Texas Caviar

Lately everything we've been eating is either something that we've already posted or straight from someone else's blog. Therefore, I'm going back to Christmas and posting one of our salads.

This is probably my husband's favorite recipe. When I had surgery a few years ago, I made a double batch of this and he ate it for lunch and dinner for a full week. Amazingly, he still likes it!

It is such an easy item to make, we often take it to get-togethers and everyone always seems to like it. This year I asked my family if they could only pick one recipe from past holidays, which would it be and most picked Texas Caviar.

Kay, just to be different, doesn't like it. Lucky for her, there is usually a large variety of foods when we have this so she can completely avoid it. This year for Christmas, she made it by herself while I was on the phone making our final holiday plans.

Texas Caviar

1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn (white shoe peg is really good)

1 small jar chopped pimento

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup green pepper, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine:

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 cup oil

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons sugar

Pour the dressing over the salad and gently mix. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Kay: She is asleep on the couch right now. She is battling terrible growing pains today so no comment from her.

Mom (Dana): Bill eats this with a fork but it is also really good on corn chips or wrapped in a tortilla (I'll throw just about anything into a tortilla!).

Onion Rings

As you may have noticed in past posts, Kay doesn't usually like onions. That is one of her top complaints. A couple months ago I made green beans in mustard sauce with crispy shallots (I plan to post this if I can ever find the dumb magazine - it has to be in this house somewhere). I had the shallots sitting on a paper draining and Kay kept eating them. I was worried we wouldn't have any left for the green beans! Later when Bill called she said, "I like onions now"!!

I told her she would have to try onion rings the next time I made them. I made them, she tried them, and she loved them. Bill and I love them too. We could seriously pig out on these. Luckily they are not the kind of thing that I have time to make a ton of so we are forced to eat only one portion each.

I've spent forever perfecting this recipe and technique. I finally figured out how to bake them but have them taste like they were fried. I don't have exact measurements since it really depends on the amount of rings you are making. Also, they are really messy but completely worth it.

Onion Rings

Onions, cut into thick rings

Bowl one - flour

Bowl two - one egg with about 2 cups milk

Bowl three - 2 cup wheat germ mixed with basil and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Dip all the rings into bowl one, then bowl two, then bowl three. Place them on a paper towel on the counter.

Cover a baking sheet with the oil. Place it in the oven for 3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Immediately place the rings on the pan and return it to the oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Flip the rings once about half way through.

If desired, lightly salt upon removing from the oven.

Kay: I never thought I liked onions but these really make me like onions more. I like how they are crunchy.

Dana: I do this same thing, minus the flour step, for eggplant Parmesan.

Beans

We've always eaten a lot of beans but, unless they are going in soup, I usually use canned. My reasoning for this was that we like to eat a variety of beans and so the cans are more convenient. Like everyone else though, I've been trying to cut back on my expenses and so I decided to try dried beans again. I measured this week and a one pound bag of black beans gave me the equivalent of 4 cans but cost the same as only 1 1/2 cans. The extra bonus was that we now remember that we actually prefer the taste of beans that we cook ourselves!




The way that I combated my own argument that we need a wide variety of beans on hand at all times was to go through my recipes. For the past month, every week I've picked one kind of bean. I then found 4-5 meals or snacks using that bean. For example, last week I made chickpeas. We had patties, falafel, chickpea salad, and roasted chickpeas. I also planned to make a pasta and rice dish with chickpeas but we ran out! There is such a variety of things you can do with beans, you don't have to worry about feeling like you are eating the same thing every night. Not once did Bill or Kay say "Chickpeas again?!".




My other argument was always the time involved which is really ridiculous because, seriously, I'm not that busy! It's almost no hands-on work. Here's what I do:




Soak one pound beans in a large bowl with about 6 -8 cups of water. You need a large bowl. It is amazing how much they swell. Leave on the counter overnight.




When you wake up, drain the beans. Place the beans in a stock pot with 6-8 cups fresh water and one strip of kombu* or 2 bay leaves. Bring the beans to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer one hour. Test for doneness. You should be able to easily crush it with the back of the spoon but you don't want them to be mushy because you'll more than likely be cooking them again in whatever recipe you choose. Drain the beans, remove the kombu or bay leaves, and leave to cool. Once cool, place in a large ziploc in the refrigerator.
(Here's what a smashed bean looks like.)




You can also freeze them. I've done this in the past with good luck. Lately I haven't had any left over to freeze.

I don't salt my beans. I'd rather add salt if needed, when I'm adding them to a recipe. If you insist on salting the beans while cooking, don't add it until the last 20 minutes or so. But really, don't add salt - it isn't good for you!

*Kombu is supposed to make the beans easier to digest. It also seems to help them cook up more evenly. I ordered a ton of it through amazon.com but I've also seen it at our health food store.






Kay: Kidney and garbanzo beans are my favorites. I like kidney beans whole in recipes but I like garbanzo's mashed up like in chickpea patties.




Mom (Dana): Really - it only takes one hour in the morning. You can eat breakfast, take a shower, get dressed, make the bed, watch tv, read a book, etc. Who doesn't have an hour in the morning on a weekend? You could even go back to bed if you really needed too. Just remember to put your timer nearby!

