#23: Honey Baked Beans! (Vegetarian and diabetic friendly, but still super yummy!)

Dear Tiffany,

Tonight we celebrated my birthday which is coming up on Monday (I missed you, by the way!) by having a potluck.  I was looking for a way to use the epic amounts of beans I have in my kitchen, to not have to go to the grocery store, and also make something that my vegetarian friend AND my borderline diabetic friend could enjoy.  I came up with these yummy baked beans!

The Basics:
Prep time: About 5 minutes, then in the crockpot all day or the oven for about 6 hours.
Good for leftovers: yes!
cost: about $5 or less
servings: 8 to 10


The ingredients:

1lb beans (I used small white beans, but lima beans, great northern, or really any kind of beans would work great)

1 onion, chopped

1 cup honey

1-2 cups chopped pineapple (optional)

The Process:

Soak the beans overnight, then drain and rinse them.  Place half of the chopped onion in the bottom of a crock pot or dutch oven (or even just a deep baking dish).  Add the beans, then the rest of the onion, and pour the honey over the top.  Add enough water to cover an inch or two above the beans.  Then bake at 375 degrees F for 6 hours (if using the oven), or cook in the crockpot for 4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 hours on low.  Check on it every few hours and add a little water if the beans on top are starting to get dry.  Towards the end, add the pineapple.

This recipe is great because...

1) its super yummy

2) super simple

3) no salt added...and in my opinion it didn't need any on serving either.

4) honey is a healthier sweetener, and a much better option for diabetics (for some interesting thoughts on honey,  see here).

5) the absence of bacon or ham fat means that this recipe is overall very low fat.

6) oh. and its really really yummy too!

If you want a less healthy, non-vegetarian version, you can take add bacon with the onions.  There's a similar recipe here that uses bacon.

Enjoy!

#22: thinking "pink" oatmeal cookies

So I know that breast cancer awareness month isn't till October, but I figured, why not start experimenting now?


Ok.  In reality, finals are fast approaching which means late night studying and being home more hours.  And I'm doing a 1 month spending freeze challenge, so if I want semi healthy study snacks while writing my papers, I have to make them myself.  And do so without buying ingredients that I'm missing or running low on.  That means oatmeal cookies...but I'm low on brown sugar, and I wanted to save it for my breakfasts (i like it on my oatmeal), so I'm using honey instead.  and then...i remembered the bottle of boysenberry syrup that stephanie brought over awhile back.  I've become something of a pancake snob since learning how to make buttermilk pancakes, and since I don't have any buttermilk left I won't be making pancakes until after may 16, so I thought it might be fun to put that syrup to use a different way.  here's to experiments!


A word to the wise on baking experiments: start from known territory.  Baking involves chemical interactions and this gives you a familiar launching ground.  This recipe was adapted (by which I mean drastically altered) from this Food.com honey oatmeal cookie recipe,


The Basics:
Prep time: About 25 minutes.
Good for leftovers: cookies, left over? no way!
cost: about $5
servings: varies depending on the size of your cookie.  and how much dough you snack on.


The ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter or margerine, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup boysenberry syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or other nuts (optional)


The Process:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Combine wet ingredients (egg, water, honey, syrup) in a large bowl.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  One third at a time, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir well.


Grease a baking sheet with non-stick spray or butter.  Form whatever size cookies you prefer, and place them on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes; if you do smaller cookies, check after 10 minutes to make sure they don't overcook.


Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan.


Ok, so these aren't pink.  They start out that way, but the pink doesn't show after they cooked- I wonder if it would look any pinker with white flour instead of cornmeal?  They're also quite crumbly because I forgot to add the water, but the boysenberry is a nice touch.  Next time I will try adding more boysenberry and less honey.


But now I have an idea.  I think I should hold a "pink recipe" contest for breast cancer awareness month.  any thoughts?

#20: Minister's Delight! (dessert)

Dear Tiffany,
 Sorry I haven't been posted in awhile- you've been almost as busy as I have.  But when I went over and found you shopping the freezer section again, I got a little worried!

Though I will say, I was very proud to see you show up with your crock pots at church sunday. Your group's food was amazing!

This is the easiest dessert you will ever make.  Its also amazing, and super sugary.  I found it on allrecipes.com and adapted it a bit.  It uses canned pie filling, but the next time I make it I want to see if I can do it cheaper/healthier with fresh fruit, or regular canned fruit. 

The Basics:
Prep time: About 5 minutes, then 2-3 hours in the crock pot.
Good for leftovers: if there are any.
servings:  10-15
cost: about $10-$15

Ingredients:
2 cans fruit pie filling (such as apple or cherry, maybe even blueberry.  You will find these with the cake mixes, not with the regular canned goods).  You could stretch it further and do even 3 or 4 cans.
1 box cake mix
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted

The Process:
Dump the pie filling into the crockpot.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix the melted butter into the cake mix.  It will be crumbly.  Pour the cake mix- butter-mixture evenly over the pie filling in the pot, but don't worry if it doesn't look too even or pretty.  Its not going to look pretty but it will taste fantastic.  Sprinkle your nuts over the top, put the lid on, and cook on low for 2-3 hours.

