Quick Black Bean Soup

QUICK BLACK BEAN SOUP

I usually make this with leftover roast beef but it is good with ground beef too.  Its like a gourmet chili.  I like it with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Ingredients:

2 cans black beans (or whatever you like)
1 can beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
         minced garlic
         1/2 tsp thyme
         1/2 tsp cumin
one potato, peeled and diced
one carrot, grated or diced
leftover meat (ground beef, roast beef, chicken) or make it vegetarian.


Directions:

In a big pot, combine:

Beans (drained)
1 can beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
spices to taste.

     Get that cooking, and add in peeled diced potato (about 1/2 inch cubes), 1 grated carrot, and your leftover meat.  Let it simmer until the potato is tender (about 25 minutes).  Serve with cornbread and honey.

This should be enough for two.

Salsa

Home Made Salsa


1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2 T chopped fresh Cilantro
1 tsp lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce

Serve with chips or Mexican food.

Garlic Sriacha Chicken

GARLIC SRIRACHA CHICKEN



1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Sriracha sauce
2 T minced garlic
6 chicken breasts

Combine all in a ziploc bag. marinate one hour. grill, fry or bake.

I would serve with rice and peas

or instant mashed potatoes and salad

Ground Beef Week

Ground Beef Week

Purchase about 2 lb of the best burger you can afford.  brown it and add taco seasoning mix. Let it cool and divide it into 4-5 portions.  Refrigerate until needed. It also freezes well at this stage.

Meal 1:  Tostadas (shells, refried beans, meat, cheese, shredded cabbage instead of lettuce)

Meal 2:  Rice Bowl (rice, meat, corn, cheese, salsa, chopped onion, cabbage)

Meal 3:  Burritos (leftover refried beans, meat, corn, cheese, salsa).

Meal 4:  Black Bean Soup with bread or cornbread (should be leftovers for lunch) See recipe in this blog.

Meal 5: (if there is still meat left, bake two potatoes, when done, open them up and top with meat and cheese).
             or "dressed up leftovers"*

shopping list:

2 lb ground beef                     1 envelope taco seasoning             corn (canned or frozen)
cheese                                    Tostada shells (the flat ones)
a potato  (or 3)                        flour tortillas
a carrot                                   2 cans black beans
salsa or recipe (in blog)           1 can beef broth
small head cabbage                 1 can tomatoes
onion




*Dressed up leftovers: (cabbage rolls)
Dip whole cabbage leaves in boiling water until pliable (about a minute).
Spoon leftovers (meat, rice, veggies, cheese, etc.) in small blobs onto the end of the leaf and roll it up.
Make as many as you can with what you have leftover.
place in greased baking dish or skillet and sprinkle with cheese. cook in oven until heated.

Chicken week

Chicken for a week (almost)

This post is meant to be a guide to cooking on a budget, when you have to ride the bus or walk or ride a bike to the grocery store.  Normally I would recommend eating more variety in a week, but one could start out freezing some of the meals to mix in with another week.

Purchase some chicken - 8-10 chicken thighs or legs, or 4-5 leg-thigh joints.

Cook them all at once.  Either put them in a cast iron skillet, season with salt and pepper and curry powder and saute til cooked through ... or cook them in the oven at 350 degrees.

Set aside some of the broccoli and carrots for fried rice later in the week.

meal 1:    Roasted chicken, steamed rice (make extra), steamed carrots.

meal 2:    leftover chicken with 3 ingredient pasta and steamed broccoli (should be leftovers for lunch)

meal 3:    Fried rice (with extra rice from meal 1) with cut up chicken, carrots, garlic, broccoli, egg, etc.

meal 4:     Chicken soup and cornbread or Focacia or
                Salad with bread and cheese

meal 5:     treat yourself to dinner out - carry out Chinese?

shopping list:
chicken
rice
pasta
1 lb fresh carrots
fresh broccoli
frozen peas for fried rice and soup if possible
eggs
Parmesan
soy sauce
soup: canned tomatoes, beans, chicken broth or
salad: Romaine, tomato, cheese, dressing

3 ingredient peanut butter cookies

Peanut butter cookies

1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter

Get out your mixing bowl and turn the oven to 350.
whisk your egg well
add one cup sugar and stir that
add the peanut butter and stir until its all mixed together.

make smallish balls of dough and set them on your cookie sheet.  not too close together.
If you want to get fancy roll them in sugar first.
criss-cross the tops with a fork to make them authentic.

Depending on the size, bake 6-10 minutes.  Let them cool a bit before you take them off the cookie sheet as they are quite fragile when they first come out of the oven.

Try not to eat them all in one day.

Coffee Cup diner in Hillsdale MI

SUN TEA

A glass pitcher or mason jar (at least a quart)

4 teabags

water

Fill your glass container with water.  dunk in 4 tea bags.  place in the sun.  It should look like tea in an hour or so.  Add ice and sugar if you like it sweet.

Now sit in the sunshine and have a glass of iced tea. 

Hallelujah Biscuit

Hallelujah Biscuit

2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter, diced in smallish pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk (or regular milk, possibly rice milk is ok) a little more if its too dry.

I mixed all but the buttermilk first, then added buttermilk and stirred.  I actually kneaded it a little to make sure everything was incorporated into the dough (no dry floury spots).  form into one large biscuit.

Heat the oven to 450 while you're mixing up the biscuit.

Melt a couple of T's of butter in cast iron skillet, then put in your biscuit dough.  Flatten it a little so it cooks evenly. (my first try was doughy in the center).  Bake 12 minutes, check it for doneness.

+ eat like a big scone with butter and jam; or
serve with chili or spaghetti or vegetable soup.

*you could also make it into four smaller biscuits and cook a little less time. A little less impressive maybe but could be a  little more convenient?