Crock Pot Southwestern Three-Bean Stew with Delicious Toppings

It's been said a million times before, but I'll say it again for good measure: Slow cookers are are a busy person's best friend. With a teeny bit of planning and an idea or two, you can have dinner hot and ready for you when you come in the door at night. Though the charming Stephanie O'Dea (better known as the Crock Pot Lady of Crockpot 365) has found a way to cook nearly anything you can think of in her slow cookers, and I do love her recipes, I still think there are a few things that are especially good when cooked all day long, and both beans and stews are on this list.

This stew has pinto beans, chickpeas and 2 types of lentils, but black beans, navy beans, black eyed peas or almost any other bean would also be delicious.

This seems like a ton of ingredients, but if you keep yourself stocked in spices, the odds are pretty good that you will have just about everything on hand. Also keep in mind that you can buy "bean soup mixes" of assorted beans, so my measurements on the bean front might be totally irrelevant. All the better (and easier) for you! So this is totally open to adaptation. I also ended up adding some red pepper flakes at the very end because I was afraid of throwing in too much cayenne earlier in the day. And there's always Sriracha!

For this recipe you will need a 2 or 3 qt crock pot, and some understanding of how it cooks. Some machines will need slightly more or less liquid for a similar effect based on temperature and the fit of the lid, but I would say as long as you've used yours a few times, you should have a good sense of this. This recipe seems to make about 3 servings.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dry chickpeas

1/4 cup dry pinto beans

1/4 cup brown lentils

1/4 cup red lentils

1 medium red potato, cubed-ish

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp taco seasoning, or 1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt, seasoned or regular

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1 envelope Saizon seasoning, cilantro and anchiote, made by Goya

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 jalapeno, diced and seeded

1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth (subject to the behavior of your machine)

Cheese for topping (optional, but I used Monterrey jack)

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Fresh cilantro, to taste, torn

Tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:

1. The Day Before: Rinse, and soak beans in refrigerator, allowing plenty of room for them to expand (about 30% more space) and covering with at least two inches of water. Soak for 12-24 hours, changing the water at least twice in this period.

2. Place beans, spices, jalapeno, potato, garlic, and water or broth in the crock pot, and cook on "low" for about 9 hours. 

3. When beans are tender, serve and top with green onion, cheese and cilantro. Bonus points if you also serve tortilla chips for scooping.

The whole point of the crock pot is that you don't have to be home to check on it, but if you are, checking once in the afternoon will give you a better sense of how long it will really take. You can bump it up to "high" for a brief period if you need to, since most machines estimate that 1 hour on high is about equivalent to 2 1/2 hours on low. Handy! Though I don't recommend cooking it on "high" the whole time, since everything will get a bit mushy.

My verdict on this is "Good," but to me not great, since I think it could have used a bit more spice, but this is easily remedied. Use your favorite spices or try new ones, but if you ask me, the cheese and cilantro are crucial. Try this soup with some sliced avocado on top. Yum!

Quote of the Day: Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top. ~ Edward Abbey

Red Lentil Salad with Lemony Couscous & Avocado

In one distinct way, I am a very "granola" person: I am a freak for lentils. I love them as a side dish, in soups and salads, or cooked forever and mashed into a dip/spread. I am a big fan of beans in general, and lentils are among the most nutritious of them, beating out even my other favorite (chickpeas) for more protein and less fat per serving. The fat content in beans is nearly negligible, but whatever. I still love lentils. And granola.

The balsamic vinegar in the dressing conceals the natural red color of the lentils somewhat.

This lentil salad recipe is my attempt to mechanize a very odds-and-ends dish that I've tossed together approximately one zillion times. (This is the first time I've used red lentils instead of your basic brownish green variety, which will cook for more like 20-30 minutes instead of 5-10.) You can use basically any vegetables that you want to in this salad. Cucumber and celery are both good, as are fresh herbs, and you could also add Feta, which I sometimes do. Cherry tomatoes really are better for the salad format, but if you just don't have any around (I didn't) plum tomatoes are dandy too. And if couscous isn't your bag, you could serve this on a bed of baby spinach, which is equally delicious:

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils, rinsed, any debris discarded

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

3/4 cup bell pepper, any color, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, or 2-3 plum tomatoes diced and seeded

1/2 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1/2 - 1 avocado, sliced lengthwise
Handful of baby spinach (optional)

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

3/4 cup couscous

3/4 cup water or reduced-sodium vegetable broth

The zest and juice of 1 lemon (a little pulp in the juice is ok)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil over medium heat, and add lentils. Stir to separate and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes. (You want them tender to the bite, but not soft. Soft lentils are great for spreads, etc, but when their destination is a salad, you want to preserve more of the bean's structural integrity.)