This is really great with ice cream on top too.  It will look like mush.  It will smell wonderful.  And it will taste even better.  Just ask all the kids that came to basketball/tae kwon do camp.  or MattyK.  I told them they couldn't have seconds because if I gave them too much sugar I'd get in trouble with Teacher Matt.  There were definitely no leftovers.

We will have another sister-date soon!
Love,
Joy

#19: Make Your Own Frozen Burritos!

Hi Tiff!


So what do you do with all that leftover chili?  You make your own burritos!  These are really easy to make, and then you have an easy go-to meal for when you don't want to spend a lot of time or effort cooking.


There are 2 ways to do this.  First, my mom's method to cook for a group, and second, my method for individual servings (that you could microwave in a rush or take in your lunch).  I'll list both here.


The Basics:
Prep time: About a minute per burrito, plus cook time (see below as the 2 methods have different cook times)
Good for leftovers: hmm. haha. they ARE leftovers. so yes.
servings:  however many you have extra beans for.
cost: about 25-50 cents per burrito or less.


Ingredients:
"large" burrito size tortillas.  You can also use extra large but this size burrito is easier to store I think.
leftover chili or pinto beans, even black beans
grated cheese (optional)
salsa or your favorite hot sauce or taco sauce (optional)
nonstick spray



The Process:
Place 1-2 scoop of beans on your tortilla, closer to one side rather than in the middle.  Add salsa and cheese if desired.  Roll your burrito- if you have trouble with this like I do, check out this video I found which was really helpful.  I'm no expert burrito-roller, so it took me a few tries to get the right amount of beans so it wouldn't explode, and to get the folding process down right.  Thus, my first few are a little sloppy-looking, but once I got it figured out they worked out fine.  Repeat to make as many burritos as you want.


Mom's multiple serving method:

you can fit more burritos in a larger
casserole dish...but I can't, since it
wouldn't fit in my toaster oven! 

Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray, line up those babies, even 2 deep (I spray the top line of burritos with the nonstick spray too).  Cover tight with aluminum foil, and put in a plastic bag, and freeze it.   The next time you need a carefree hot meal that stays hot for a really long time, cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour or more depending on how many and if they are still frozen.  You can wrap the casserole dish with a thick towel, place it in a cardboard box, and 1/2 hour from then they are still too hot to eat.  Serve plain, or with salsa and tomatoes, sour cream.  They are complete hand warmers for an out door event.


I have a mini fridge (not much freezer space!) and no oven (just my toaster oven).  Plus, I like to have some burritos wrapped in smaller portions to microwave instead. So here's the way I do them:


My individual serving method: 
Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray, line up your burritos, and cook them at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Let them cool a bit, then place in freezer bags.  I found 3 burritos to fit one quart size bag just perfectly if they were rolled will; for my ones that didn't roll so perfectly I fit 2 burritos to a bag.  Freeze them, and next time you need a meal, pop one of those in the microwave for 3 minutes or so.  OR if you have a toaster oven, defrost in the microwave for about 2 minutes, and then cook in the toaster oven for another 2-3 minutes so it comes out crispy :).






Enjoy!


-joy

#18: Mom's Chili

Dear Tiffany,
Whenever there's something I've eaten at home but don't remember how to make (or what combination of spices, or how much space a cup of beans will take up when cooked...), I ask my mom.  As much as I love to find recipes online, I trust Mom's first because I know they are solid.  They're usually healthier too.


Such was the case when I wanted to make chili: first, email mom.  She's the one who tells me that "6 cups of dry beans make 5 1/2 quarts of cooked beans.   that is a full  (6 qt) crock pot with no room for meat or onions.  (I have to leave a little room so it doesn't boil over.)" 
My rule of thumb: a cup for every quart, minus 1 so you have room for the goodies.  So, for my 6 quart pot I used 5 cups of beans.  If you want your chili a little more beany and a little less soupy, add an extra half cup or so.


This is Mom's recipe: the chili we had at church this week.


