Sour Green Beans

Sour Green Beans

All of these items are added in amounts to taste; if you like lots of bacon and onions, then cook a whole onion and 1/2 lb. of bacon. Do more or less according to your taste.

Fry diced bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, then add chopped onions and fry in bacon grease until tender. Pour in vinegar (white or cider) to taste (again, a lot of vinegar if you like sour stuff, or very little for less flavor). Bring to a boil, and add bacon, stir mixture together. Then pour over cooked green beans, and stir again.

I hope you like it!
Helen

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Dreadfully Delicious Cheese and Bacon Bread

So I've got this dreadfully delicious cheese/bacon bread I like to make for my morning breakfast at work and I wondered if it is possible to double a bread recipe so I bake two pans at a time. I know simply using twice the listed ingredients in some cookies is not as good as the single recipe. Toll house cookies wind up so salty as to be inedible the one time I tried that.

It's a yeast bread, heavily modified from the one I found on King Arthur Flour. The oven at 375°F from the article, I use 380°F. Make sure the oven really is at temperature.

Dreadfully Delicious Cheese and Bacon Bread
3 cups KA unbleached special bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp powdered onion
1/4 tsp powdered garlic
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2/3 cup milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup water (depending on humidity)
1 heaping cup (4.5oz) shredded cheese (any type of cheddar)
4 oz (sorta) bacon
     I cut the sliced stuff as thin as possible and fry so it's sorta done. Do this first so it's room temp when you put it in the dough.

Mix dry ingredients, add butter, water and milk, stir to form a shaggy mass let sit for 15 minutes.

Knead until it's smooth and elastic, knead in cheese and bacon.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour.

Turn dough out, form into loaf, then put in baking pan (I line mine with parchment paper - works great).

Let it rise for an hour.

Bake for 25 minutes (or in my case 35 minutes). If the cheese is browning too fast tent lightly with aluminum foil after the first 15 minutes baking (never needed to, but that's in the instructions). An instant read thermometer should read 190°F.

The original recipe is on the King Arthur Flour website and called Cheddar Cheese Bread if you want to see what I started with.

Elena
(1/17/10)

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Baked Potato Soup

I modified this recipe, of course. I had to call my daughter's husband and have him come take half of it home. We have enough for tomorrow. I could barely eat a soup bowl-full. It was very filling and yummy. I changed it a little. I will put my changes in parenthesis.

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 cup Butter
2/3 cup Flour
7 cups Milk
4 large Baking Potatoes*, baked, cooled, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
4 Green Onions, sliced (I used a small bunch. It was not too much. I used a 1/2" of the green part.)
12 strips of Bacon, cooked well and crumbled
1-1/4 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used 8 oz. shredded)
1 cup (8 oz) Sour Cream
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

*I used 4 large baking potatoes (6" long or so) makes about 8 cups, cubed. I baked the potatoes after oiling and putting foil around them, cooled them and removed the foil, then put in the fridge overnight in a covered dish, before peeling and cubing them. They stayed cubed and had a nice toasted bit under the peel.

In a large soup kettle or dutch oven, melt the butter over low heat. Take off the stove and blend in the flour until smooth; return to heat and gradually stir in the milk. Stir constantly until slightly thickened. Add potatoes and onions.

Bring to a boil (just starting to bubble), stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. (I still stirred constantly.) Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8-10 servings. Recipe from Taste of Home's Big Book of Soup. Page 92.

Rich and delicious. My husband only could make yummy sounds as he ate. (grin)

Debra
(4/21/08)

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Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (great for leftover turkey!)

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (great for leftover turkey!)
Serves around 12

I just got an order from them with a handful of imps, so I don't need any more. But here's a recipe anyway in the spirit of Thanksgiving feasting.......

4 to 5 (10.75 oz each) cans condensed chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup wild rice
     (I use a package of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild rice, and use their spice packet)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (I use 2 bunches of green onions)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup whole kernel corn ( I usually use a whole pkg of the frozen one - the smaller pkg)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups half and half (the fat free one works fine)
2 to 3 cups cubed turkey or chicken (cooked)
8 slices bacon - fried crisp and crumbled
3 tbsp. diced pimento

Add the Rice ( I use original or the herb one) to the chicken broth and water in a large pan Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 min. Add veggies and turkey.