Cheese fries with corn by Kay

Yesterday, I asked my mom, after school, what we were having for dinner. She said that we were having leftovers. I don't like leftovers unless there is something in the refrigerator that I like. I asked her if I could make something because she had a headache. I said that I wouldn't make anything complex like Pinto Gallo or pizza. I wanted to have something like mini Potato Enchiladas that you would cook in the microwave.

Then I thought of Cheese Fries. I love Cheese Fries. I went in our refrigerator and found some corn. I then knew that my dad and I would have Cheese Fries with Corn. Here's the recipe:

Cheese Fries With Corn

2 potatoes
1/2 can of corn
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (original rice milk)
3/4 cup cheese (Queso and Cheddar)
salt and pepper to taste
salsa (optional)

First, peel the potatoes if you want. Then, cut into cubes. You can either roast or boil the potatoes. I boiled the potatoes because I wanted it to go quickly.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk to combine. Then stir after it is combined. After all milk have been added continue cooking and stirring until it thickens.(about 5 minutes) Then stir in the cheese. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Cook the corn in a saucepan or the microwave.

Drain the potatoes.

To serve, put the potatoes on a plate. Then add the corn on top or as a side. Add as much cheese sauce as you want. If desired, top with salsa.

Kay: I really liked this and so did my dad so he says. You could also use the cheese sauce to dip with chips. You can put whatever flavorings you like. You could put in tomatoes, cumin, chili pepper, or any kind of seasoning.

Dana (Mom): I didn't have any of this because I had a headache and because it has cheese in it but I was quite impressed that she came up with this and then managed to make a successful bechamel sauce!

Creamy Hot Chocolate

I just noticed I haven't posted a non-sweet recipe since November! Oh well, why stop now!

Today it was -17.5 degrees F when we woke up. I've lived here all my life but this weather is insane! We got out from under our blankets long enough tonight to make this hot chocolate though. This is my and Kay's favorite. I know butternut squash seems like a weird ingredient for hot chocolate but it is absolutely essential for the creaminess. We promise, you don't taste it at all. This recipe makes exactly 2 mugs. Perfect! (Bill won't even try it - he is very stubborn like that!)

Creamy Hot Chocolate

1 1/4 cups milk (we prefer almond milk)

1/2 cup pureed butternut squash (sweet potato also works)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Big spoonful of marshmallow fluff

Blend the milk, squash, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and espresso powder in a blender until smooth and well blended. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. Add the chocolate chips and heat over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Pour into mugs and top with marshmallow fluff.

Kay: It is AWESOME and you don't even taste the butternut squash. I could drink this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mom (Dana): Most of the sweetness comes from the fluff so if you decide not to use it, you'll need to add some other form of sweetener. Out of desperation, we've used caramel ice cream topping and that actually worked fine but it thickened it.

To make the puree, steam the butternut squash (or sweet potatoes) until very soft and then puree in a food processor or blender. Extra can be used in these honey puff pancakes!

Elephant Ears

Our weather is crazy this year. Yesterday we got tons and tons of snow. It took me over an hour to get to work when it usually only takes 20 minutes. I was only there a couple hours before I received a call from Kay saying they were getting dismissed early. Today we didn't get anymore snow but school was cancelled for the cold. It is -10 F without the wind! She didn't seem very upset about staying home today and I wasn't very sad either!

We've been wanting to post but everything we've fixed lately either wasn't very good or it was something that is already posted! This is kind of a recipe but not really.

After dinner tonight we were both craving something crispy. We had fajitas for dinner and the tortillas weren't very fresh so we fried them up and dipped them in a mixture of cinnamon sugar. They hit the spot!

Kay: These were really good. They didn't look like elephant ears but they tasted like them. I think these are healthier than the elephant ears at the fair.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

I noticed a very different feeling this year on Christmas morning. First of all, Kay slept in. Then when she did get up, we sat around for a little bit, made cinnamon rolls and then she opened her gifts in a very relaxed manner. That was when I realized the excitement-filled Christmas mornings were over. Then I thought of my parents and realized that even after Kay has kids, we probably won't be any closer to the excitement than they are. It was a little depressing but then Kay opened her MP3 player and got just as excited as she was with her puppet theater at 4 years old!

Also, we haven't reached the point yet where she insists on taking a shower and doing her hair and make-up before opening gifts (a phase that I remember going through)!

These cinnamon rolls are very easy. Bill and I used to have them way too often when we were first married. For some reason I quit making them and just thought of them again about a month ago. Kay really liked them (who wouldn't) so we decided to make them for Christmas breakfast.

This is an old Pampered Chef recipe. We use the same frosting (I mean vanilla syrup) as we used for the chocolate waffles but make it a little thicker.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

2 tubes of refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 cup margarine

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Separate the dough into 8 rectangle pieces and roll the seams together. Mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread the mixture on the dough. Roll each rectangle of dough going the long way. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and place into a deep dish baking pan so that the swirl design is facing up. Place the pieces close together. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with frosting of your choice.

Kay: These remind me of Cinnabons but you can make these at home and you don't have to eat a big roll. Mine looked like a Christmas tree when I put it on my plate.

Mom (Dana): It doesn't get any easier than this. Bill and I used to eat the whole pan ourselves so we were a little bothered to now have to share with Kay!