The Basics:
Prep time: About 10 minutes prep time and then in the slow cooker all day...or longer.
Good for leftovers: yes!  You can even freeze them, or make your own frozen burritos!
servings:  24 (for a 6 qt pot)
cost: about $10


Ingredients:
5-5 1/2 cups dry pinto beans
2-3 lbs of whatever beef or pork is the best price (I used ground beef) Ground turkey is good too but not as cheap. If its not ground, cut into small chunks.
1 onion, chopped
fresh garlic (I used 2 tablespoons minced) (If you use garlic powder, make sure it doesn't have salt!)
1 tsp New Mexico chili powder
1 tsp california chili powder (If you can't find these chili powders, your basic chili powder will do fine)
lots of cumin, 3 or 4 tablespoons, Cumin is that bold spice without the 'heat'. the chili powders give the burn...
1/2 tsp black pepper
3-4 tbsp Italian seasoning. crumble it with your fingers.
salt to taste


The Process:
Soak the beans overnight in a large (very large!) bowl or tupperware of water.  They will expand as they absorb the water, so you may need to add more water partway through.  While you can technically cook them without soaking, they're better this way and it reduces the "gas factor."


Drain the bean water, rinse, and quickly pick through to make sure there are no rocks or icky pieces (don't spend too much time on this).  Add the beans to the crockpot, along with your garlic, onion, meat, and spices...but do NOT add the salt.  If you add the salt, the beans won't soften.  Trust me.
  Fill to near the top with water- make sure to cover your beans completely with an extra 2-3 inches of water.  Cook on low all day (at least 8-10 hours), or longer- the chili we had at church had cooked for about 24 hours, believe it or not!  With beans, as long as you make sure its covered with water, you're safe for quite awhile.  If you're going to cook for more than 8-10 hours, you might want to stir every once in awhile and just check that there's still enough water.  (If the water is absorbed while its cooking, the beans on top get dry and burn)  A longer cook time means softer beans and more thoroughly absorbed flavors.


Once the beans are cooked, and about an hour before serving, add salt and extra chili powder (if needed) to taste, depending on how spicy you like your chili.  You may wish to add some more cumin as well.  Stir well and serve as a soup or with tacos or nachos.


Notes
Worried about your electric bill? Don't be.  The crockpot lady found this nifty chart from First Energy Corp. Ohio, which states that a crock pot costs about 2 cents per hour to run.
Spice it Up! The best place to get your spices is at a Mexican market, or in the little plastic bags they have in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store.  These are much cheaper than the little glass containers in the spice aisle.  If you can't find "New Mexico" or "California" chili powders, just go with regular chili powder; this is what I used.
Leftovers are great to freeze, but I used mine to make my own frozen burritos!
Where's the Beef?! If you're using ground beef, you may want to cook it on the stove top separately and add to your crockpot at any point in the cooking process.  Why?  Well, when you cook ground beef, you know all that fat that cooks out of it and ends up in the pan?  Do you really want all of that in your soup?
Vegetarians can eat great chili too!  Just leave out the meat in this recipe.


Enjoy!
<3 joy

#17: Stir-Fry is crock-pot-able!

Sorry, this picture is kind of dark!

Dear Tiffany,


Stir-fry is one of the first things I learned how to make as a kid, other than macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs.  My mom grew up in Japan, so a lot of what we ate was Japanese (or other Asian)- influenced.  This week I wanted to make stir fry, but I was going to be where there wasn't a stove to use, so...yay for the crock pot!  I will list both methods below.  This kind of thing is so easy, its pretty tough to ruin!  The nice thing about using your crockpot (other than the convenience factor) is that the meat absorbs all the sauce flavors...yum!  You can also do without the oil (though I used a little) when you use your slow cooker.


I used yakisoba noodles (Japanese style "fried noodles") this time, but you can also use rice, or another asian frying-type noodle (such as chow mein or lo mein noodles- cooked soft, not crunchy).  In a pinch, angel hair spaghetti is an ok substitute as well.


The Basics:
Prep time: About 10 minutes to chop your meat and veggies, then about 10-15 minutes laboring over the stove or all day in the crockpot
Good for leftovers: yes.
servings:  8-10
cost: $10-$15


Ingredients:
1 package Yakisoba noodles (sometimes available at Safeway, but Berkeley Bowl Marketplace always carries them, as well as Koreana Plaza and other Asian markets).  Or you can substitute rice or another noodle (see above).
1-2 lbs chicken, beef, or pork, cut into small strips or chunks
tofu, cut into small 1-2 inch chunks (optional)
splash of vegetable oil
soy sauce
4-6 carrots, cut longways into 3 inch strips
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic (optional)
1 teaspoon minced ginger (optional)
stir-fry sauce, teriyaki sauce, or other asian sauce such as Yoshida's - they carry it at Costco
1 can baby corn (available at Safeway or asian markets)
1 can water chestnuts (available at Safeway or asian markets)
12 oz bag of broccoli (or just chop it yourself)
handful of chinese peas
OR you can just get a bag of the frozen stir fry mix in place of the veggies above, and add your own onions and whatever else the bag is missing


The Process: 
Stovetop method:
Saute meat, onions, garlic and oil in a wok or large (Very large!) skillet until the meat is mostly done.  If you have them, use a long pair of cooking chopsticks to stir.  It makes you feel special.  Remove the meat, and add the rest of the veggies, tofu, and sauce, and saute until veggies are almost crisp-tender, then add back the meat, add soy sauce to taste and cook a few more minutes.  Prepare noodles according to package directions, and enjoy!


