Tag Archives: sides

Green Beans with Honey-Mustard Glaze

I love the produce section at the store in the summer because seeing bin after bin of $0.25 summer fruit and vegetables gets me slightly giddy.  And even better, the produce is usually locally grown.  I live in New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia, and in the summers, markets and farm stands go crazy with tons of locally grown produce that you just can’t beat.  Signs everywhere scream “Jersey Tomatoes!” or “Jersey Corn!”  I bypassed both of these this weekend and instead headed for some locally grown green beans which I scooped up by the handful.  I didn’t really have anything particular in mind when I bought these so I can home, scanned my recipes and made Green Beans with Honey-Mustard Glaze.

Fresh green beans are boiled until bright green, cooled, and tossed in a simple glaze of honey, rice vinegar and mustard seeds.  The result was perfectly cooked sweet and tangy green beans.  I have to admit though, as I was making this glaze, I thought Why in the world did I want to make this recipe?  Smothering a vegetable in sticky honey isn’t really the most healthy way to eat, right?  I ended up only using about a third (if not less) of the glaze on these beans (because either I didn’t make enough green beans or too much glaze was made) and actually, they were tasty.  But I was still disappointed, mostly in myself.  This is a typical case of me being too busy worrying about if I liked the ingredients in a recipe, rather than if I would like the end product.   I like honey in my tea and on my biscuits.  Not my vegetables.  And especially not my locally grown vegetables.  Consider my wrist slapped.

The ingredients:

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil and drop in the green beans.  Cook uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Drain.

Dry the saucepan and return it to the stove.  Toast the mustard seeds over low heat just until they pop, about 1 minute, stirring to prevent scorching.

Add the honey and vinegar and cook until the sauce boils and becomes syrupy.

Add the green beans and toss.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  So-So

Source:  Real Simple Magazine

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

Chipotle-Garlic Edamame

The first time I ate edamame was about five years ago at a cute sushi place in the middle of Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. I’m not much of a sushi person so when my friends would pony up to the counter for what could easily become our only meal of the day, I typically would get a bowl of white sticky rice with soy sauce. After seeing how my friends would devour the edamame, I tried it. And now I think it’s just as addicting as potato chips yet so much better for you! If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I don’t mind my mouth being on fire after eating a meal on occasion. This Chipotle-Garlic Edamame is hot, spicy, and completely addictive. Normally I eat edamame with a little sea salt or soy sauce so this addition of chipotle and garlic is wonderfully different. Minced chipotle peppers and garlic are cooked in a little olive oil with cumin, giving the oil an immensely smoky flavor which coats the edamame. Be prepared to lick your fingers with these and keep a drink of something cold nearby!

The ingredients:

Prepare the edamame according to package directions (either in the microwave or in boiling water). Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan with the minced chipotle pepper, garlic and ground cumin.

Add cooked edamame to the pan and cook until the garlic has softened and the pods are coated.

Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper before serving.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Food and Wine Magazine

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