Black Bean and Rice Soup

This is super-awesome for when you have absolutely no time, and want something filling. I got it out of Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals, and changed a few things for my taste. Her recipe said "serves 4" but she has to mean four giants. This is a big pot of soup.

2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 bacon slices, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans black beans
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup white rice

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until fat renders. Add celery, onion, garlic and bay leaf, and cook for a few minutes more. Add the corn and 1 can black beans, undrained. Drain the other can and add half of the beans. Mash the other half with a fork and add to the soup pot. Season with chili powder, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock, and bring to a boil. Add rice, cover and simmer until rice is done, about 15 minutes.

Coconut Shrimp

This is really yummy and pretty dang healthy. I forgot to take a photo, but trust me, it looks pretty good as well. This is a slightly-changed version of a recipe from Family Dinners by Janet Peterson.

Coconut Shrimp

3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 1/2 pounds shelled and deveined large shrimp, tails on
1/3 cup honey

Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. horseradish (or to taste)
3/4 tsp lemon juice


Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray. Heat oven to 425.

Put coconut, bread crumbs, salt and cayenne pepper in a food processor and process for 10 seconds. Put mixture into a shallow dish.

Heat honey in microwave until liquid. Dip shrimp in honey, then roll in coconut mixture (the tails make this a lot easier). Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

For the sauce, combine the three ingredients and mix well. It's a sort of homemade cocktail sauce.

A super-rich Easter

I think we'll be eating ham forever. Taking advantage of Albertson's 99 cents a pound ham, I bought a nearly- 10 pound ham for five people.

i decided a few months ago that I needed a chance to use our wedding china (it's been four years, and we've never pulled it out), so I decided I'd do our family's Easter dinner. Here was out menu, taken partly from the book, "Saving Dinner for the Holidays," partly from holiday traditions:

stuffed celery
ham with spicy cranberry relish
scalloped potatoes
blueberry salad
steamed asparagus with feta
jello eggs (a family tradition)
lemon mousse pie
rolls
green salad


I love the 'Saving Dinner' book. It had great recipes, a shopping list and a timeline. It's wonderful for people who are just starting out on their own for the holidays. Here's a few of the recipes, adapted to the way I did them:

Spicy Cranberry relish
1 (14 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 (4 oz) jar cream-style horseradish
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

Mix everything together and chill.


Scalloped potatoes (These were beyond rich)
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced)
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Romano cheese
8 slices Provolone cheese, chopped
2 small onions, sliced thinly
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. flour
1 pint half and half

Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a bowl, mix all of the cheeses and the flour. In a small bowl, mix the butter and garlic powder.

Spread a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the casserole. Drizzle with the butter mixture, then add 1/3 of the onions and 1/3 of the cheese. Continue layering until you are out of ingredients, ending with a bunch of cheese. Slowly pour the half and half over the casserole.

Bake in a 325 oven for 1- 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are tender.


All in all, a pretty good day. :)

Homemade playdough

This morning, Anne Marie and I tried our first batch of homemade playdough. Here's how we did it.

Homemade playdough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. oil (I used Canola)
some cream of tartar
Koolaid powder (we used berry lemonade and got a teal color)

Mix everything but the Kool-Aid in a small saucepan. Heat on low, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Then knead in the Kool-Aid powder for color.

About the cream of tartar. I looked on the Internet for playdough recipes, and the amount of cream of tartar varied from 1 tsp. to 1/2 cup. Cream of tartar is expensive, so I didn't go for 1/2 cup. I just dumped some in, and it worked out fine.

Another blog

I want to start blogging my recipes so that I can remember them, and also share them if anyone notices. :) So take a look - here I go.