Slow-cooker method:
Place meat, onion, garlic, ginger, and carrot in slow cooker; cover with stir-fry sauce.  Cook on low for about 6-7 hours, or on high for 3.  Add other veggies, and more stir-fry sauce or soy sauce if you need more liquid. Stir together and cook for another hour or 2. Prepare noodles according to package directions, and serve.  Add soy sauce as needed to taste.


Noodle notes: You can stir your noodles into your meat and veggies before serving, but my family has always found it easier to divide portions if you serve the noodles separately (this way, one person doesn't take all the noodles!  Or end up with only veggies.) and then each person stirs their own noodles into their stir-fry.


Make it Vegetarian: just use tofu instead of meat!  If you do this, make sure you get a "harder" variety of Japanese-style tofu, the softer ones will fall apart on you.

#16: Buttermilk Cornbread with a Twist

Dear Tiffany,
In Sunday School this week we made those buttermilk pancakes that I posted last week, and so I had some extra buttermilk that I wanted to use up, so I decided to make cornbread!  Now, the cornbread recipe on the back of the box is not too bad, I used it last week and it turned out ok.  But just like with the pancakes, buttermilk makes your cornbread come out light and fluffy.  (I didn't use all of mine still, though, so look out for more recipes using buttermilk in the next week!)  Cornbread without the buttermilk can easily turn out dense and dry, but mine was moist and fluffy.  
The recipe below is adapted from one I found at smittenkitchen.com, and there are a few variations at the bottom; some are mine, some are borrowed.  For our Children's Ministry meeting last night I made this cornbread with goat cheese, fresh basil, and a caramelized onion topping.  There weren't leftovers.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures before it was devoured, so the picture below is of the same recipe but with no onion topping, and its a lot "flatter" than the original because this one used less batter.  The original was about twice as thick.

Basil & Goat Cheese Cornbread

The Basics:
Prep time: About 5-10 minutes to make the batter, then about 30 minutes in the oven.
Good for leftovers: yes.  Cover it with foil to keep it moist, and you may want to reheat in the microwave (without the foil!) to serve, but it was good cold too.
servings: 10-20 depending on how small you cut them
cost: less than $5 for basic cornbread; variations should still be under $10


Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons (.75 ounce) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (.05 ounce) baking soda
1 teaspoon (.25 ounce) salt
3 large (5 ounces) eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) bacon fat, vegetable oil or butter


The Process:
If you are using coarse/polenta-style cornmeal, you may want to stir your cornmeal and buttermilk together, cover, and let the mixture soak overnight to soften your cornmeal a bit.  (I used regular cornmeal so I skipped this step)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs.  Add the buttermilk and cornmeal, melted butter, and any extras you're including (see below for variations) and stir until blended.


Place the bacon fat, vegetable oil, or butter in a 10inch square or round baking dish and place it in the oven.


In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Gradually pour your dry ingredients into the wet mixture, 1/3 at a time.  Mix well  until the lumps are gone but stop there.


Carefully remove the pan from the oven with a potholder, and swirl the hot butter around until the bottom of the pan is coated.  Pour your batter into the pan, place in the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes in the pan before cutting or removing the bread.  Serve hot.


Variations on a Theme:
Simplest: you can skip the hot-grease-in-the-pan thing by just spraying your pan with non-stick spray, but you won't get the crispy outer edge or the buttery (or bacon-y) flavor that goes with it.
Sweet Thang! Make your cornbread just a bit sweeter by adding 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons honey to your wet mixture.
Basilicious: For a delicious accent to both flavor and color, add 1/3-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil to the wet mixture.
So Corny! add 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels to your wet mixture.
Say Cheese! Goat Cheese brings a nice subtle tang to your cornbread.  Let a 6 oz log of goat cheese sit on the counter for awhile so its nice and soft, then, before putting together your wet mixture, whisk your goat cheese in your large mixing bowl until fluffy.  Then add your eggs one at a time, whisking and scraping the sides after adding each egg.  Then continue adding your wet mixture per the recipe above.
Top it Off: Before you start mixing, saute 1 onion, chopped, in 2 tablespoons of butter, bacon fat, or vegetable oil, until they are well caramelized and brown on the edges.  Once you've made your batter and poured it into the pan, pour the onions evenly over the top to create the topping, and bake as usual.


Don't feel limited to one of these variations; mine last night was sweetened, flavored with basil and goat cheese, and topped with onions. (the picture above is the same but without the toppings)