Black Bean Chili

Yesterday, as you might have noted, chili was on the menu. The snow that started to fall mid-day made this warm comfort food all the more welcome!
This recipe is a modified version of a recipe given to me by a friend. I like the black bean replacing the traditional kidney beans, and the addition of carrot gives it a perfect sweetness (and some added nutrition)!
Plop some sour cream and cheese on top and a side of corn bread and you won't mind being snowed in at all......

Black Bean Chili

1 lb. ground beef
3/4 C sliced green onion (all the white and part of the green)
2 green peppers, diced
1 C shredded carrot
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans black beans (or soaked beans to equal 3 C)
2 14.5 oz. cans tomato sauce
4 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbs. basil
ground pepper and salt to taste

Cook beef over med heat until 3/4 cooked, then add onion, peppers, carrot, and garlic and continue to cook until vegetables are soft and meat is fully cooked. Add tomatoes, beans, and spices and simmer for 2 or more hours. Can also be slow cooked in a crock pot.

Serves 8...unless they are really hungry, then only 6.

If I only do one post this year

If you're reading this post, you certainly are a patient friend. I mean, I havent posted since April. Sigh. Its not for lack of ideas or new recipes or fun topics...in fact, Ive written about 500 posts in my head. Its just sitting down to document that I struggle to find the time to do. But, its a new year, so why not try again. I know Im risking losing my few readers forever if I slack off again. All I can promise is that I'll try. If all I do is put up a link for a recipe we liked, I figure at least its something. And at least I'll remember what I've cooked!

So, to provide a little inspiration for you, Im starting my year of posts with menu planning.Its one of the few things Im consistent at, and one of the things folks ask me about the most. If you come over, you'll see that little pad of paper above on my fridge. On Sundays I plan meals for the week, and jot down the things we have going on. I take a quick assessment of the fridge: produce we need to eat, things we need, etc....and then I make our meal list. Here's the general criteria for our meals:

1. Variety. In general, we eat each of the following proteins once a week: beef, poultry, fish, legumes (beans mostly), eggs (several times a week) I also try to vary our side dishes and veggies, making them in different ways to keep the fam interested (who would want steamed veggies every day?) I also have to balance cost. So if we have an expensive meal one night (wild salmon), then you can bet another night will be rice and beans (so healthy, so cheap!)

2. Ease. While I have been known to make something extravagant on a random Tuesday night, in general, I need to make things that can be made and cooked within an hour. Most things I prep during nap time and then I do the final assembly right before dinner.

3. Healthy. We dont eat perfectly, but it is important to me that our family eats well. I do keep some prepared sauces on hand and my kids are very familiar with boxed mac n cheese, but most of what we eat is home prepared. I try to introduce new foods to my kids whenever I can, and Im always amazed at what they will try!


How do I decide what to cook?

It goes something like this:
1. Make my assessment of what we have or need to use up. Instead of deciding what I want to make and then shopping for it, I keep a well stocked pantry and then cook based on what fresh things are available to me that week. If the cauliflower looks great at the farmers market, I buy it, and then plan meals with it. If we have extra eggs, that week in addition to eggs in the morning a couple of days, I might make a quiche. I only buy chicken once a month, so once its gone, its gone. I only shop for staples about once per month, and the fresh stuff we pick up once a week.

2. Keeping in mind a different main protein for each day, I think about how to use the ingredients we have creatively. While I have a ginormous stack of cookbooks and cycle favorite recipes fairly often, I also try new things every week. Lets say I have lots of cous cous and mushrooms I need to use up. A google search ensues and within a minute, I have a tasty recipe for that day. If we like it, I print it and we use it again sometime. If not, its forgotten!

3. Food is important, people are more important. This means that I plan around our family and engagements we have the best I can. The evenings I work, I plan something I can prepare ahead of time for AJ or give him a very basic recipe that can be made quick. We have friends for dinner at least once a week, so I consider what meals are easier for larger crowds. If we have somewhere to be in the evening, we might just have soup and tuna melts for dinner to decrease stress.

I dont generally plan breakfasts or lunches. Breakfasts are always a cycle of oatmeal, eggs, smoothies, and cold cereal. Weekends we make big breakfasts like pancakes or waffles.
Lunch is the place I get stuck....maybe thats a resolution for this year: simple yet interesting lunches.

I might from time to time post our weekly meals...just to give you new ideas. I mean, if you want.

Here's what on the menu this week:

Sunday (usually left overs or something I can cook in 5 minutes): Tortellini and salad
Monday: Salmon cakes and roasted cauliflower
Tuesday: Broccoli and cheese quiche
Wednesday: Stir fry with tofu and coconut sauce
Thursday: Beef chili and corn bread
Friday: (as every other) homemade pizza
Saturday: left chili


Any meal planning tips you want to share?

