Posted by admin on February 4, 2010
I remember being super excited when my Father in law was willing to tell me how to make this recipe. Though I can’t honestly say that mine tastes as good as his, I do strive to get it as close as humanly possible. My husband’s father was Native American and the recipe is from his childhood. Its a favorite at our family gatherings.
2lb red beans
1/2 lb bacon
12-16 cups water
If you don’t know how to cook beans the easiest way to go about it is to pick through the beans to make sure they are not broken, old, or have rocks in them. (You’d be amazed how many times I’ve found rocks, particularly in black beans) Next you want to soak the beans over night in lots of water. I usually just set them on the counter. My parents always put them in the fridge. I personally find that unnecessary and that it takes up valuable space. I buy allot of things like eggs, cheese, fruit, veg, and what not in bulk. Mostly because of all the baking I do. Beans just don’t take priority when there are 7 dozen eggs vying for space. And, I’m off my little tangent.
The next morning you’ll want to drain the water. I do this cause I don’t rinse the beans before putting them in there and you want want to be eating dirt, grit or dust. (There’s a mental image for you, lol) Then you’ll want to put them into the LARGE pot you have on hand. Stock pots work great!! Next throw in the bacon. No need to chop it. My FIL never chopped his so I don’t chop mine. 
See how that works?
Easy peasy right? Next, water.
Aren’t those beans pretty? Now cover and add heat!
Low temp don’t worry it will most definitely get hot enough. I find the the cover makes so that the water does evaporate so quickly. Let it be and cook 4-6 hours.
To be perfectly honest, the crockpot is even better cause there’s no work, watching, chances of scorching if you get busy and forget about it… that is low for 6-8 hours high for 4-6.
For those of us lucky enough to have a fabulous electric pressure cooker I usually halve the recipe, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes with natural release.
Eventually you will have this…
Now, I don’t salt these. I put a shaker on the table because everyone is different in their tastes and sodium in takes.
Now fry bread is exactly how it sounds!
Take your favorite bread dough recipe which I will post mine later. (My data base seems to be down at the moment.) You will want to use a “white flour, yeast” bread dough. Please don’t use a biscuit dough. That is not fry bread. That is a hoe cake! Now I’m not “hating” on hoe cakes. They are quite delicious and if you want one of the most melt in your mouth recipes you want to head over to Southern Plate for Christy Jordan’s recipe, but hoe cakes and fry bread are not the same.
Another thing, wheat flour recipes don’t fry and taste right. I’ve tried. Trust me. Before I forget, you might want to start heating around 2 inches of oil in your frying pan. The temp takes… adjusting. You want the oil hot, but not too hot. If the dough cooks too quick it is left raw in the middle (not good eating) and if it doesn’t cook quickly enough the dough gets saturated in the oil. (again not good eating) I usually take itsy bitsy pieces and drop them in the oil, in seconds it should start to bubble around the dough, then it will float up. If it sinks and stays there your oil isn’t hot enough.
Now, your bread dough. You want to pull off a decent handful.
About like that. Next you want to roll it flat.
And cut it into strips
And then carefully place them in the hot oil. They should bubble at the edges, float and puff up.
It should take a couple minutes. They will turn a golden brown and then you want to flip them. I use a pair of tongs.
I usually take a cookie sheet, place paper towels on it and then a cooling rack on top of that. They don’t usually get to cool. The family usually takes to them as soon as they come out of the pan. ~_^
Posted by admin on August 17, 2009
Okay so as we are moving at the end of the month I’ve been working on keeping things simple.
We’ve been packing like crazy and it takes allot of time and half of my kitchen is in boxes so…
This week:
Sunday - Spaghetti with simple sauce (Jamie Oliver recipe)
Monday - Salmon patties, banana muffins, Rice, pears and cantaloupe
Tuesday - Pasta/rice and Veg. I haven’t really thought this out… Its Hubs has pool league on Tuesday nights so its kind of a “whatever is in the pantry” night with the kids… Maybe I’ll use the left over rice with some bratwurst and make a stir fry. Maybe homemade mac and cheese with broccoli and chicken… (Rachel Ray recipe)
Wednesday - Crockpot Pot Roast(celery, carrots, onion, garlic, tomatoes), smashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits
Thursday - Tacos (you really must try these with dill pickles ~_*)
Friday - Dinner at the Old Spaghetti factory
Saturday - Dinner at My Mother-in-Law’s house for my nieces’ birthdays
Grocery shopping will be either Friday or Saturday. I’m counting on Saturday morning. Usually on Grocery shopping day we have a simple crockpot meal or I pick up a “bake your own pizza” for about 5 dollars at my grocery.
