A Fork In Each Hand

Smoky Three-Bean Bake

I don’t know about you but baked beans and burgers just seem to go hand-in-hand. I not only like to eat them with each other but I like to smother each bite of my burger with a forkful of messy baked beans before shoving it into my mouth. Yes, insert quirky eating habits here. The problem with baked beans is that although they are a perfect accompaniment to burgers cooked on the grill, which is perfect to do in the summer, they are cooked in the OVEN which is not what you want to turn on when it’s hot outside! But oh well, it’s so worth it in the end. The sweet, spicy, creamy and oh-so smoky flavors in Smoky Three-Bean Bake will have you hooked after the first bite.

Black beans, chickpeas and Great Northern beans are mixed with peppers, onions and garlic before being mixed with a magical concoction of tomato sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, honey and cider vinegar. Vibrant flavors of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika (my two favorites) spice up the dish, giving it all the personality in the world. The whole dish is topped with chopped bacon (of course, I used turkey bacon) just to give it yet another burst of flavor but leave it out to easily make this vegetarian. I accidentally forgot to put in the honey but I think it was sweet enough as it was so leave it out if you like. Although it may take a little bit of time to make this, it’s so much better than what comes in a can. Take this to a cook-out, potluck, picnic or any summertime party and revel in how much people are impressed by what you made. Canned baked beans don’t stand a chance against this.

Tomorrow…turkey burgers!

The ingredients:

If using regular bacon, prepare the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and set aside, saving the drippings. Add onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic to drippings in pan, and sauté for 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. (Since I used precooked turkey bacon, I used olive oil in place of drippings.)

Combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, honey, Dijon, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Add onion/pepper mixture and all of the beans to the sauce mixture.

Spoon bean mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, and top with reserved bacon.

Cover and bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 30 minutes.

Additions: None

Omissions:

Honey

Substitutions:

Turkey bacon

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Broken Lasagna with Zucchini-Tomato Sauce

July 2, 2012
Shannon
3 comments
food, pasta, tomatoes, vegetarian, zucchini

Happy July (my birthmonth)! If you live in the United States, most likely you spent this past weekend in some serious HEAT! It’s days like these that all I want to do is stay inside in the air-conditioning or find the nearest pool. Unfortunately, I had no access to a pool so that meant sitting indoors, listening to my A/C struggle to get cooler than 81°. The sunny, warm weather and impending holiday had me craving cook-out food and since the majority of my friends were out of town this past weekend, I took it upon myself to make pasta, baked beans, turkey burgers and milkshakes, all of which I plan to share with you this week in honor of the 4th of July. The first dish I made was Broken Lasagna with Zucchini-Tomato Sauce. To be honest, I made this to eat as a side, like pasta salad, but I’m pretty sure that it’s supposed to be dinner in itself. Whatever! That’s what’s great about making your own food – you can eat it however and whenever you want, right?

Freshly zucchini is grated and squeezed dry before being cooked with grape tomatoes and lemon zest. The whole mixture is tossed with broken pieces of lasagna noodles, parmesan cheese and chives. The tomatoes pop with sweetness, the zucchini provides a light summery freshness and the bright hint of lemon rounds out the whole dish. If you have any other pasta on hand, use it in place of the lasagna since the zucchini and tomatoes are really the stars of this dish. The recipe calls for cherry tomatoes but my grocery store was out so I used grape tomatoes which made a perfect substitute. Eat this hot or cold, alone or alongside your favorite burger and remember, no matter how hot it is outside, it’s summertime. So enjoy it!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a smoky baked beans dish!

The ingredients:

Grate the zucchini and drain in a colander with salt for 10 minutes. Remove from the colander and gently squeeze out any remaining moisture with a paper towel or clean towel.

While zucchini is sitting, break lasagna into piece and cook in boiling water according for 12 minutes. Be sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta.

Cook tomatoes in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until blistered and slightly softened, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini and lemon zest and cook, lightly crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the zucchini-tomato mixture to a large bowl and add the pasta and parmesan cheese and toss.

Stir in half of the chives and half of the reserved cooking water, adding more to loosen, if needed.

Season with salt and pepper and top with more cheese and remaining chives.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Grape tomatoes

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Food Network Magazine

Chicken and Green Bean Salad

I’m a sucker for creamy, rich, mayonaisse-laden chicken salad. I love my own homemade chicken salad the best (which I will share with you one day) but I’ve been known to order fattening chicken salad in a restaurant from time to time. No matter how much I might want to eat it, I really try to watch my mayonaisse intake. Having grown up in Central Illinois where everything is made with mayonaisse, this used to be more of a task than it is now. (My dad used to make his own salad dressing with mayonaisse and sugar – ugh!).

After falling in love with and devouring Cooking Light‘s Avocado Chicken Salad, I couldn’t resist trying the mayo-free Chicken and Green Bean Salad. Steamed green beans are mixed with chicken and grape tomatoes and then tossed in a light mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, whole-grain Dijon mustard, and fresh thyme. If you don’t have whole-grain Dijon, regular Dijon will work (it just won’t look as pretty). The recipe calls for cherry tomatoes but I used grape tomatoes (they are smaller and fit onto the baguette slices better). I also quickly grilled up chicken tenders which I shredded with a fork but using rotisserie or precooked chicken will speed up the preparation. Seasoned with salt and pepper, this chicken salad is a great option to take to a picnic or outdoor event. Serve with toasted baguette slices, whole-grain crackers or over a bed of baby spinach and you’ve got yourself a dish good enough for lunch, dinner or as an easy appetizer. And I bet you won’t even miss the mayonaisse!