Beans, beans, the magical fruit......the more you eat......the more you....

Come on sing along if you know the words.  My grandfather used to sing the bean song to us when we would eat beans, and now I sing it to my older daughter who just hates it.   The song and the beans.  Which is fine with me, because then there are more for me, and my littlest GP who loves them as much as I do.

Yesterday for Cinco de Mayo I made grilled chicken tacos.  No recipe just rubbed them down with a bit of spices, grilled them on my Foreman grill.  With those tacos I made oven roasted corn from the farmers market, yum.  I also made my favorite black beans, Frijoles De Lata.

I lived in Miami for a little over 4 years.  I loved the food in Miami, so many different cultures to choose from.  One of my favorites was the Cuban food.  I worked downtown where little Cuban cafes were plentiful.  Cafe con Leche, (cuban coffee with milk) and pastelitos with guava and cheese, were my usual breakfast.  Afternoon snacks of ham croquetas were frequent occurrences as well.  My favorite of all was dinnertime, mojo marinated grilled chicken breast, sweet caramelized plantains, with black beans and rice is a perfect meal.  Mmmmmmmm....I could eat that every day........how I miss authentic Cuban food.

Lucky for me I met a Cuban friend on a message board and she shared a recipe for black beans.  She called them "quick and easy black beans."  I'm all for quick and easy.   The first time I tried them it brought me back to the days when I lived in Miami.  They tasted exactly the way a little cafe around the corner from where I worked made them.  They are so flavorful and easy, I make them often.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Frijoles De Lata (quick and easy black beans)

1/2 cup pure Spanish olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 medium size green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 large , ripe tomato, chopped, or 1/2 cup chopped and drained canned whole tomatoes
Two 16-ounce cans black beans, with their liquid
1/2 cup Cuban beef stock, canned beef broth or water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Few dashes of Tabasco sauce, optional
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chopped onion, minced fresh parsley, or minced fresh coriander
for garnish (cilantro)


In a medium-size saucepan over low heat, heat the oil until it is fragrant, then cook the garlic, onion, and bell pepper, stirring, until tender, 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook another 10 minutes. Add the beans, stock, cumin, Tabasco, and vinegar, stir to blend, correct the seasonings, and simmer, covered, until heated through, 20 minutes.

Garnish and serve with beans hot over Arroz Blanco (white rice)
Recipe courtesy of Gail CL board


Enjoy!

Creamy Coleslaw

Yesterday I forgot to post the recipe for coleslaw, so I'm doing it now. :) This slaw is creamy, and a little sweet, just the way I like it..  If you want more zing add more vinegar.

  Coleslaw

  1   head  green cabbage -- shredded*
  1   small  carrot -- peeled and shredded*
  2/3 cup  mayonnaise
  1/4 cup  sugar
  2   tbsp.  milk
  2   tbsp.  vinegar
  1/2 tsp.  salt
  1/4 tsp.  pepper


Toss cabbage and carrot in a medium bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over cabbage mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

*Useful Tip: For extra convenience, use one package (16 ounces) refrigerated cole slaw mix (cabbage and carrots)

recipe source: Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness

Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I *love* meatloaf.

No need for a screw driver and plumber's helper, my family will shove it in all by themselves.  My daughter will love that.  I think I will keep that statement.  She reads my blog now, and I hear "Mommmmmmm" when she thinks I'm embarrassing her.  Is it bad that I find joy in that?


Anywho, back to cookin'.  My family loves meatloaf, well this meatloaf anyway.  In fact they love it so much when I turned around to get my picture ready for the blog, there were only these two, puny, little pieces left.   From now on nobody eats till I get my blog shot. 


This really is a terrific meatloaf, dare I say the "Perfect Meatloaf"  since that is the name of the cookbook I found  this recipe in by Pam Anderson. She was the executive editor for Cooks Illustrated at one time.  She wrote a cookbook called "The Perfect Recipe." She has some near perfect recipes in her book.  If you haven't picked it up you should.  Not only is this little gem in there, but a recipe for Prime Rib where you dry age the roast in the frig, turns out "perfect" every time.  Her apple pie filling in the cookbook is also my families favorite for apple pie.