Next week
Sunday - Crockpot Chicken I was thinking of a baked chicken in the crock. Make a foil ring to keep it off the bottom, stuff it with a lemon and some herbs, maybe some roasted veg, etc.
Monday - Leftover chicken shepherd’s pie with home made biscuits
Tuesday - Spaghetti with homemade french bread and green beans
Wednesday - Salmon Patties, Pears, rice and banana muffins (Its a family favorite)
Thursday - Crockpot Baked potato bar (this is the day of the move. I want to make sure its a simple ready made meal) for a great recipe check out recipezzar or A Year of Slow Cooking
Friday - Home made Pizza
Saturday - Crockpot Black bean Nachos
Posted by admin on June 17, 2009
Don’t those pics just make you want to run out a grocery shop?
So I took about 2-3 lbs small red potatoes and quartered them, then I put them in cold water while I did the rest of my prep.
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped
about 1-2 cups frozen green beans, defrosted
1/2 a large onion chopped
1-2 tbsp minced garlic (I used the stuff in the jar this time)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
about 1 tbsp Italian herb blend
about 1-2 tsp salt
and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper (to your taste)
2-3 tomatoes cut into wedges
I put all my chopped veggies into a bowl with the olive oil and seasonings while the oven preheated (400°F). Lined my baking sheets with foil and popped them into the oven for 30-40 minutes. I just poked the potatoes with a fork to test for doneness.
Though my family thinks veggies are evil (yes, even my Hubby) my missionaries just loved this. As did I.
I think next time I’d love it with some asparagus, bok choy cabbage, carrots and squash. I think I’m going t experiment allot more with oven roasted veggies. Its also a great side dish my best friend will love that just happens to be gluten free.
Posted by admin on June 3, 2009
It is soooo hot here. I’m trying to save money like always and cook at home, but I’m also trying to not add extra heat to the interior of my house in the process. So looking around online I found a crockpot recipe for baked potatoes.
Unfortunately the directions say, “Wrap in foil” and ”if you want a crispier skin, pop into the oven for 5 minutes”. My Hubby loves the skin on his potatoes to be crispy. And turning the oven on for 5 minutes defeats the purpose of “crockpot baked potatoes” so I’m thinking to myself the foil makes for a softer skin, keeps the moisture fm the potato next to the skins. Then I’m thinking if the potatoes are on the bottom of the crockpot without the foil the steam will collect on the lid (as it does in a crockpot) and it will drip down and the potatoes will be sitting in their own water (making for a soggy potato skin). The solution is still foil with the addition of a steam rack. I only had a small rack so I needed the foil too.
See the rack? And the ring of foil I used to keep the potatoes up off the bottom of the crock?
They are washed and poked (to release steam) set to high, cover with lid. Cook 4-5 hours.
Now we found “high” for 4 + hours to be a bit over done. Next time I’m going to try them on low and see how long it takes to cook through. But! The skins were crisp on the outside and everything was soft and delicious on the inside. We served this with a Rotisserie Chicken I made in the neat rotisserie gadget my MIL gave me, and with fresh sliced vine ripened tomatoes and quartered english cucumbers.
Tonight I’m going to try making “roasted veggies” in the crockpot. Wish me luck!
Posted by admin on May 18, 2009
So my best friend’s family has had to switch to a gluten free diet for health reasons. Gluten free meals planned on my calendar are for the nights I am expecting her and her children to come over for dinner.
Monday
Chicken and Veggie Pasta
Tuesday
Gluten free dinner: BBQ Lentils and Rice, mandarine oranges and corn
Wednesday
Banana Pancakes, no sugar added applesauce and Turkey Bacon
Thursday
Grocery shopping day: Gluten Free Nachos: Beans cooked in the crockpot, Corn Chips, shredded cheese, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, home made salsa, avocado etc.
