Meatless Monday: I made pressure cooker black beans with onions, sweet peppers, and garlic, just pressure cooked them all together (with water) for 20 minutes, meanwhile preparing yellow rice with tomatoes and carrots, then a side of steamed yellow squash seasoned with adobo. Served each plate with a simple green salad and a sprinkle of cheese over the beans and rice.
Tuesday: Hamburger patties (seasoned with salt, pepper, chopped onion and worcestershire sauce) cooked in my grill pan, microwaved baked potatoes and steamed cauliflower. It was a HUGE cauliflower and I only lightly steamed it so I have leftovers for tonight's dinner.
Wednesday: Chicken cordon bleu (sorta) made with pounded flat chicken breasts, slices of ham and provolone cheese (I lacked swiss), rolled them up, secured with toothpicks and brushed the tops with beaten egg and topped with bread crumbs, bake for 25-35 minutes at 400 degrees, (depends on size of breasts). Took the leftover cauliflower and broke it into smaller florets, sprayed them with olive oil and sprinkled with salt I put it into the oven with the chicken at the 10 minute mark. They should be done simultaneously. Warmed up yellow squash will be our other side dish.
Still in the midst of moving and various types of chaos (selling a car, buying a car, traveling to various children's birthday parties several miles and counties away). Sorry for the light posts, but hopefully the menus can be at least a little bit of inspiration in the nightly mantra of "What's for dinner?!"
Showing posts with label black beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black beans. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Tuesday and Wednesday's meals
Tuesday I made my MIL's famous picadillo recipe. She learned it from her mother, her mother learned it from a recent emigre from Cuba who had settled in Tampa. If you are ever in Tampa, take the electric trolley car over to Ybor City and eat in a Cuban bakery. The bread! The pastries! The cafe con leche! You will love it. Anyhow, this is a unique picadillo to be sure. I have had many kinds over the years, but none like this. MIL always serves it over black beans and rice with a side of vinegar if you like and plenty of diced fresh onions to go on top.
Picadillo
1 pound hamburger beef
1 TB olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 (8) oz can tomato sauce
1/2 t of salt
Raisins (a good handful)
Capers (to taste)
Green salad olives (to taste)
Place olive oil in skillet, brown vegetables, starting with onions and ending with garlic. Brown the meat in the same skillet, pour off any grease. Add olives, raisins and capers and tomato sauce and salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove lid and let simmer until liquid is much reduced and raisins are plump.
For the rice, prepare white or yellow rice according to package directions.
For the black bean soup, season canned or freshly cooked black beans with sauteed chopped garlic, onion and green pepper and 1 C of red wine. After beans are fully cooked taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary.
Scoop the rice into the bowl, then ladle over some black bean soup, then add a small scoop of picadillo over all, garnish as you see fit. Delish!
Wednesday we had a softball game that went from 5 until 7, so we got home and the kids were starving and extremely dirty. I sent them off to the showers while I reheated my meal from the night before but this time stuffed the rice, beans and picadillo into warmed taco shells and topped them with lettuce and fresh tomato salsa, cheese and a dollop of Greek yogurt. (Greek yogurt is my got-to sour cream stand in, try it, you'll like it!) It was wonderful, the beans in particular had gotten more flavorful over night.
Picadillo
1 pound hamburger beef
1 TB olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 (8) oz can tomato sauce
1/2 t of salt
Raisins (a good handful)
Capers (to taste)
Green salad olives (to taste)
Place olive oil in skillet, brown vegetables, starting with onions and ending with garlic. Brown the meat in the same skillet, pour off any grease. Add olives, raisins and capers and tomato sauce and salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove lid and let simmer until liquid is much reduced and raisins are plump.
For the rice, prepare white or yellow rice according to package directions.
For the black bean soup, season canned or freshly cooked black beans with sauteed chopped garlic, onion and green pepper and 1 C of red wine. After beans are fully cooked taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary.
Scoop the rice into the bowl, then ladle over some black bean soup, then add a small scoop of picadillo over all, garnish as you see fit. Delish!
Wednesday we had a softball game that went from 5 until 7, so we got home and the kids were starving and extremely dirty. I sent them off to the showers while I reheated my meal from the night before but this time stuffed the rice, beans and picadillo into warmed taco shells and topped them with lettuce and fresh tomato salsa, cheese and a dollop of Greek yogurt. (Greek yogurt is my got-to sour cream stand in, try it, you'll like it!) It was wonderful, the beans in particular had gotten more flavorful over night.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Lasagna and Taco Tuesday
Hey! My parents came in to town for my oldest's First Communion so I have been hanging out with them and neglecting to blog. But not neglecting to cook! I love to cook with my parents and since they were the ones that taught me to cook I hope they like cooking with me.
