Cindy's Calico Beans

I know we all love Cindy's baked bean recipe. Thought I would add it here so its always on file.

1/2 pound hamburger

1/2 pound bacon

1 cup chopped ham

1 can kidney beans

1 can butter beans

1 can pork and beans

1 can lima beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tbl.vineger

2 tbl.prepared yellow mustard

1/2 tsp.salt

1/2 cup catsup

 

brown and drain bacon and hamburger.

crumble bacon add ham and rest of ingredients.

include all liquid from beans (or at least half).

put in casserole and bake 40 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees.

*crockpot option- follow directions above but put all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on medium-high for 2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally.

 

ENJOY!

Cheddar and chive scones

Full disclosure - I haven't tried these yet. They sound amazing (has anyone else had the cheddar/chive scones from Nordstrom Cafe? They're delicious! This recipe reminds me of them) and not too difficult to bake. Posting the recipe here so I can refer back to it when the time comes to make these.

Makes 12

• 1/2 cup milk (plus 2 tablespoons for brushing over scones)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , more for rolling out biscuits
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup grated sharp or aged cheddar , divided

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk and eggs until blended. Stir in chives and set aside. Blend flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a food processor or large bowl. Add cold butter and pulse, or quickly blend with your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Do not over-mix. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese and pulse just to combine. Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Cut dough ball in half, then flatten each half into an 8-inch round circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges, as you would cut a pie. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Place on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Simple red sauce

Made this tonight and wanted to share. It was super simple to whip up and very delicious.

1 jar Jovial whole peeled tomatoes (found at Whole Foods), diced and sauce
2 Tbs capers
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 green onions, diced
2 Tbs olive oil
Crushed red pepper, to your liking
Oregano, 2 tsp
Salt and pepper

Sauté garlic and onions in olive oil till garlic is softened. Add red pepper and capers. Add tomatoes and their sauce. Add oregano, salt and pepper. Cook on med heat, covered loosely and stirring occassionally, for 15 mins.

Serve over farro, and alongside roasted Brussels sprouts (see below) and chicken/Quorn naked "chicken" cutlets

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html

http://www.jovialfoods.com/organic-tomatoes.html

Vegan vegetable "lasagna"

Gals - below is the recipe of the veggie stack I brought to Christmas Eve last night. It's super easy - you just need patience for all of the washing and slicing :)

Ingredients
3 green zucchini, very thinly sliced
3 yellow squash, very thinly sliced
1 large white onions, very thinly sliced
2 sweet potatoes, peeledes, very thinly sliced
5 Roma tomatoes, very thinly sliced
8 asparagus spears, cut into 1/2" pieces
4-5 garlic cloves, thoroughly smashed
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat large baking dish with olive oil. Layer each vegetable, except the asparagus, in the order listed above. Once you've added one later of each, place the smashed garlic across everything - don't be shy about it. Use more than 4-5 cloves if needed. Then repeat with another layer of veggies. Top with asparagus.

Whisk together a dressing with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour a healthy amount on the stack. Let it sit for 5 mins to soak in.

Bake, covered, for 25 mins. Remove cover and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Tomatoes should be wrinkled and the whole thing should be smooth and easy to cut.

I imagine a dusting of Parmesan would be amazing on this.

Serving suggestions: roasted chicken (tofu or fake chicken), couscous, quinoa, lemon/dull orzo

Grandma Moore's Scalloped Corn

We all love Margie's corn casserole - here's another one to try!

Grandma Moore's Scalloped Corn

1 stick butter, melted
8 oz sour cream
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 16 oz can creamed corn
1 16 oz can whole kernel corn

Mix everything together and pour in a 2 quart casserole.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for45-60 minutes.

Grandma Moore's Pineapple-Cheese Casserole

I have absolutely NO intention of ever making this recipe, but I thought I'd post it in case it brings back any fond memories for any of the sisters reading this.  Oh, and its always kinda fun to read a recipe from a different era :)

Grandma Moore's Pineapple-Cheese Casserole

1 20 oz can chunky pineapple, drained and liquid reserved
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar
1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
3 tablespoons melted butter

Arrange pineapple on bottom of greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Stir flour and sugar together, and sprinkle over pineapple. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice over and top with cheddar cheese mixed with crushed crackers.  Drizzle butter over top.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.

Parmesan Hash Brown Cups

Girls -

Below is the recipe of the

delicious hash brown cups I brought

over to Margie's house a couple weeks ago

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 (20 oz) bag Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns; OR 3-1/2 cups shredded russet potatoes, rinsed and squeezed dry in a towel
• 3 green onions, chopped (approx. 1/3 cup), both white and green parts
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 12 muffin tins with cooking spray; set aside. In large bowl, combine potatoes, onions, cheese, salt, and pepper. Toss lightly with a fork. Drizzle on olive oil. Toss with fork again until mixture is well combined. Spoon mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups. With the back of the spoon, apply gentle pressure to pack mixture into each cup. Bake for 60-75 minutes in lower third of oven. Let rest for 5 minutes, run a small knife or spatula around the edge of each cup, making sure the edges are loosened. Gently lift each potato cup out, invert it, place on serving plate bottom side up. Good served warm or room temperature.

