Yes. I'm a slacker.

At least I admit it!!!



Summer 2009 has been a fairly busy one, not as busy as last summer when I was a bridesmaid in 2 weddings, a matron of honor in another - that meant 3 bridal showers, 2 bachelorette parties, 3 rehearsal nights. Oh and did I mention there were 3 baby showers last summer too?



This summer has been decidedly more quiet as far as "big events" like those go, but we've been consistently busy on the weekends. I've been sticking to a lot of tried and true recipes and other meals I just know how to make, but I have been trying new things here and there. The frequency of new recipes though, has definitely decreased as we've been on a tighter budget. I love to cook and bake, but it can get pricey. But make no mistake about it - I still love to cook and bake, I'm just trying to do it more frugally than before!

Anyway that's enough of my ramblings - now onto the recipe! Last week we had my sister-in-law and her boyfriend over for dinner. I made a BBQ themed dinner - pulled pork, corn on the cob, cornbread, and baked beans.

The baked bean recipe below is a great "shortcut" recipe. It uses canned beans rather than dried ones which cuts down on a lot of prep time, and for the most part includes a lot of "run of the mill" ingredients you probably have in your house already. I left out the chipotle in this recipe and I know that probably takes out the "blazin'" part of this recipe. But it was a great recipe nonetheless!



Blazin' Baked Beans
(from MyRecipes.com)

1/4 pound finely diced bacon slices (raw)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
5 (16-ounce) cans navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 (18-ounce) jar low-sodium barbecue sauce
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan, and set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; sauté 3 minutes.
Combine bacon, onion, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl; toss well. Spoon the bean mixture into a 13 x 9-inch or 2 1/2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

No Meat Baked Beans

I told you I was on a crockpot run....

You will soon see why I made baked beans. Hmmm...maybe it has something to do with Recipe Remix???

This came from my old, reliable, "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook. There are about 10 different baked bean recipes in that sucker, it was hard picking one. I finally settled on a recipe that didn't not call for bacon or salt pork, because I had neither! That's a good reason, right?

I made a few small changes to the original and was really happy with the result!

No Meat Baked Beans

1lb dried navy beans
6 cups water
1 small onion, chopped
Scant 3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1 teaspoon salt

Soak beans in water overnight in large pot. Cook beans in water on stove until soft, about 90 minutes. Drain, discarding bean water.

Mix together all ingredients in slow cooker. Mix Well.

Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours (I found that my beans were done within 9 hours)

Cookie Exchange Luncheon

As I mentioned in a previous post, I held a cookie exchange with friends today. I'll post the cookie recipes next, first though, I figured I'd post some of the recipes from the lunch I made!!

First up, White Bean Hummus (no picture, sorry). I know a lot of people are not down with Hummus, but I am, so I made it anyway and served it with crackers. At least I thought it was good, and my friend Lisa did too :-)

White Bean Hummus
(from myrecipes.com)

1 can (15 oz.) small white beans, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (shhhhh...I used dried thyme!)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper

In a food processor, combine beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Whirl until smooth. Spoon into a bowl and set on a platter. Serve with crackers, pita chips, or fresh veggies :-)

Then I also made a lasagna. While I definitely just "wing it" when it comes to lasagna, I used homemade marinara in it. I got this out of my Cooking Light magazine a couple of months ago. It's great, healthy, and unthaws well from the freezer.

Basic Marinara

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fennel seeds); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

To store in the freezer: Ladle room-temperature or chilled sauce into plastic containers or zip-top plastic bags. Seal and freeze for up to four months. Consider freezing the sauce in one-cup increments (two servings' worth). That way, you can pull out exactly as much as you want for future meals.

To boost taste: Long stints in the freezer can dull the taste of tomatoes. To perk up thawed sauce, add one-half teaspoon finely grated lemon rind or one teaspoon balsamic vinegar while reheating.

Yield
About 12 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)


Lastly, as far as "food" goes (recipe worthy ones - ham & cheese sandwiches don't exactly qualify), I made this Paula Deen creation (with a couple of tweaks on my part).

You have to love Paula Deen....in this world of "fat free" and uber healthiness, Paula still embraces that artery-clogging kind of cooking you know you all love deep down. This was a big hit, I'll definitely be making it again!! (p.s. I did not put the celery in this - as so many do not like it - and I left out the almonds....because I don't like them...haha!)

Hot Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, cubed
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
2/3 cup crushed potato chips
1 teaspoon dried thyme (my addition)
1 teaspoon celery salt (my addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed potato chips on top.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

Pea soup, yellow to be exact (any good girl of French Canadian descent will tell you yellow is the only way to go!). Not many people like it...well not a lot of people I know like it at least. But too bad! I do!

In my quest to keep eating healthy while keeping my taste buds amused, I was looking for a good, healthy soup recipe that I could take to work for lunch (since my husband will not join me in my love for pea soup) that will fill me up and keep me satisfied. When I ran across this recipe on BettyCrocker.com, it certainly did the trick!

I put this overnight in my crockpot for 10 hours and took it out in the morning. I skipped the celery (didn't have any in the house) and the blender step since once I stirred the soup around, it seemed to reach a desired consistency (and I figured why not save myself the trouble). I found it very thick when I reheated it though, but I added a little water before popping it in the microwave and that did the trick. If you like yellow pea soup but don't like the project of soaking your peas overnight, etc. this recipe is for you!

Crockpot Yellow Split Pea Soup

8 cups water
1 package (1 pound) dried yellow split peas, sorted and rinsed
3 medium carrots, diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 cup diced Canadian-style bacon (5 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In 5 quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until peas and vegetables are tender.

Place 2 cups of the soup in blender or food processor. Cover and blend on medium speed until smooth; pour into bowl. Repeat with 2 more cups soup. Stir all blended soup into soup in slow cooker.