Friday Recipes

Since Monday is Labor Day (and yes, the blog will have new recipes on Monday!), here are recipes that could be used this weekend. Enjoy!

MACARONI AND CHEESE

From another long-forgotten emailing list. Prep Time 5 minutes; Cooking Time 8 minutes; Serves 4

Ingredients

3/4 pound elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

a few dashes Tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni until just done, about 8 minutes. Drain and return to the hot pot.

Put the pot over the lowest possible heat and add the butter, cheese, mustard, Tabasco sauce if using, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese melts, and serve.

BEEF STEW

I tend to be a vegetarian for a variety of reasons. But I wasn't always a vegetarian; I do have fond memories of family gatherings where meat was served. This is one of my creations from years ago when the stew recipes that I'd run across seemed too bland. Granted, this one isn't spicy; for that, I go for spaghetti or chili. This is from my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking. If you have a Kindle or other ereader that handles Kindle stuff, check it out.

2-3 lbs. stewing beef

3 T oil

1 C flour

2 C water

1 onion, chopped

8 oz tomato sauce

6 oz tomato paste

1 T soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

4 carrots, cut up

1 large potato, peeled & cut up

4 T vinegar

3 T honey

salt & pepper

Cut beef into bite-sized pieces. Trim fat & dredge in flour & brown in oil. Add everything except carrots & potato. Cook 15 minutes. Add carrots & cook 15 more minutes. Add potato & cook 30 minutes. Add water as needed. Serve over noodles.

BUSH’S® BEST BLACK BEAN SALAD

This comes from Bush's® Best's emailed newsletter. Check it out for more recipes! This one starts off, “This colorful Black Bean salad is dressed with a light, lime vinaigrette and only takes a few minutes to prepare. Serve with tortilla chips or as a side dish.” Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 0 minutes; Total Time: 15 minutes; Servings: 6 to 8

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz) BUSH'S® Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup diced red onion

1 can (15.25 oz) corn, drained

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

4 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Tortilla chips

Directions

In a small bowl, combine peppers, onion, corn, garlic and cilantro.

Add olive oil, vinegar, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add black beans and toss well.

Serve with tortilla chips.

CREAMY CAULIFLOWER SHELLS AND CHEESE

This comes from The Baker Chick. I absolutely love her emailed newsletter and highly recommend signing up. I'll wait...(Sound of toe tapping.) There.

This recipe, which serves 4 – 6, can be viewed at http://www.thebakerchick.com/2015/08/creamy-cauliflower-shells-and-cheese/.

Ingredients

pasta, cooked al dente and drained. (I used shells but any kind will do)

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets

3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

3 cups of milk

2 cups of white cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot of salted water, boil the cauliflower until super soft, about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk constantly until golden brown. Gradually add the milk and stir until smooth and thickened (about 5 minutes.)

Add the grated cheese, and then salt & pepper to taste. Stir until smooth and creamy.

Using a food processor or blender, pureé the cauliflower until smooth. Or, put the cauliflower florets directly into the cheese sauce and use an immersion blender to pureé the sauce.

Stir in the cooked pasta, tossing until evenly coated.

Turn the sauce/pasta into an 8x8 baking dish. Top with a bit more freshly ground pepper if you have, and bake for 10 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

While cooling, toast the panko in a medium sized skillet with a little bit of olive oil, stirring frequently until golden brown. Sprinkle over the pasta and enjoy!

HERB CHEDDAR SODA BREAD

I love everything about homemade bread – the smell, the taste – everything about it! This yummy bread comes from Elizabeth Yetter, About.com's Bread Baking expert. She writes, “Soda breads are one of the easiest breads to make, although some of the recipes can be a bit plain. Not this recipe for herb and cheese soda bread. It is anything but a Plain Jane. Flavored with delicious cheddar cheese, parsley, and Italian seasoning, this is a great bread to prepare for just about any type of meal.

”The yellow onion and butter are like the icing on the cake. They give the bread an extra boost in flavor that can't be beat. Of course, if you are on a non-dairy diet, you can use vegan butter in place of real butter and you can replace the cheddar cheese with a shredded vegan variety without any sacrifice to flavor. The buttermilk can then be replaced with unsweetened soy or almond milk.

”You can also change up the variety of herbs used in this recipe. For example, you can turn this into a rosemary soda bread by replacing the Italian seasoning with an equal amount of dried, crushed rosemary. A sage bread can be made by replacing the Italian seasoning with powdered dried sage and, instead of fresh parsley, you could add fresh lemon verbena.

”Experiment with different cheese and herb combinations using what you have on hand and let your taste buds lead you to the perfect seasoning combination that you and your family with love. And, if worse comes to worse, you can always feed the birds with the disasters.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Yield: Makes 8 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 cups bread flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped fine

3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup buttermilk, about

Milk and extra cheddar cheese for topping

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, sift together the bread flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sea salt. Cut in the butter. Mix in onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, and cheddar cheese. Slowly add in the buttermilk and mix until a soft dough ball can be formed. Pick dough up with your hands, shape it into a round ball. Place dough ball onto greased sheet and gently flatten top.

Using a knife, carefully cut the dough into eight wedges without separating the wedges. Brush the bread top with milk and spring top with extra cheddar cheese.

Bake bread for 30 minutes or until done. Cool to warm on a wire rack and serve. The bread can be cut into the eight wedges or it can be torn.

FIESTA SLAW

Makes 10 servings. Find online here.

Ingredients

5 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

3 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise

5 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tsp. canned chipotle chilies, rinsed, drained and chopped

1 Tbsp. honey

1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 large green bell pepper, cut into thin

1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips

12 oz. jicama, peeled, cut into thin strips

1/3 cup (packed) fresh cilantro leaves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Puree first 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor until dressing is smooth.

Place peppers, jicama and cilantro in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to mix and coat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until the vegetables soften a little but remain crunchy. (About 4 hours.)

Serve at room temperature.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving): Calories: 42; Protein: 1 g; Sodium: 42 mg; Fat: under 1 g; Carbohydrates: 9 g; Exchanges: 2 Vegetable