MAKE AHEAD FOR COOKING LATER: Combine mixture, spoon it into muffin tins, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to bake. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking time. May be made the night before to cook and serve for breakfast the next day.

MAKE AND COOK AHEAD FOR REHEATING LATER: These are best when eaten freshly baked. However, they can be baked ahead of time, refrigerated or frozen, and reheated before serving. They lose some of their crispiness when reheated, but the texture and taste is still good.

BBQ Chicken & Hasselback Potatoes

While killing time on Pinterest recently, I stumbled upon a beautiful potato! Hasselback Potatoes are artfully prepared, and when done, make such a simple food look so fancy. Of course, they are delicious too :)

I made these the other night, and served them alongside BBQ chicken/Naked Chik Cutlet. I also whipped up a delicious dipping sauce for the potatoes, using low-fat sour cream and shredded Mexican-mix cheese.

HASSELBACK POTATOES

Ingredients
2 Medium Size Potatoes
2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.

Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert sliced garlic in between the slits. Scatter some slightly melted butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake the potatoes for about 40-60 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients

4 Tbsp low-fat sour cream

2 Tbsp Mexican-mix shredded cheese (whatever you have on hand will work)

Method

Mix sour cream and cheese in a small ramekin. Place in microwave for 30-45 seconds. Mix thoroughly.

BBQ CHICKEN

Ingredients

1 Boneless chicken breast

1 Quorn Naked Chik Cutlet

1 1/2 C Stubbs Original BBQ sauce

2 Tbsp Honey

Method

Place protein in tupperware or ziplock baggie. Cover each with BBQ sauce and drizzle honey on top. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in oven for 25 minutes, turning over mid-way through the cooking time.

Cranberry Brie Bites

This is my go-to Fall/Winter appetizer! It's exactly what I look for in an app - simple ingredients, easy to prepare, season-appropriate and can be reheated quickly upon arrival if you're traveling to someone's home.

INGREDIENTS

• Whole berry cranberry sauce 15 oz can
• Brie cheese 1 triangle
• Puff pastry 2 sheets

DIRECTIONS

Thaw puff pastry (about 40 minutes - place on wax paper on countertop). Preheat oven to 375. Using a pizza cutter, slice 16 squares from each puff pastry sheet (~2" x 2" per square). Cut brie cheese into 1/2" squares.

Press each puff pastry square into a slot in a mini muffin pan. Fill with one brie square and top off with one cranberry berry. Bake for 12-15 minutes, turning the pan halfway through cooking time.

*To reheat, place in oven at 250 for 10 minutes.

(Great) Grandma Flynn's Coleslaw

Here's another recipe from Thursday's Thanksgiving feast!

It seems like my dad/Wally/Captain has taken the responsibility of carrying on Grandma Flynn's coleslaw recipe.  I'm so glad he did because it is such a nice side to have along with all the hot-n-heavy foods.  He said it is based loosely on recipes found on-line like this one http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/creamy-cole-slaw-recipe/index.html

As Dad/Wally/Captain said, one whole cabbage will feed an army, so don't worry about cutting this recipe in half.

Finely chop a whole cabbage, 2 large carrots, 1 small to medium onion and a handful of fresh curly parsley.  The chopping is a lot of work.  Put in a really big bowl and mix well by flipping the bowl like you flip an omelet.

Dressing is a cup or so of mayonnaise, a few table spoons sour cream, a few tablespoons white vinegar, a tablespoon or two of sugar. Cover with a layer of celery salt and garlic powder.  Whisk in a half cup or so of heavy cream, then as whisking add a bit more cream to get a consistency that will spread over the cabbage.  If too thick add some milk.  Fold it in to cabbage a couple of batches to get good distribution and stir well till evenly distributed.  Add regular salt and ground pepper to taste.   Better if refrigerated for an hour before serving.  Stir well before each serving since some dressing pools to bottom.

U. Mark's Rutabegas

For those of us gathered together at Mom/Mary/Granmary's home on Thursday, we all know just how delicious Mark's rutabegas were.  I asked for his recipe, and it is short, sweet and simple:

Organic rutabegas boiled in water with sea salt. Whip with a handheld mixer and a little butter.

Alexis Strathmann's Corn Casserole

We all know and love Aunt Margie's Corn Casserole, but I thought I would post another one from our friend and almost-sister Alexis.  She made it on Saturday for Meghan's 30th Birthday Celebration and it was delicious along with pico from Caitie, guacamole from Maureen and tacos from Colleen.

To the below recipe, Alexis added onions, red, yellow and orange peppers, sharp white cheddar, and green chilies, but you could really add anything you want.