In separate pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and stir till bubbly Add in poultry seasoning, salt and pepper and the half  & half. When smooth and bubbly add to the rice mixture, stirring constantly until well blended. Simmer 30 minutes.

christyhco
(11/22/07)

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Pasta Bake ala David

Pasta Bake ala David

You'll need:

• mince (we freeze mince in 500g lots, that's, what?, around a pound?) (note: also known as hamburger or minced beef)
• onion
• capsicum
• 2 rashers of bacon (A rasher is a strip of bacon)
• garlic (4 or 5 cloves)
• can of tomatoes
• a spoon or two of tomato paste
• dash of soy sauce
• a dash of balsamic vinegar

Cook pasta. Put in square container in cupboard next to fridge (ok, this probably isn't a useful
instruction to give the rest of the world - its a large corning ware, about 10" square and less
than 2" deep. Its actually meant for microwaving sausages, but we ignore that :)

Cook veggies (I assume he thinks bacon is a veggie ;), add mince, tomatoes, and sauces. Sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook down until not very runny poor on pasta top with frozen cheese, bake at 220° C until brown on top. Done.

(oh, damn - I forgot the salt and pepper. Shhhh... nobody tell him...)

Lea
(5/4/04)

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Cabbage and Bacon (suitable for low-carb diets)

Cabbage and Bacon (suitable for low-carb diets)

A surprisingly delicious one that's so simple it's ridiculous:

cabbage and bacon

I chop up about 6 bacon strips into 1" slices and fry them almost done then throw in a half head or so of chopped up cabbage.

from Jola Gayle
(4/19/03)

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Black-eyed Peas (2 recipes)

Black-eyed Peas (2 recipes)

I made mine on New Year's Eve:

Bring as many bean s as you want to a boil, while cutting up one or more onions. Sauté the onion in olive oil (in the microwave) while you cut up Polish sausage and one Chourico (Portuguese for chorizo) sausage, and add them to the microwaving onions, preferably in your removable crockpot pot.

Drain the beans (which have boiled) and bring them back to the boil. Dump the whole thing into the pot and microwave it while you drive someone to a party. When you get back, put the pot back on the crockpot base and leave it on high while you have a nap.

Cut up the greens and put them into a Ziplock with a big lump of butter.

Unplug the crockpot and take it and the greens to the party you are going to. Plug the crockpot back in; your beans should be pretty much done. Not too long before midnight, put the greens in Pyrex with a splash of water and a lid, and zap them till tender.

We had none left by 1 am.

Yum.

Laura
(1/2/03)

---

Wow, Laura, you go to a lot of trouble :-) We just put the peas in a soup pot, dump the slivered onions in with them, put some chopped up bacon slices in with them, bring them to a boil and let them simmer about an hour or so. Even without the fancier meat, they're still pretty darned good.

Now, I may have to try your greens recipe for some types of greens. But I learned about 10 years ago that I like turnip greens *only* if they were simmered for hours. Either that or my tastes changed overnight cuz I couldn't stand the nasty little buggers before. My cousin puts about a 1/4 tsp baking soda in with them, but I think that takes the zap out of them that I like. She likes 'em better without the zap.

Jola Gayle
(1/2/03)

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Pasta Perfecto

Pasta Perfecto

We invented this tonight. It is out of this world! I think it would be great with shrimp added, but Steve is allergic to them. It was awesome just as it is.

3 tsp (?) butter
1 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked chopped bacon
1/4 to 1/2 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes in oil
1 cup cream
1 tsp+ fresh oregano
1 tsp salt
pepper
3/4 cup grated Pecorino-Romano or Parmgiano Regiano cheese
fresh parsley
1 lb. pasta of any type

In large skillet melt butter, add wine. Bring to a boil, cook till win eis almost evaporated. Add bacon, garlic and tomatoes. When wine is reduced, stir in 1 cup cream, salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook till medium thick. Place in serving bowl. Top with 1 lb of cooked pasta, any type. Mix well, adding some pasta cooking water if sauce is too thick. Top with grated cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Katie H.
(7/8/02)

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Chicken or Turkey Casserole

Chicken or Turkey Casserole

Grease a 3 quart casserole

• 3 cups homemade white sauce (thick or thin, a lot or a little as you prefer)
• leftover chicken or turkey - 1-2 cups cubed
• 1 lb pasta cooked until not quite al dente (I like spinach fettuccine best)
• 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms (or a can, drained)
• 1 small yellow onion minced
• 3 tbsp. olive oil (if not using grease of bacon below)
• 3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
• 3-6 large cloves garlic crushed (shallots are nice here too)
• 1 bunch or 1 pkg frozen leaf spinach, cooked and well drained
• salt
• pepper
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

While cooking the pasta, sauté the onion in olive oil (or bacon drippings if you don't worry about fat) when translucent, add garlic and then mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are almost tender and onion is lightly browned. At this point you have two options depending on your cooking style - you can set this aside and make a butter/flour roux to make a white sauce or add a bit more fat to this sautéed mixture, add flour and then milk to make your white sauce. I usually do the latter to save time and pot mess. At the end, add salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne to taste.