Monday was Meatless of course, so I made a decadent Veggie Lasagna. I used the oven-ready noodles so they needn't be boiled first and put the first layer in the pan with some sauce according to package directions. However I did not have my ricotta mixture ready to go so the pasta was curling up by the time I got ready to put in the next layer. So that's my tip, have everything ready to go before you start assembling the lasagna layers. I mixed my ricotta cheese with 1 beaten egg, 2 tsp of Italian spices (dried), some defrosted and drained and squeezed chopped spinach, 1 grated carrot, and half a grated onion. I put down noodles, ricotta, tiny sprinkle of mozzarella, sauce and repeat until you lay down the top layer of noodles which are only topped with sauce and mozzarella. I baked it for 30 minutes under foil, then removed the foil and baked for 15 more minutes. I served the lasagna with a crispy green salad, but it also goes well with sauteed green beans tossed with a bit of Italian vinaigrette. If you lack ricotta cheese you can sub in some cottage cheese, simply blend the cottage cheese by itself with an immersion blender and then mix with the other ingredients. I swear no one can tell the difference. You can also do a 50/50 mix of ricotta and cottage cheese if you need to.
Tonight (Tuesday) was taco night! My dad made the BEST homemade salsa, I made black beans and yellow rice. My dad actually made the seasoning blend for the beans for me, chopped onion, cilantro and peppered bacon. The results were deee-lish! We seasoned the taco meat with chopped onion and garlic, cumin, adobo, and a bit of chili powder and just a few tablespoons of plain tomato sauce. We toasted some crunchy taco shells, sliced some romaine lettuce, set out the shredded cheese and sour cream and of course Dad's amazing salsa. We also sliced and ate some deliciously decadent avocado, dressed in only salt and lime juice. Fantastic!
I will post Dad's salsa recipe when he gets back from taking some pictures of the sunset. Adios!
Monday was Meatless of course, so I made a decadent Veggie Lasagna. I used the oven-ready noodles so they needn't be boiled first and put the first layer in the pan with some sauce according to package directions. However I did not have my ricotta mixture ready to go so the pasta was curling up by the time I got ready to put in the next layer. So that's my tip, have everything ready to go before you start assembling the lasagna layers. I mixed my ricotta cheese with 1 beaten egg, 2 tsp of Italian spices (dried), some defrosted and drained and squeezed chopped spinach, 1 grated carrot, and half a grated onion. I put down noodles, ricotta, tiny sprinkle of mozzarella, sauce and repeat until you lay down the top layer of noodles which are only topped with sauce and mozzarella. I baked it for 30 minutes under foil, then removed the foil and baked for 15 more minutes. I served the lasagna with a crispy green salad, but it also goes well with sauteed green beans tossed with a bit of Italian vinaigrette. If you lack ricotta cheese you can sub in some cottage cheese, simply blend the cottage cheese by itself with an immersion blender and then mix with the other ingredients. I swear no one can tell the difference. You can also do a 50/50 mix of ricotta and cottage cheese if you need to.
Tonight (Tuesday) was taco night! My dad made the BEST homemade salsa, I made black beans and yellow rice. My dad actually made the seasoning blend for the beans for me, chopped onion, cilantro and peppered bacon. The results were deee-lish! We seasoned the taco meat with chopped onion and garlic, cumin, adobo, and a bit of chili powder and just a few tablespoons of plain tomato sauce. We toasted some crunchy taco shells, sliced some romaine lettuce, set out the shredded cheese and sour cream and of course Dad's amazing salsa. We also sliced and ate some deliciously decadent avocado, dressed in only salt and lime juice. Fantastic!
I will post Dad's salsa recipe when he gets back from taking some pictures of the sunset. Adios!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Crockpot Mexican Brisket and No-Fail Beans and Rice
Crock pot beef is my favorite food to eat at Christmas, well, maybe tied for first with tamales. My Mom's crock pot beef, oh dear Lord, the smell of it is filling the house right now and causing my mouth to water in an alarming way. Anyhow, here is how you make it. Trust me, you're going to love this.
Buy a piece of beef labelled as a "brisket", if you do not see one ask the butcher what you can use. The genius part is that an expensive cut of beef will not work, it has to be a tougher and cheaper piece of beef to withstand the crock pot and break down into yummy delicious pieces.
Place your brisket into a proper sized crock pot, (not too small). Then season it all over with the Adobo "con pimienta" and then get to adding cut up red, yellow or green peppers (as you like, or mix them up), at least one good sized onion, 2 fresh cloves of garlic, smashed, and enough water to cover the brisket. Set that sucker on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours and when it is done cooking it will fall apart into flavorful shreds, much like a pulled pork. Honestly though, you can't really overcook this, it just gets more and more tender and the flavor gets more and more concentrated. You serve this on tortillas with your favorite taco fixings.
I usually serve black beans with this as well and I always make my beans from scratch. Here is my basic method.
Sort your beans and discard shriveled, busted or discolored beans, rocks and other foreign objects. Rinse the beans in a colander and place into a stock pot. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let beans sit, covered for one hour. This is the "short soak method." Alternatively you could soak them overnight without boiling at all. Just discard the soaking water whatever you do and cook the beans in fresh water. To the beans I add a smashed garlic cloves, onion, and carrot at a bare minimum. DO NOT ADD SALT until the beans are nearly done. Added too early this can make your beans quite tough!
