Greek Green Beans

Greek Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped tomato (I used several sliced mini San Marzanos)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and saute the green beans, garlic and bell pepper until the beans are tender and starting to turn a little brown in spots.  Stir in the tomato and cook 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the vinegar, parsley, oregano and mustard and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Top with the feta just before serving.

YUM!  Excellent with Grilled or Roasted Chicken!

Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Potato Wedges

3-4 large russet potatoes, cut into wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to 375^F.  Lightly grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

Place potato wedges in a large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle the potato wedges with the Parmesan cheese and toss again to coat.  Sprinkle with the remaining ingredients and toss once more to evenly coat the wedges.

Place the potato wedges, skin side down, on the baking sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and golden.

Pineapple Num Num

2 cans pineapple tidbits, drained

1 cup sugar

5 tbsp flour

1-1/2 cups shredded cheese (give or take)

1 tubs Ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick melted butter

Butter a casserole.  Heat oven to 350^F.  Mix the pineapple with the sugar and flour and put the mixture into the casserole dish.  Top with cheese.  Mix the Ritz crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle over the cheese.  Bake 1/2 hour.

Awesome!!  This is one of my absolute all-time favorites.  It's terrific with anything Pork and is always a hit at Pot Lucks!  

From Carol Noles

The BEST Broccoli

1 package frozen broccoli florets
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 3 or 4 pieces

Place the frozen broccoli in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle the soy sauce over it.  Microwave on high for 6-8 minutes, or until broccoli is crisp tender.  Remove from the microwave, add the butter and stir until it melts.

The BEST broccoli ever!  My personal favorite!

Black Beans and Rice

2 cans Black Beans
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup catsup
1 tablespoon diced pickled jalapenos
Hot, cooked Rice

Pour the black beans into a large skillet.  Add the cumin, catsup and jalapenos and stir until well combined.  Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve the beans over the hot rice.  I like them with a dollop of sour cream.  Delicious, quick and easy.

Option 1:  Add 1/2 cup meat drippings from Roast Pork.  My favorite!
Option 2:  Saute a small chopped onion in a bit of bacon grease until translucent, before adding the beans to the skillet and proceeding as listed above.  Add some chopped bell pepper to the onions if you wish.
Option 3:  Substitute 1/2 cup Salsa for the jalapenos.

Pineapple Fried Rice

3 tablespoons lite soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup diced ham
3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
1 can (20-oz) pineapple tidbits, drained
2 green onions, sliced

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat.  Add garlic, onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the corn, peas and ham and cook, stirring constantly until the vegetables are tender, about 3-4 minutes.    Stir in the rice, pineapple, green onions and soy sauce mixture and cook until heated through and well mixed, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

This was really good with the Island Pork Tenderloin I made tonight.  My husband considers Fried Rice a side dish, but this would be good for dinner all by itself!  I have to say though that the sauce from the Pork Tenderloin is what made this rice dish so good!

Adapted from a recipe found on Pinterest that linked to this blog:
http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/25/pineapple-fried-rice/

Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

1/2 cup butter
4 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tsp minced fresh parsley

Cook butter in a 2-qt. heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or just until butter begins to turn golden brown. Immediately remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a small bowl. (Butter will continue to darken if left in saucepan.) Remove and reserve 1 to 2 Tbsp. browned butter.

Bring potatoes, salt, and enough water to cover the potatoes to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat; boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Reduce heat to low. Return potatoes to Dutch oven, and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes or until potatoes are dry.

Mash potatoes with a potato masher to desired consistency. Stir in remaining browned butter, buttermilk, pepper, and more salt, if needed, stirring just until blended.

Transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle with reserved 1 to 2 Tbsp. browned butter. Garnish, if desired.

Note: To make ahead, prepare recipe as directed through Step 3. Place in a lightly greased 2 1/2-qt. ovenproof serving dish; cover and chill up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Drizzle with reserved brown butter, and garnish, if desired.

This is a Southern Living recipe and it's very tasty!  The recipe also called for regular milk, but I omitted it, because I like my mashed potatoes thick and kind of lumpy. 

Easy Spanish Rice

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
2 tsps chicken bouillon granules
2 cups water
1 cup chunky salsa

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the rice and cook until it's translucent, stirring frequently.  Add the bouillon granules, water and salsa.  Stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 20 minutes without taking the lid off.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered for about 5 minutes before serving.

Ridiculously easy Spanish Rice!  Tasty too, though I personally think it needs more spice so next time I'll add some jalapeno!  From allrecipes.com

Cathy's Macaroni and Cheese

I may be biased, but my family's recipe for Macaroni and Cheese is the BEST Mac and Cheese I have ever eaten. Period.

Macaroni and Cheese

16-oz box elbow macaroni
Cheese, shredded - lots of it
Butter, 1/4 to 1/2 cup
Milk or Half and Half, or a combination
Garlic Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Cook the macaroni in boiling, salted water as directed on the package to al dente (or the minimum amount of time listed in the cooking instructions).

Butter a casserole dish or a 9x13" pan and leave the rest of the butter in the pan, cut in chunks. Drain the macaroni and pour into the buttered pan. Season to taste with the garlic salt and pepper. 

Stir in the cheese. You must use at least 2 cups of shredded cheddar. We always throw in a couple of handfuls of whatever other kind of cheese we have on hand. Do NOT skimp on the cheese!  Here's what it should look like.  This is about 2 cups of shredded Velveeta and 2 cups of shredded Sharp Cheddar. 

Stir the cheese into the macaroni and level it out.

Pour in enough milk to come to the top of the macaroni. 

 Now, stir it around and level it out again. The milk should be just under the top layer of elbows.  Like this:

Bake about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let set 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  

This is excellent as is, or you can add cubes of just about any kind of cooked meat - smoked sausage and ham cubes are my favorites.  Or bacon.  Bacon is always good!  

Delicious!

Note:  I used Shredded Velveeta in this batch and I didn't like it as much.  It was good...but it tasted like Velveeta.  John liked it.  I prefer real cheese and preferably a combination of mild and sharp Cheddar plus a little shredded Swiss or Jack.  

Baked Pineapple Casserole

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 pinch cinnamon, optional

1 pinch ground cloves or nutmeg, optional

5-6 slices bread, torn

1 (20-oz) can crushed pineapple with juice

Preheat the oven to 350^F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in cinnamon, cloves, bread and pineapple until well combined. Pour into the casserole dish and bake 60 minutes or until lightly browned.

I love this dish and it's perfect served with the ham!

Black Beans and Yellow Rice with Fresh Tomato Relish

Tomato Relish:

2 large, ripe tomatoes, diced

1 tbsp minced red onion

1 tbsp minced cilantro

2-3 tsp lime juice

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Yellow Rice:

2.5 cups water

2 tbsp butter

11 oz can Mexicorn

10 oz pkg Vigo Yellow Rice mix

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp minced cilantro

Black Beans:

2 cans Black Beans

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp catsup

1 heaping Tbsp diced pickled jalapenos

Sour cream, if desired

Combine Tomato Relish ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Cover and chill for 2
hours.

About 1/2 hour before serving, bring water, butter and Mexicorn to boil over high heat in a medium sized saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Stir in yellow rice mix, cumin, chili powder and cilanto and boil 1 minute. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low and cook 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

In the meantime, combine beans, cumin, tomato paste, catsup, and jalapenos and heat, stirring often, over medium heat until thoroughly hot.

Spoon yellow rice mixture onto plate, top with beans, a spoonful of the tomato relish and a dollop of sour cream.

This was absolutely the best Yellow Rice and Black Beans I've ever made! Really good! And
it was really pretty to look at!