Drain pasta. Put about 1/4 of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the casserole. Layer pasta, spinach, cubed poultry and sauce mixture (or onion/mushroom mixture first then sauce) in 2 or 3 layers depending on the depth of the dish used, ending with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

Bake uncovered at 350° F for 25-40 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and top is golden.

Yum. You can adjust amounts to suit your family's taste. Mine likes stuff saucy so I make a good amount of white sauce. You can use more chicken. You can omit the mushrooms. You can substitute barely steamed broccoli for the spinach (but don't overcook it before adding to the casserole or it will be mushy and yuck) The bacon adds something but can be omitted if you don't have any or are being careful of fat content.

Joy
(2/19/02)

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Sauerkraut Salad

Sauerkraut Salad

Sauerkraut Salad is really good, and surprises the daylights out of people! They don't know what it is!

Drain it and rinse well to freshen it, and also get rid of a lot of the acid taste. Then do the oil and vinegar dressing thing, with sugar in it, and celery seed ----that's what gives it it's characteristic flavor.

The original uses hot bacon grease and vinegar, and of course the bacon pieces you fried.

The "rich" version, you cut across the ends of the pkg. of bacon so they're little strips, and while they're frying add chopped onion, celery, green pepper and cook it all together. Then add about as much vinegar as you have grease, maybe less, sugar, and celery seed. Toss the whole mess with the sauerkraut and let it sit in the fridge for awhile.

Letting it marinate softens up the celery seed so it doesn't stick in your teeth, and spreads the flavor.

If you use bacon grease, you'll have to heat it up to serve or it will be disgusting. If you use olive oil, you can serve it cold. Actually, room temperature or slightly warm is more traditional.

Don't tell them what it is until after they try it! They wouldn't touch it if they knew, and then they discover it's really good.

Why not make sauerkraut cake while you're at it? You'll fool them with that too. It's a dead ringer for coconut, only it actually tastes better (and doesn't have the cholesterol of coconut either).

Diane S.
(1/25/02)

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Spinner's Quiche

Spinner's Quiche

When the Mayhem brothers were very small, they thought they were eating spinner's quiche. I never had the heart to tell them that it was "spinach", not "spinner". It meets my 20 min. rule, under that to make (prep time).

2 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1cup.Flour
*1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1-2 onions, shredded
**1-1/2 cups Bacon (no idea how much that is)
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese-what ever you have or like
1 lb. or so frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
dash nutmeg

Bake in 9" x 13" greased pan for 40 - 45 min at 350° F.

* I use 1/2 stick or less, got a diabetic here.
** optional

Eugenie
(12/12/01)

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Drunken Beans

Drunken Beans

• 1 lb beans of choice: pintos, cannelini, romans, etc., soaked in boiling water for a few hours or overnight
• garlic (a lot)
• jalapeno, at least one, chopped
• 4 slices thick slab bacon
• 1 bottle of beer
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp cumin
• Cilantro, salt, pepper, and a sluice of vinegar

Brown bacon in skillet, remove and reserve, pour off most of the fat. In remaining bacon fat, saute garlic and jalapeno. Return bacon to pan, add beans, beer, tomatoes, and water to cover by about 1".

Cook until tender, about 90 minutes, or about 5 minutes in a pressure cooker (can you see that I love kitchen gadgetry??). Add cilantro, salt, pepper, and a slug of vinegar (balsamic is great with beans).

Carolyn D.
(2/20/01)

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Carbonnades Flamandes

Carbonnades Flamandes

Adapted from "The Old World Kitchen" by Elisabeth Luard, a book I HIGHLY recommend, if you can find it . I've combined this recipe with a few others:

3-1/2 lbs Stew Beef
3 lbs lbs Onions
4 thick slices of Bacon, diced
2 cups good dark Beer, preferably Belgian, if you can get it
1 cup Beef Stock, pref. homemade, but canned will do
1 sprig Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
1tsp fresh Tarragon
1 tsp Brown Sugar
2 tsp Salt, or more to taste
Black Pepper

Brown bacon in large dutch oven or flameproof casserole. Remove bacon bits to a plate, reserve fat. Thoroughly dry off beef with paper towels, or it won't brown properly. Sear beef in small batches in fat in the skillet (add a little more oil, if necessary). Remove to plate.

Add onions to skillet, cook until golden, add beer and broth, and scrape up little browned bits. Add spices, sugar, salt and pepper, and return beef and bacon to the casserole. Bring to a boil. Turn oven to 325° F. Cover and cook in oven, until beef is fork tender, about 2 - 2-1/2 hours.

Correct seasonings.

Serve with a dish of boiled new potatoes (they are just coming into our markets, joy!) or even mashed potatoes, some dark bread, and plenty of good beer for drinking.

Carolyn D
(3/18/00)

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