Category: Bases & Stored Food Preparation

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation Main Dish Side

Black Beans and Quinoa

  • 1 tsp. vegetable oil or butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • ¾ c. uncooked quinoa
  • 1 ½ c. vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (I don’t add this; I sprinkle it on the adult’s servings)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 c. corn kernels, frozen or canned
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ c. chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and saute until lightly browned; add the garlic the last minute or two. Throw the quinoa into the saucepan with the onions and add the vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper (or hold till later), salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir the corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans. Sprinkle cilantro on each plate – my kids won’t eat cilantro (I don’t know what’s wrong with them). The grown-ups at my house like to sprinkle ours with cayenne.

 

Another option with black beans from storage is at: http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/2015/02/quinoa-black-beans.html

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients

(½ cup cream cheese AND 1 cup milk) OR
(1 cup sour cream AND ½ cup milk)
3 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic (½ tsp garlic powder)
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
½ cup fresh parsley

Directions

Zap all in blender

Prep time 5m
Cook time 5m
Total time 10m

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation Salad

Better Than the Bottle Ranch Dressing

Ingredients

  • 1 small clove garlic, smashed
  • 1 tsp. country dijon mustard
  • ½ tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • ¾ cup mayo
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons curly parsley (like a small fistful, and best if it’s been in the fridge a day or two)
  • salt and pepper

Directions

Combine garlic, mustard, onion powder, lemon juice and buttermilk in a blender until garlic is finely chopped.  Add mayo and sour cream, blend. Last, add the parsley and blend until the parsley is chopped and the mixture is smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

It gets thicker over night, so refrigerate that bad boy!

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation Bread

30-Day Bran Muffins

These are called 30 Day Bran Muffins. I am telling you this title because the title is what changed my life. You see, the 30 Day refers to how long the covered batter can last in your fridge without going gloopy, glopy or sprinkled with blackish green bumps. Which means, I make a load of batter one morning, and for a week we are baking fresh, piping hot muffins without having to whip them up daily.

You follow?

One batch of batter will take us through the week. We eat about six of these branfabulous muffins a day. And if we don’t get through our half dozen in one day, I throw out the old muffins because REMEMBER? the next morning I bake new ones.

Now listen, they are just bran muffins. There’s no sprinkle or shine to them. I baste them with honeybutter right out of the oven and it makes them sweeter. Sometimes I throw fresh raspberries into the muffin tins with the batter, sometimes banana, sometimes fresh blueberries from Passionista’s farm in Washington. If I am emotionally dependent on food one particular morning, I resort to chocolate chips or my old standby, Nutella. See that sky? That’s the limit on these ladies. These bran muffin ladies. Break it down.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups All-Bran Cereal
  • 2 cups Boiling Water
  • 1 cup Margarine*
  • 2 ½ cups Sugar*
  • 4 Eggs
  • 4 cups Buttermilk
  • 5 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 5 cups Flour
  • 2 cups Bran Flakes Cereal

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CJaneEnjoyIt/~3/Xcg8quXcUCg/30-day-bran-muffins.html

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation

Spaghetti Sauce

  • 1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
  • 2 tbsp pizza & pasta sauce mix
  • 2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 4 tbsp cheddar or mixed shredded cheese

Mix all ingredients. Bring to a boil stirring frequently until cheese is melted. Reduce to medium or low heat stirring occasionally until sauce reached desired consistency.

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation

Refried Beans

This recipe is one of my favorites. It makes massive amounts of refried beans, which I love eating plain for a snack. Yes, really. They can be used in burritos, as a side dish, or just about any way you want. They freeze and reheat well, so I always put some in the freezer in meal-sized portions. Technically, you can just eat these the way they are without mashing too. It’s up to you.

Ingredients:

6 cups dry beans (I usually do half pinto and half black beans)
2 T. canned green chilies (less if you don’t like it spicy)
2 T. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 T. minced onion
garlic – lots of garlic (probably a tablespoon)
1 tsp. cumin (less if you don’t want it spicy)
15 c. hot water

Rinse the beans then toss everything in the crockpot (a very big crock pot, at least 5 quarts). Cook on HIGH for about 8 hours or until soft. Then drain off some liquid(and save it in a bowl in case you need it when mashing) and mash the whole pot of beans.