One year of bread making!

One year ago I decided to try my hand at bread-making. Im happy to say that we've bought very few loaves since then and Im really enjoying learning this new art. But an art it is, and Im still very novice at it. Some of my experiments have ended in the ugliest loaves you've ever seen. Not to mention all the help from the kids. Last week, just as my beautiful bread was finally ready for baking, I found it punched down and covered in sand. One of my little people just couldnt resist.....they have seen me punch it down...Im sure they thought they were helping! If only they hadnt been in the sandbox just before "helping". Sigh.

I've tried quite a few recipes, mostly whole wheat varieties. Im still learning about what affects the crumb, and how protein percentages change the gluten. How not to over or under knead, and how to get the perfect moisture content. One day I'll know 110 degree water by touch instead of a thermometer, but Im a long way from that!

To celebrate one year of making bread, I ordered this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bible-Henspergers-Favorite-Recipes/dp/0811816869

I've checked it out from the library several times and today borrowed it from my friend Stefanii. Its time I have my own copy....now that Im a bread-baker!

Today I made Beth's Honey Buttermilk bread for the first time.....it wont last long around here!
It went from this:

To this.....

To this!

Learning the ropes of ice-cream making

Not too long ago, I scored a refurbished version of this ice-cream maker at Marshalls for $40. I began dreaming of the rich homemade ice cream we would enjoy all summer (ok, all year) and my list of recipes to try is already quite long.

As part of our Easter celebrating, I made my first batch. Mint chocolate chip is one of my favorites, and I carefully researched recipes for just the right one. Here's the recipe I landed on:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/mint_chocolate_chip_ice_cream/

The ice cream was delicious.....eventually. But my first try at ice cream making was a wee bit bumpy. I followed the directions carefully, but in hindsight, a bit of background knowledge would have been helpful! When the batter didnt churn into ice cream after twice the recommended time, I started looking for suggestions. I came upon this list that I think is helpful if you are thinking about trying your hand at it.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/06/10-ten-tips-for-making-homemade-ice-cream-success.html

I ended up just freezing the batter. But that meant that the end result wasnt creamy, but hard. I dont blame the recipe or the maker. I should have done two things differently.
1. Should have had the bowl in the freezer for at least 24, but probably more like 48.
2. Should have cooled the batter overnight. The recipe calls for cooling it completely, but thats hard to know. I thought it was cooled completely in the ice bath, but I think this was the core of the problem.

Now that the mint is growing like a weed on the side of the house, Im almost ready to try again!

Menu planning

Its Sunday, a day or rest for us. Also the day I plan the menu for the coming week. Someone recently asked me to post some of our weekly meals, and I think they assume I cook complicated things all the time. I told them they would be surprised at how simply most of our meals are. Even when they have lots of ingredients, most meals are made within 30 minutes...I rarely have more than that for meal prep. My goals for our eating? Variety, focus on "whole" foods, budget friendly (although I do splurge on good salmon from time to time), and simple to make!

Here's our menu for this coming week....

Sunday: Curried Veg Soup and cornbread
Monday: Cuban beans and rice with mango smoothies
Tuesday: Chicken fajitas (probably with leftover beans and rice)
Wed: Tuna melts
Thursday: Seder meal with community group
Friday: Homemade pizza
Sat: Feta and spinach frittata

Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese, Pears, and Pecans

Im home alone tonight (except for a sleeping babe), and enjoying a quiet meal after a very noisy day. Now I love our family dinner time, but tonight's gift of solitude is certainly welcome.

Since Im eating solo, I resisted re-heating last night's meal, and made one of my favorite salads. My friend Hui Lin introduced me to this salad combination, and I have to admit, its a favorite. Not to mention I have some fabulous blue-cheese left from AJ's trip to Pittsburgh last month. (Bought at Penn Mac in the Strip District...he knows the way to my heart!)
Paired with a slice of the bread I made this morning and a glass of wine, Im in heaven!

Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese, Pears, and Pecans

Spinach leaves
Blue Cheese, crumbled
Roasted and Salted Peacans (or Walnuts)
Sliced pears
Balsamic Vinaigrette (if not home-made, Trader Joe's version is awesome!)

Toss together and enjoy!

*I hope to do a post soon on my bread making adventures...the above bread is so far my favorite in the 100% Whole Wheat category

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

I got this cookbook for Christmas and read it cover to cover on our way home from northern Michigan. I am a fan of Ina- Ive never tried a recipe of hers I didnt like. However, her recipes arent always as healthy as I would like...and they often have expensive ingredients!

But, as I read through this cookbook this recipe caught my eye! Its healthy, cheap to make, and the ingredients are things I usually have on hand. Its the perfect winter comfort food....delicious!
Dont forget the splash of red wine vinegar before serving...it really makes the dish!

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes