Black Beans

Jer had mentioned that he wanted to have black beans the next time we had tacos.  He took all of the kids with him on a car ride to nana's while I made dinner, so I decided to do more than just heat up a can.  I looked online for a recipe, and settled on this one from Allrecipes.com.  I am not a huge onion fan, so I reduced the amount of onion and I made a couple of other changes.  It was so good!  Jer said that they tasted like Mexican restaurant black beans.

Black Beans

1 can black beans
1 T onion - diced
1 garlic clove - minced
dash salt
dash red pepper flakes

Drain the liquid from the top of the can and pour the rest along with the beans into a saucepan.  Add onion, garlic, and season with salt and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Beef Stew

I needed an excuse to use my Dutch oven again.  I emailed my sister for recipes but before she got back to me I searched for a recipe and bought the ingredients I needed.  Her stew recipe looked good too, but I didn't have everything I needed, so I went with this one from Taste of Home.  It was good, but I think we will leave the peas out next time.  I also used oat flour instead of regular flour so that it was ok for Henry too.  It paired well with Honey Beer Bread.  Start this recipe about 2.5 hours before you want to have it ready.

Beef Stew

4 T flour (oat flour (recipe below) - wheat free)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 LB beef stew meat - cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion - diced
3 garlic cloves - minced
2 T flour (oat flour - wheat free)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 tsp dried thyme

3 cup beef broth
14.5 oz stewed tomatoes - diced
3-4 potatoes - peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 bag baby carrots - cut into thirds
1/2 cup peas (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

In a 1 gallon ziplock bag, mix 4 T flour, salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper, add the meat and toss to coat.  Heat vegetable oil in Dutch oven on medium high heat and brown meat in batches.  The meat does not need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside.  Set meat aside and add in onion to the pot.  Cook until tender, then add garlic and cook 1 more minute.  Stir in 2 T flour, 1/4 tsp pepper, and thyme.  Add beef broth, tomatoes, and meat.  Cover and bake at 350 for 1 1/4 hours.  Add potatoes and carrots and bake for 1 hour.  Stir in peas and test seasonings, add salt & pepper to taste.  Let sit for a few minutes to heat up the peas, then serve.


Oat Flour

Place oatmeal in a food processor and process until it is the consistency of flour.  Measure equivalent cup for cup with regular flour.

Corn Muffins

I was bringing a meal to a family from our church who just had a baby and I wanted to make some muffins from scratch.  I didn't have any bran flakes in the house so I hunted up a new recipe online.  They turned out great!  I even followed the link on Smitten Kitchen and made the Browned Honey Butter to go with them.

Corn Muffins

1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk - the thicker the better
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 stick butter
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cup cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a large bowl whisk together milk and 1/2 cup cornmeal.  Microwave milk mixture for 1 1/2 minutes, then whisk.  Microwave at 30 second intervals, whisking in between until the mixture is thickened (about 2 more minutes).  Cut the butter into the milk mixture and whisk until it is fully melted and smooth.  Whisk in sour cream, sugar, and eggs.  Fold in flour mixture and stir until just combined, lumps are ok.  Spoon into 12 muffin cups and bake at 425° for 15-17 minutes.  Place on rack to cool and store in airtight container.

Browned Honey Butter

When I made the corn muffins, I followed the link from Smitten Kitchen to this butter.  It is SO good!  I love honey and mixing it with butter is just a marvelous idea.

Browned Honey Butter

1 stick butter
2 T honey

Cut the stick of butter in half.  Place 4 T in a sauce pan and melt over medium heat.  Cook and stir until it is clear, then foamy, then brown bits start to form.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  Let the other 4 T soften and then whisk it until smooth.  Whisk in honey, then cooled browned butter.  Spoon into a container.

Apple Barbecue Pork Roast

I wanted to make a pork roast and I had been making them with my beef roast recipe, but then it uses beef broth and it just doesn't taste quite right.  I wanted something with an apple flavor, but didn't find anything allergy free when I searched online, so I made this up instead.  It was really good!  The sauce was really thin, so you could omit the apple cider for a thicker sauce.

Apple Barbecue Pork Roast

1 can apple pie filling
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup apple cider
1 pork roast

Add pie filling, barbecue sauce, and apple cider to a crockpot and mix into a sauce.  Add pork roast and cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove fat and place on serving dish.  Great on its own or on sandwiches!

Chicken & Dumplings

 My beautiful new dutch oven!

I might not have tried this recipe if my sister Lindsey hadn't made it for me first.  It was so homey, warm, and delicious!!  She got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman, and I bought a dutch oven just so that I could make it again - that tells you how good it is!

So my first time making it, it took me way longer than her suggested 45 minutes.  I used a whole chicken, but didn't realize she had gotten one precut.  So I had to butcher my bird and decide which pieces to use and what to just dump.  I think I will just use a bag of breasts next time.  I also thought that the spices were a bit strong, so I reduced them for the future.  And there will be a future.  In spite of it taking me forever to make it, it was worth it!

Chicken & Dumplings

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 whole chicken - cut into pieces
salt & pepper
1/2 cup carrots - finely diced
1/2 cup celery - finely diced
1 onion - finely diced
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp turmeric
6 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup heavy cream

Dumplings:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 T baking powder (heaping)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup half-and-half

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour. Melt butter with olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown chicken on both sides and remove to a clean plate. In the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in ground thyme and turmeric, then pour in chicken broth and apple cider. Stir to combine, then add browned chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes. While chicken is simmering, make the dough for the dumplings: sift together all dry ingredients, then add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set aside. Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to remove chicken from the bone. Shred, then add chicken to the pot. Pour heavy cream into the pot and stir to combine. Drop tablespoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.