I always make my beans and rice vegetarian for 2 reasons. 1) You never know who might come to dinner and it is always a good thing to have options for your guests. 2) I never really notice the meat being gone on black beans, so why bother?
Yellow rice is my go-to for Mexican food as well. I buy the yellow plastic tubes of Mahatma rice from Costco in a 6 pack I use it so much. Here's how I make it. I chop up fine some carrot and onion. I open a can of tomatoes and drain them into a measuring cup, reserving the juice. To the juice I add enough water and salt to make the recipe and I microwave it all together to get it hot. I lightly toast the rice in an oiled wrought iron skillet. Then when it is sizzling I add the liquid to the rice as well as the chopped carrot and onion and the tomatoes from the can. I stir it all together and let it boil for one minute and then cover and reduce the temperature to low for 20-25 minutes. Depending on what I am making I have also added frozen green peas to the pan in the last 4-5 minutes of cooking time. The kids eat it up and ask for more. The tiny cubes of carrot and the round green peas are are lovely pops of color in the cheery yellow rice and the tomatoes pretty much cook down to nothing and help flavor the rice really well.
If I am making a vegetarian meal, I let the beans and rice take center stage and make a side dish of sliced sauteed zucchini and yellow (crook-neck or summer) squash, mixed with chopped onion and tomato and seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin. It is all sauteed together in a hot pan with olive oil and then deglazed with a bit of vegetable broth and allowed to steam for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft and the flavors have melded. You can serve that just as is for a vegan meal or add a bit of queso blanco (a soft white cheese) to the top for added flavor. Really let the veggies get some good brown sear before you deglaze to get the best flavor! It is sort of a Mexican ratatouille if you can imagine. :)
That's about it for me today. I need to go dive head first into some other project so that I am not tempted to lift the lid on the crock pot and start "tasting" the brisket. Happy Sunday everyone!
Buy a piece of beef labelled as a "brisket", if you do not see one ask the butcher what you can use. The genius part is that an expensive cut of beef will not work, it has to be a tougher and cheaper piece of beef to withstand the crock pot and break down into yummy delicious pieces.
Place your brisket into a proper sized crock pot, (not too small). Then season it all over with the Adobo "con pimienta" and then get to adding cut up red, yellow or green peppers (as you like, or mix them up), at least one good sized onion, 2 fresh cloves of garlic, smashed, and enough water to cover the brisket. Set that sucker on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours and when it is done cooking it will fall apart into flavorful shreds, much like a pulled pork. Honestly though, you can't really overcook this, it just gets more and more tender and the flavor gets more and more concentrated. You serve this on tortillas with your favorite taco fixings.
I usually serve black beans with this as well and I always make my beans from scratch. Here is my basic method.
Sort your beans and discard shriveled, busted or discolored beans, rocks and other foreign objects. Rinse the beans in a colander and place into a stock pot. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let beans sit, covered for one hour. This is the "short soak method." Alternatively you could soak them overnight without boiling at all. Just discard the soaking water whatever you do and cook the beans in fresh water. To the beans I add a smashed garlic cloves, onion, and carrot at a bare minimum. DO NOT ADD SALT until the beans are nearly done. Added too early this can make your beans quite tough!
I always make my beans and rice vegetarian for 2 reasons. 1) You never know who might come to dinner and it is always a good thing to have options for your guests. 2) I never really notice the meat being gone on black beans, so why bother?
Yellow rice is my go-to for Mexican food as well. I buy the yellow plastic tubes of Mahatma rice from Costco in a 6 pack I use it so much. Here's how I make it. I chop up fine some carrot and onion. I open a can of tomatoes and drain them into a measuring cup, reserving the juice. To the juice I add enough water and salt to make the recipe and I microwave it all together to get it hot. I lightly toast the rice in an oiled wrought iron skillet. Then when it is sizzling I add the liquid to the rice as well as the chopped carrot and onion and the tomatoes from the can. I stir it all together and let it boil for one minute and then cover and reduce the temperature to low for 20-25 minutes. Depending on what I am making I have also added frozen green peas to the pan in the last 4-5 minutes of cooking time. The kids eat it up and ask for more. The tiny cubes of carrot and the round green peas are are lovely pops of color in the cheery yellow rice and the tomatoes pretty much cook down to nothing and help flavor the rice really well.
If I am making a vegetarian meal, I let the beans and rice take center stage and make a side dish of sliced sauteed zucchini and yellow (crook-neck or summer) squash, mixed with chopped onion and tomato and seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin. It is all sauteed together in a hot pan with olive oil and then deglazed with a bit of vegetable broth and allowed to steam for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft and the flavors have melded. You can serve that just as is for a vegan meal or add a bit of queso blanco (a soft white cheese) to the top for added flavor. Really let the veggies get some good brown sear before you deglaze to get the best flavor! It is sort of a Mexican ratatouille if you can imagine. :)
That's about it for me today. I need to go dive head first into some other project so that I am not tempted to lift the lid on the crock pot and start "tasting" the brisket. Happy Sunday everyone!
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