Green Bean Casserole

Campbell's original recipe makes 6 servings, but with a family of 8 we make 1.5 the recipe. French's recipe is slightly different and doesn't use soy sauce but is still very good. Adjust to your family size as needed.

16 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1½ tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp black pepper
2 cups French fried onions
6 cups/50oz can green beans, drained

Mix soup, milk, and soy sauce, then add pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in 2 quart casserole dish.
Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir and top with remaining onions. Bake 5 more minutes.

Mexican Layer Dip

refried beans
sour cream
jalapeno
guacamole
tomatoes/pico de gallo
green onions
cheese

Cindy's Refried Beans

On a hunch I asked my sweet friend Cindy Montoya if she knew how to make good Mexican rice and refried beans. With a name like Montoya I figured my chances were good. And I was right! She told me that Roberto told her she had to learn to make tortillas like his mother before he would marry her. What a great story, right. So when I asked her if she could give me her recipe, she did me one better...she offered to come over and show me! Not being dumb, I accepted and we proceeded to make one rocking pot of beans and the some of the best flavored rice I've ever had. However she did warn me that the tortillas were a process to make and she wasn't kidding. I think I'll still have to get the bag of 20 at Walmart for $1.18 for now.

6 cups of dry pinto beans
2 heaping tablespoons of garlic (I used the garlic in the jar already minced)
1 tablespoon of sea salt
2 serrano peppers or 1 large one, leave whole to get a little bit of heat
1 medium onion, chopped

Sort the stones out of your beans, rinse them 2 times (you'll be amazed at the dirt that comes off), then cover with water and let them soak for a few hours.
Drain the soak water and refill covering them about with about twice as much water. Cook on med-high heat, covered, stirring occasionally for about 3 hours. Be sure to add water as necessary while checking a bean for doneness. The time could vary depending on the burner temperature, your pot, the weather, etc.
Once the beans are done, drain them keeping all the ingredients. Add in a chopped tomato and a handful of cilantro. Fresh cilantro is the best.
I decided to cut the serrano in half lengthwise, scraping out the seeds. I then scooped everything into the food processor and processed it smooth. It took about 3 batches to get them all processed. You will want to stir them all up once they are done so that you don't have a hot spot in the part you chopped the serrano in.

Thanks Cindy...I'll be making these forever!

Baked Beans

We tried these from Pioneer Woman's site. They are from someone else but, hello, these are so great! I of course altered the recipe to suit us, mostly by using dry beans we made ahead of time instead of baked beans. Here's the original recipe. Enjoy!

8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 medium onion, diced
9 cups of cooked beans, including the juice
¾ cup barbecue sauce
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup distilled or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325°.
Fry bacon in large, deep sauté pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and released about ¼ cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients).
Pour flavored beans into a greased 9x13" (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

Bush's Classic 2 Bean Chili

The original measurements for this recipe can be found on the label of Bush's Chili Beans. I've double everything except the ground beef to feed our family of 8.

1.5 lb lean ground beef, drained (since we use grass fed beef I don't drain)
1 onion, chopped (I used yellow onion)
1 green pepper, chopped (I skip this since it we have a food allergy)
2 16oz cans chili beans
2 16oz cans pinto beans
2 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes (I used the petite diced ones)
2 6oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
½ tsp black pepper
1½ tsp salt
2 tbsp chili powder
3 tsp oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced OR 2 tbsp jarred minced garlic

In large pan, cook the beef, onion, and green pepper until meat is browned. Drain if necessary. Stir in remaining ingredients, except green onion and sour cream. Bring to boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

(Note: I doubled everything except the meat to feed our family of 6 for 2 meals. It barely made it for 2 meals and that was with no one having seconds at either meal.)

Black Bean 'n' Pumpkin Chili

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained (I used pinto beans and liked them better than I think I'd have liked black beans)
2½ cups cubed, cooked turkey (I used ground beef)
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp dried parsley flakes (optional)
2 tsp chili powder (I used 2 tsp and it was really really mild - I think I might've used more or used a better chili powder)
1½ tsp dried oregano
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt

In a large skillet, saute the onion, yellow pepper and garlic in oil until tender (I sauteed them together with the ground beef and omitted the oil). Transfer to a 5qt slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. It was sooo yummy and if you use the turkey it's listed as 192 cals for 1 cup 1g sat fat, 7g of fiber.