1 package frozen whole kernel corn
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
3/4 cup melted butter
2 beaten eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix together.

Grease a 9 x 9 baking dish (Alexis has used 8 x 8 and a bread loaf pan and both were fine) and pour in mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. It should start to brown on top when its about ready.

Easy Roasted Vegetables

1 green and 1 yellow zucchini, alternately peeled and sliced 1 inch on diagonal
1 sweet onion, peeled and sliced into rounds
8 oz mushrooms sliced in half
4 plum tomatoes, quartered lenghtwise
1/4 C olive oil
Melissa's Organic Chile Seasoning (in produce section of market)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 C Cilantro sprigs (leave whole w/stem)
Shredded hard cheese, such as Manchego or Parmesan

Preheat oven 450. Take large piece of foil and assemble vegetables. Drizzle w/olive oil and sprinkle generously with Melissa's seasoning and salt and pepper. Lay cilantro over evenly. Cover w/2nd piece of foil and seal tight by folding ends together. Roast 20 minutes and turn off heat. Let sit in over an additional 10 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle w/cheese.
Serves 4 as side dish or 2 as entree.

Moore Family Potato Casserole

1 stick butter
8 oz pkg cream cheese
2 cans undiluted cream of celery soup
1 sm onion chopped
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
24 oz bag frozen hash brown potatoes

Melt butter in saucepan. Add onions, saute until softened. Add soup and cream cheese and stir until cheese melts and thick sauce forms. In 9 x 13 pan, greased, put 1/2 potatoes, top with 1/2 sauce and 1/2 cheddar cheese. Layer remaining ingredients. Bake 350 1 hour uncovered. May need to adjust cooking time if using a casserole dish.

Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe comes from Grandma/Nana/Mom/Flo. She served it recently at the Ronald McDonald House with a Notre Dame group. The dish was so good that everyone requested the recipe!!

*Cook 1 lb of macaroni noodles according to directions on the box.
*Melt 6 tablespoons of margarine on the stove.
*Add 1/2 cup of flour and stir in with the margarine to make a roux. Add 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.
*Add 3 cups of milk. Stir until warm. Add another 2 cups of milk.
*Add 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
*Add in 12 ounces of finely chopped/grated Velveeta and stir to melt.
*Add four ounces cheddar cheese.
*Pour cooked macaroni into a greased pan and top with cheese mixture. Stir.
*Top with additional 4 ounces of cheddar cheese. You can also top with croutons/breadcrumbs if desired.
*Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Meghan's Bean Salad

This is one of Meghan's classics! Its basically a melange of whatever is looking good at the farmer's market. Very refreshing and delicious!

Pile of green beans (washed, trimmed, blanched)
Pile of yellow beans (washed, trimmed, blanched)
Pile of pole beans (washed, trimmed, blanched)
Shelly beans (or any kind of canned shelled bean)
Lima beans
Thinly sliced basil
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Olive oil
Lots of fresh lemon juice
Salt, pepper

The goal is for all the beans to be fresh. Its so much fun buying the fresh beans that need to be shelled. Shelly beans taste sort of like kidney beans once cooked. The farmer's market didn't have lima beans this weekend, but they are essential. You can always buy the refrigerated or frozen ones from Jewel as a substitution.

Lemon & Dill Pasta Salad

This is a light and easy pasta salad. It is a good "base" upon which you can easily add additional ingredients to make it your own. Swap out the dill for fresh basil...use one red pepper and one green pepper...add in chopped hard boiled eggs...the variations are limitless!

• 1 pound bowtie pasta
• Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
• 2 cups torn arugula
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

In a large bowl, combine lemon peel, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add in pasta, peppers, arugula, pine nuts and dill. Stir well and enjoy!

This salad is good the next day, too!

Mom's (Mary's) Black Eyed Peas

For one pkg of produce black eyed peas :
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sm shallot, minced
1/4 C celery, diced
1/4 C carrot, diced
1/4 C green onion, thinly sliced
1 T dijon mustard
2 T red wine vinegar
Additional olive oil

Saute garlic and shallot over very low heat until softened. Add celery and carrot. Cook 2 mins. Remove from heat, add mustard. Toss beans w/vinegar and at least 3 T olive oil. Add sauteed ingredients. Toss in green onions and serve warm or at room temp. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Aunt Margie's Corn Casserole

Meghan and I were just talking about corn casserole (yes, we are weird) and we remembered this one from Margie. I found it in my email just in time for Thanksgiving!

Here is the recipe:

2 cans of corn

1 can of cream corn

1 stick of butter(melted)

1 cup of sour cream

1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix
cheddar cheese

Stir together and spread into 9x11 greased pan.

Bake at 350 for 40 -50 minutes uncovered, till lightly browned.

Sprinkle top with cheddar cheese and bake for 10 more minutes.

Serve hot!
YUMMY!!!!!

I would say we could drop the butter to 1/4 stick easily.