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation Quick Prep

Pasta Sauce Variations

Greek Bleu Cheese Pasta

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 ounces semi-cured Greek pork sausages, or sweet Italian sausages, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 8 ounces pasta, preferably garganelli or penne
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ ounce blue cheese, crumbled
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Procedures

  1. In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the sausage and cook until golden, stirring only occasionally, 7-10 minutes.
  2. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salty water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
  3. Once the sausages are browned, add the wine and turn the heat to high. Reduce the liquid for 2 minutes, then lower the heat and add the blue cheese, cream, and oregano. Once the cheese is melted, add the pasta along with some of the pasta cooking water as needed to create a creamy, loose sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among plates, and garnish with Parmesan.

Browse More Relate

Tomato Basil pasta
  • 2 cups (8 oz.) dry penne pasta
  • 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
  • 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded Italian-style four-cheese blend
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli*
  • 1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
  • 2 tablespoons white wine
  • 2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
  • ½ cup chopped fresh basil
  • ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Garnish: fresh basil strips

Preparation

  1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and ½ cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.
  3. *1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
  4. **1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.
  5. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli and Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce.

LEMON BAKE PASTA

  • 1 pound thin spaghetti
  • ½ stick butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • juice of one lemon
  • zest of one lemon
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
  • grated Parmesan cheese
  • flat leaf parsley, chopped (I omitted)
  • extra lemon juice

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Cook pasta to packaged directions until al dente.

In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over low heat. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.

Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained pasta an stir together, then pour pasta into an oven safe dish.

Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.) When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Tagged as: Pasta

 

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta

For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp dry mustard
1 T fresh thyme
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 T olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix together mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and sprinkle over chicken pieces. When pan is hot, add chicken and brown about 3 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.

For the pasta:
1 pound rotini or other short cut pasta
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
¼ cup dry white wine
1 T Dijon mustard
8 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups milk (I used skim milk but mixed in about 2 T heavy cream)
1 T fresh thyme
1 T fresh oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Heat water to boil in a large stock pot for pasta, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente and drain according to directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine. Add wine, garlic, onions, and mustard. Cook about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Reduce heat to low and slowly add milk, stirring to combine. Cook about 5-7 minutes more until mixture begins to thicken. Add cheese and stir to melt. Add chicken and pasta and toss to incorporate sauce. Add thyme and oregano and serve topped with crushed red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.

 

Homemade Marinara Sauce

18 oz tomato purée
2 TBSP water
1 garlic clove
2 TBSP shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP olive oil
Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning to taste

Zap all in blender

Prep time 5m
Cook time 5m
Total time 10m

 

Pesto

½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 peeled garlic clove crushed in press
1 TBSP walnuts
2 TBSP olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Zap all in blender

Prep time 5m
Cook time 5m
Total time 10m

½ pasta cooked al dente
1 cup pesto
1 grilled or baked chicken breast
2 TBSP toasted pine nuts
4 basil leaves, torn
Grated Parmesan cheese

Toss pasta with pesto, add chicken and nuts, top with shredded basil and cheese

Prep time 10m
Cook time 30m
Total time 40m

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation

Black Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Black Beans
  • 2 qt Water
  • 1 tbsp Oil
  • 1 Onion
  • ¼ cup Cilantro
  • Salt to taste
  • ?? Garlic

Directions

Soak beans for 6 hours. (In warm weather soak beans in the fridge.) Heat oil on medium. Cook onion in oil for 3 minutes. Add half the garlic to oil and cook for one minute. Add beans and soaking oil to oil mixture. Add water as necessary so that beans are covered by an inch of water. Reduce heat to low. Skim off any foam then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add salt, cilantro, and the rest of the garlic and simmer for another hour until beans are soft and fragrant.

Let beans sit in the fridge overnight for the best flavor.

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation

White Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 cup White Beans
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 1 cup Fresh Sage
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • 1 Carrot
  • ½ cup Fresh Fennel
  • 3 Sun-dried Tomatoes
  • ½ Fresh Lemon
  • Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions

Soak white beans overnight. Drain and rinse. Heat oil and add garlic and sage. Cook until soft. Add water and bring to a boil. Add carrot, fennel, tomato, salt and pepper. Simmer 40 minutes.

Pull out a bean. If the skin breaks and shrinks the beans are done. Squeeze in a lemon after the beans are done simmering.

Categories
Bases & Stored Food Preparation Breakfast Snack

Granola

Ingredients

  • Dry
    • 3 cups Oats
    • ¾ cups Slivered Almonds
    • ½ tbsp Wheat Germ
    • ¼ tsp Salt
  • Wet
    • 2 tbsp Oil
    • ½ cup Maple Syrup

Directions

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour wet mix over dry mix, spread on a buttered cookie sheet, and place in the oven at 325° for 30-45 minutes.