Recipes of late

The other day I was trying to decide what to cook for the rest of the week without going to the grocery store.  I had an empty “grocery” envelope (but still plenty of food) so I had to be creative.  Black beans aren’t creative, don’t get me wrong, they just weren’t what I’d planned to cook.  I cook pinto beans and rice often in the crock pot and I freeze the leftovers to use later.  I sub this rice/bean mixture in for meat in recipes like tacos, sloppy joes, burritos, without anyone the wiser.

So anyway, I had pinto beans on my meal plan but none in the house.  Oops.  I did have a bag of black beans though, which I had never actually cooked before.  So I did a little hunting online to find out how other people cooked them.  This is what I did:

The night before, I removed stones and weird stuff from the beans then let them soak all night in water in the crock pot.

That morning I drained the beans, put them back in the crockpot and added about 6 cups of homemade broth, one onion chopped up, and two cloves of garlic chopped up.  Then I cooked it on low all day.  I thought about adding some uncooked rice in like I usually do with the pintos in the early afternoon, but I didn’t.  I cooked it separate, but for the future, I think that’d be a fine thing to do.

The beans were so so good.  I think we added a little salt when we ate them, but they didn’t need much.  And the house smelled very good all day.

The black beans were devoured by all; we’ll be doing these again!  And even with the chicken broth, it’s still a pretty frugal meal.

And speaking of homemade chicken broth, here’s how I make mine.  I love how different people make broth different ways!  I save up the carcasses of chickens I cook in the freezer until I feel like making broth.  In my crockpot I put the bones and a bunch of veggies – as much as I have or as much as will fit.  It’s not a science.  :)  Onions, garlic, celery (even those inside bits), and carrots.  Rinse, roughly chop, and throw them in.  Cover with cold water and cook on low all night long.  You could alternatively cook it all day and deal with straining at night.  For me, cooking all night and straining in the morning is easier.  Anyway, in the morning turn off the crock pot.  I get my strainer, a big bowl, my 2 cup liquid measure. my ladle, my jar funnel, and some jars together.  Ladle the broth mixture through the strainer into the liquid measure (cause it has that nice pour spout).  Dump the bones/veggies into the big bowl to the side.  Pour the strained broth into glass jars, leaving some room to expand.  I freeze the broth in 1-2 cup portions.  Think about how you’ll use it, then freeze accordingly.  The last time I made broth overnight, I decided the veggies didn’t look dead enough after, so I decided to see if they had another batch left in them.  I put all the bones and mush back into the crockpot, added more water, and cooked them all day.  This batch wasn’t as dark or strong, but it still tasted more like broth than water.  For the beans I used some of this stuff and some of the “full strength.”  It was perfect.  I feel like homemade broth is much better stuff than store-bought, and it is pretty easy to do.  Eventually I’d love to can broth with a  pressure cooker, but for now the freezer works just fine for preserving.

 

I really love reading The Pioneer Woman’s site.  Her pictures are so so pretty, her writing voice is funny, and her recipes are yummy!  Here are two recipes I’ve tried lately and will (or have!) done again.  Yum yum yum.

Pasta with tomato cream sauce.  I think tomato cream sauce is a true love that I didn’t know about.  I love cream in tomato sauce.  A lot.  I used thin spaghetti instead of fettuccini because that’s what I had.  And I put some leftover sauce in the freezer.  We’ll see how it does.

Cinnamon toast the “right” way.  I just casually clicked on this because Matt and the girls really love buttered toast with a  little cinnamon and sugar on top.  Turns out that is the wrongest way to make it.  :)  PW’s right way is SO SO good.  I just had some, and the girls aren’t even around.  I just eyeballed the measurements since I didn’t want to make sixteen pieces.  And I did it in the toaster oven because the big oven makes the house too hot.