Friday
Skillet Salmon, baked potato, green beans and biscuits
Saturday
mac and cheese, hotdogs, fruits and veggies are kids choice
Sunday
Soup! Very likely chicken and/or lentil served over rice
Quick Blender Salsa
Ingredients:
1 Can(s) tomatoes with chilis
1/4 onion
1 Bunch(s) fresh cilantro
1/2 juiced lime
1/2 Teaspoon(s) garlic salt
1 Tablespoon(s) Mrs. Dash garlic and herb
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Directions:
rip a handful of the cilantro off and put in the blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend or pulse to desired consistency.
Tastes even better after its sat in the fridge a while.
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Posted by admin on April 8, 2009
Don’t those pics look SUPER YUMMY?!
So I had some boneless skinless chicken leftover from the missionaries fried chicken dinner. (I’m late posting this) And so I decided to use it up. I heated a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and when it was all cooked through and starting to brown I pulled it form the pan, added a bit more olive oil and then some diced onion and green pepper and a large carrot shredded.I let those cook until soft and added the cans of tomatoes. Then adding about a tablespoon of minced garlic and about a teaspoon of dried oregano. (At this point your whole house smells great!) I re-added the chicken and let it all simmer while I boil the water for the pasta. I used macaroni but you can use what you like. I love macaroni, rotini and seashell pastas. I cook the pasta about 8-10 minutes. I don’t like them over-done. Before draining the pasta I a a couple cooking spoons of pasta water. (they always say on the cook shows that it helps the sauce stick to the pasta. I think it gives the sauce a pretty look, lol)
Posted by admin on April 6, 2009
Monday
Pot Pie made from my leftover chicken soup
Tuesday
Cheesy Rice and Broccoli
Wednesday
Pita experiments. Kids choice sides: fruits and veggies
Thursday
Pasta with chicken (experimental. we’ll see what happens) kids choice side: fruits and veggies
Friday
Mac and cheese with hotdogs kids choice sides: fruits and veggies
Saturday
Dinner at my Mother-in-laws
Sunday
Having the Missionaries over for dinner again.
Crockpot chili verde, home made tortillas, rice, back beans and salad
Posted by admin on March 31, 2009
Monday
Skillet Salmon, mac and cheese and peaches
Tuesday
Breakfast for dinner
Pancakes or french toast (leftovers to go in the freezer for breakfasts), scrambled eggs and fruit
Wednesday
Spaghetti with meatball, home made french bread, salad, green beans, and applesauce
Thursday
Black bean enchilada and salad
Friday
I’m making Shepherd’s Pie and My BFF is bringing corned beef and cabbage cause our missionaries have two very different tastes, and while I will eat corned beef my family will not. I make shepherd’s pie with diced skillet chicken, gravy, corn or green beans and potatoes. My DH and children won’t eat it with tomato sauce, cheese or beef.
Saturday
Nachos;oven baked tortilla chips (considering making these myself), black beans, shredded cheese, olives, rotel tomatoes with chilies, shredded carrots and lettuce. Served with various hot sauces and sour cream
Sunday
Chicken Soup, home made bread and salad (we really crave salads now that spring is here)
Posted by admin on March 26, 2009
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I used a recipe from “Tammy’s Recipes” Blog and we loved it!! Only change I made was adding half a bag of thawed frozen blueberries.
Home Made Bagels
Posted by admin on March 26, 2009
Monday
Lentils and Rice
Tuesday
Cabbage Rolls
Wednesday
Home made Pizza
Thursday
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Friday
Red Beans and Rice
Saturday
Macaroni and Broccoli
Sunday
(we are having our missionaries over for dinner so I’m making “their” family favorites, since they’ve been away from their mother’s cooking for so long)
Boneless skinless fried chicken breast and thighs
baked macaroni and cheese
mashed potatoes and gravy
fried green beans
collard greens and ham hawks
deviled eggs
biscuits
and possibly for dessert a home made banana cream pie
I’ll try to post pics of Sunday Dinner.