With this meatloaf I served another Cooking Light recipe, Asiago, Potato, and Bacon Gratin.  The perfect meal to get you ready for bathing suit weather.......that my friends, is sarcasm.  Hey, I served it with broccoli, not that the guys touched it.  That just left more for us girls. 

These potatoes are really rich tasting but you only use 1% milk.  I did not follow the recipe completely, do I ever?  No, not usually.  When I came to the part where you coat the shallots (oh I didn't have shallots so I used a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic since I doubled the recipe) with flour and then add the milk, it turned into a disaster.  I can do a roux and add liquid without lumps, but for some reason since there wasn't any fat on the shallots I could not get rid of them.   It was so lumpy I had to toss it and do it the easy way with cornstarch as the thickener.  Just added half the amount they call for in place of the flour and stirred it into the cold milk.   Easy and lump~less..  

Since bathing suit weather is upon us here in Florida, I ditched the bacon on the meatloaf.  I've made this meatloaf a million times and it's good with or without the bacon.  I think I prefer it without the bacon because it's a little more healthy.  Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't have sauteed the onions in a little bacon fat if I was going for healthy???  I don't care...... "bacon, is good for me."  ....anyone see that episode of Trading Spouses?

So here they are, my families favorite meatloaf and scalloped potatoes (well the light version anyway), hopefully they will be yours too. ;}
                    

 The Perfect Meatloaf (Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with Brown Sugar-Ketchup Glaze)

Brown Sugar Ketchup Glaze

1/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce

2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons cider or white vinegar ( I used cider)

Meat Loaf

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon dried thyme (I use a smidge less)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black paper

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

1/2 up milk, buttermilk or low-fat plain yogurt

2 pounds meat-loaf mix (2 parts ground chuck, 1 part ground veal, 1 part ground pork) 

2/3 cups crushed saltine crackers (about 16) or quick oatmeal or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs

1/3 cup minced parsley

6 ounces thin-sliced bacon

Glaze: Mix all ingredients and set aside. (Make extra glaze, it’s better than plain ol' ketchup)

Meatloaf: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a medium skillet.  Add onions and garlic, saute until softened, about 5 minutes; set aside to cool.

Mix eggs with thyme, salt and pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and milk or yogurt. In a large bowl add egg mixture to the ground chuck, pork, and veal. Next add oatmeal or crackers, which ever you prefer, parsley, cooked onion and garlic; mix with a fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to the bowl. (If mixture does stick, add additional milk, a couple tablespoons at a time and continue stirring (until mixture stops sticking).

Turn the meat mixture onto a work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into a loaf approximately 9x5 inches.

To bake free-form: Cover a wire rack with foil, prick the foil in several places with a fork to allow drainage. Place rack on a shallow roasting pan lined with foil for easy cleanup. Set formed loaf on rack. Brush loaf all over with glaze, then arrange the bacon slices, crosswise, over the loaf. Overlap them slightly and tuck under the loaf to prevent curling. (Free - form is the only way to go!)

Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160F. This will take about an hour. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Slice and Serve.

NOTES : Skip bacon and use this alternative way to cook:  Adjust the oven racks to the upper (about 4-inches away from broiler elements) and middle positions and heat the broiler. Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape it into a 9- by 5-inch loaf. Broil on the upper rack until well browned, about 5 minutes. Brush 2 tablespoons of glaze over the top and sides of the loaf and then return to the oven and broil for another 2 minutes.

Transfer the meatloaf to the middle rack and brush with the remaining glaze. Change the oven temperature to bake at 350 degrees and bake the meatloaf for 40 to 45 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Slice and serve, passing the cooked glaze at the table.

Recipe Source: adapted  from Pam Anderson "The Perfect Recipe Cookbook"

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Asiago, Potato, and Bacon Gratin

• 1 1/2  pounds  peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1  teaspoon  salt, divided
• Cooking spray
• 2  tablespoons  minced shallots ( I subbed in onion and a clove of garlic when I'm out of shallot)
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 2  cups  1% low-fat milk, divided
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh chives
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 4  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Drain. Sprinkle potatoes evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside and keep warm. (Okay, okay, I didn't follow this step either, I salted the water instead.)

Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sprinkle flour over shallots. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago, chives, pepper, and bacon.

Arrange half of potato slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices. Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Adapted from Cooking Light