This recipe concentrates flavor as it reduces down to thicken. Remember, this dish uses pan sausage, fresh peppers, and onions which vary in sweetness and heat. It is not unusual to use less of a spice when one of your ingredients is strong. Start with the smaller amount of seasoning, add more if needed. Taste, stir well, taste.... Until the favors are perfect for your family!

Seasonings:
1 tsp cumin
1 to 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of ancho chili powder or smoked Paprika
2 to 3 tablespoons of chili powder
2 to 3 teaspoons of salt
Optional, a pinch of Mexican oregano. I don't use oregano in my personal batches of chili. It's worth a mention because some families love it.


Pic of chili that is ready to be "skimmed" and seasoned. See the small bits on the inside of the pan? It mans chili has thickened; liquid content is lower.




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Location:TX

What's Left?!

     It is a miracle month. Neal is toeing the line with his diet. His hospital stay for out of control sugar levels scared us both. Who knew that steroids were THAT dangerous for diabetics?  Today, he eats 1800 calories that are lean protein, high fiber, and limited carbs.  I am grateful for his hospital epiphany and improved lab scores!
     Anyone who knows my husband understands that I created a food monster. In his poor and single days, his food filled one refrigerator shelf. Today, he eats sushi. He hates "diet food", artificial sweeteners, whole grains, and imitation anything. (Unless, said imitation thing is in soda or candy. EH!?)  He shuns diabetic and carb friendly "specialty" products. He is banned from soda and mindless candy munching. Thank goodness my food monster loves fresh fruit and veggies.
     I follow a reduced calorie, reduced protein, reduced sodium diet at doctor's orders. There is serious math involved in creating our grocery list. Spinach salad is a good example of combining our eating plans.

Spinach Salad
2 boiled eggs sliced, set aside.                                       1 large bunch of fresh spinach
1 pint of Fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced.              Sliced almonds, toasted
In a big, clear bowl place clean spinach on bottom. Pre washed bags of baby spinach save time. In mature spinach leaves, remove any large tough stems and tear into smaller pieces. Layer egg slices in ring on top of the spinach. They should follow outer ring of the bowl. Place strawberry slices in center. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. When entertaining we use a small punch bowl to serve the salad in. Near the salad we provide a platter with a variety of optional salad toppings i.e. crab, shrimp, smoked turkey, crisp bacon pieces, and sliced avocado.
Eating alone, I like an aged balsamic vinegar as a dressing. It is worth the splurge. Eating with others I will provide a warm bacon dressing and a couple of cold dressing options.