A few of my Thanksgiving Recipes as a collection:
How To Cook A Thanksgiving Turkey
Sausage & Mushroom Sage Dressing /Stuffing
Twice Baked Potatoes, with Onion, Peppers and Bacon
Acorn Squash with Cranberry and Apples
Orange Cranberry Sauce, with Cinnamon and Pecans
The first time I had this, I wanted to eat it and eat it, and eat it, and eat it. I made my mouth sing and my belly way too full (after 3 bowls!!). The recipe comes from my ex-Father-In-Law, who was born in Cuba. This is his recipe, and one I used to make quite often. I made this last evening for some friends, and literally, there was almost nothing left.
Enjoy!
2 15 Ounce Cans of Black Beans (or about 3 1/2 cups of beans, soaked overnight)
4 Cups Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloved garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt, to taste
Rice (See recipe below)
In a medium sized pot, heat the olive oil until fragarant and hot. Add in the peppers and onions, and saute until onions are slightly translucent. Add in the garlic and saute a minute longer. Add in the 2 cans of beans, and the 4 cups of chicken stock and stir well. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and allow to simmer for about 40 minutes.
After about 20 minutes, prepare the rice.
2 Cups rice
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
a bit of Tumeric or Saffron for color, if you wish
In a small pot, add water, chicken stock, butter, salt, garlic and optional tumeric or saffron. Bring the water/stock to a boil. Add in the rice and stir to remove any lumps (don’t overstir it, or it can become too sticky). Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, or a low simmer for about 18 minutes. Remove from the heat.
To serve, I usually grab the soup bowls,and place a serving of rice into the bowl, and ladle the black bean mixture over the rice.
Sprinkle with a bit of freshly ground pepper.
I recently saw a link, via reddit.com, which pointed to a YouTube video for “Indulge in Frugality: Great Depression cooking with Clara“”.
Clara is a 94 year old woman, who shows how to create some frugal recipes, dating back to the Great Depression. Her clips show her cooking, and of course how to create the recipe, but are also a great way to hear some of the history of that time. A bag of potatoes for 1.00; growing a vegetable garden; life lessons ….. having to stop going to school because there wasn’t anything to wear; and of course, how to cook with very little.
This show has two seasons, with about ten 5-7 minute clips. Take some time and watch.. you might be surprised at how much you learn, even outside of the recipe itself. She has also put out a book, as well as a DVD — I’m just so impressed at the idea of her doing all these things, and feel the need to get up off my own tush and do something, too.. she is an inspiration.
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My previous job kept me insanely busy and a bit too stressed out to even want to cook, let alone write anything recipe related on my blog. There just wasn’t enough time or energy for either cooking or blogging. But, with the new job come less hours and a hell of a lot less stress, and I finally feel bloggy!.
This weekend is a rainy one, and with Autumn full upon us here in NY, I decided to make a “comfort food” — totally full of excess calories, but isn’t that what is called for sometimes? It’s a simple tuna casserole, like Mom used to make — nothing fancy, nothing new, but uber yummy..with extra cheese ;)
Enjoy
Charlie, the Tuna - Sunkist Tuna (My fav)
2 cans tuna in water, drained
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cheddar, shredded
1 cup peas, frozen
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms – baby ports, or white capped
1 pound pasta, cooked almost done
Mix the drained tuna, the soup, mayo, milk, cheddar, peas and mushrooms together while the pasta is cooking. Heat the oven to 400F.
Cook the pasta until it is about 3/4 done. Drain, and then mix with the tuna mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F, until bubbly.
Pancakes, in the US, are usually sweet versions. You can find savory pancakes but it really is not the norm. The variations of recipes are just amazing, using all sorts of ingredients such as cornmeal, buttermilk, buckwheat, almond flour, wheat flour, or, as this version is, rolled oats.
I like to serve these with baked apples, or even stewed apples with cinnamon, with an apple & lemon juice reduction.
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs beaten
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon salt
The evening before: Mix the oats and buttermilk together, cover and then allow to stand overnight on the counter.
The next morning: Beat the eggs with sugar and the melted butter, and add into the oat/buttermilk mixture. Stir well to combine this. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix gently, and just until combined. Do not over mix.
Heat a griddle or pan, and lightly grease. Pour the about 1/4-1/3 of a cup of the mixture onto the griddle. Flip these once, after the bubbles appear and the underside of the pancake is golden brown.
This could make anywhere from 6-12 pancakes, depending on the amount of batter you use.
Quick to make, Oven Roasted Potatoes are simple to make. The usual recipe – garlic & Rosemary is nice, but gets a bit old. This is one I’ve been using for quite a long time, and is full of interesting flavors, as well as texture and color. Not only tastes great, but plates nicely.
Cilantro (aka Coriander)
1 1/2 pounds small new red potatoes (about 15), washed well
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or olive oil, if you have it)
4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup diced red bell peppers
1/4 cup diced green bell peppers
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Wash well, and then dice the potatoes into bite sized pieces – about 1 inch. I hardly ever peel the potatoes. I like to leave it intact, as it gives good flavor, and texture.
In a large bowl mix the oil, garlic, and cilantro and thyme. Add the potatoes and peppers and toss well.
Transfer the potatoes to a shallow baking pan, and arrange into a single layer. Roast until potatoes are tender when tested with the tip of a knife, which should be between 25-30 minutes.
Serve hot, or cold, as these are great leftover.
Note:
I have sometimes made a ‘potato’ salad with the leftovers, adding in mayo, and eggs, with a bit of spicy mustard.