2. When lentils are tender to the bite, drain and allow to mostly cool at room temperature, then cover and chill for at least 1 hour. (See Cook's Note)

3. In a large bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. Add green onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and any other veggies you're using.

4. Add lentils to bowl, and gently combine with dressing and veggies. Pour onto serving dish or serve individually, over the couscous, and top with sliced avocado.

Couscous Directions:

5. In your medium sauce pan, bring water or broth, lemon juice and lemon zest to a boil. 

6. In a medium bowl, combine couscous and salt. (If you are using regular-sodium broth, you may want to omit the salt).

7. Pour boiling broth over couscous and allow to sit 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork before serving. 

Cook's Note: This time of year I like to cook my lentils and then chill them before making this salad. You can also do the warm-lentils-cool-veggies thing, but I think a similar effect is created with the cool salad and warm couscous. This makes about 4 servings.

 7 steps seems like a lot to me, because I'm lazy, but as you can see this is super easy and definitely not time-consuming. And so yummy! The salad can easily be a make-ahead, and would be delicious for lunch in a pita pocket, which is extra nice. I'm definitely looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Of course, the avocado doesn't travel so well, but even without it this is a tasty, fill-you-up-and-keep-you-going meal.

Quote of the Day: Magnesium is Nature's own calcium channel blocker. When enough magnesium is around, veins and arteries breathe a sigh of relief and relax... Want to literally keep your heart happy? Eat lentils. ~ WHFoods.com

Veggie Week: Arugula & Alfalfa Sprout Salad with Chickpeas, Walnuts & Strawberries

The leftover alfalfa lurking in my refrigerator leftover from this heavenly sandwich endeavor conspired with the peak of strawberry season (at least here in Philadelphia) to inspire this salad. I won't lie, I bought two 1-lb boxes of beautiful strawberries at the store this afternoon, and currently there is exactly one box residing in my kitchen. But when they're this good, why resist?

Look at all that delicious biodiversity.

This salad is just as the title describes it, with just the sliced yellow and pale green parts of a green onion tossed in. I made a vinaigrette with canola oil (yep, I forgot to get olive oil at the store) and lime juice with a dash of salt and pepper. 


And about 3/4 lb of strawberries for dessert.


Quote of the Day #2: This special feeling we have towards fruit, its glory and abundance, is I would say universal... We respond to strawberry fields or cherry orchards with a delight that a cabbage patch or even an elegant vegetable garden cannot provide. ~ Jane Grigson

Aunt Lauren's Fruit & Nut Quinoa

The basis for this recipe came from my Aunt Lauren, an inspiring, hilarious woman and fabulous cook, whom I very much admire. Her "non-recipe," as she called it, requires cooked quinoa, celery, dried apricots, a bit of sliced green onion all dressed with a vinaigrette of fresh lemon juice, a touch of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, topped with a sprinkling of slivered almonds. Sounds good, right? I thought so too, especially after reading the final step: "Fight off the interlopers who want to eat your share!"

I've never tasted Lauren's original version, so this all a bit fly-by-night, but that's kind of my MO. So here it is:

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa 

2 ribs celery, finely chopped to minced

about 10 dried apricots, finely chopped

2 tsp green onion, thinly sliced

slivered almonds, about 1/2 cup

about 2 tbsp olive oil

the juice of 1 lemon, about 3 tbsp

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, 1 tbsp of the olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Gradually add more olive oil, to taste, to mitigate tartness.

2. In a large bowl, stir together quinoa, celery, apricots and green onion.

3. Add about half of the dressing, and toss. Gradually add dressing until it is dressed to your liking. (I had just a little left over, which would have been too much).

This was definitely tasty, and an incredibly easy, light summer dinner. It would be very easy to throw together if you had some cooked quinoa in the fridge, but I did not and it still took less than 30 minutes. The fresh, slightly tart dressing is just the thing to brighten up the quinoa and bring out the sweetness of the apricots. I think this would also be delicious with one of my personal faves, dried apples.

You should probably prepare for some interlopers.

Quote of the Day: Eating is really one of your indoor sports. You play three times a day, and it's well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible. ~ Dorothy Draper

Hot-Sweet Shrimp Skewers and Minted White Bean Salad

This meal, like many that happen in my apartment, began with a recipe from EatingWell.com. And, like almost all of those meals, I edited a few things.

 The bean salad recipe calls for fresh sage and oregano, which besides being difficult to locate (understatement) in our local grocery store, I didn't imagine I would have much later use for. So I made the bean salad with some fresh chopped mint leaves, left out the tomato, and added a chopped radish instead. You could use chickpeas instead of the cannellini beans, or a mix of the two. This really couldn't be easier. My recipe serves two:

Ingredients:

1 can cannellini beans, or about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans

1 small handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 large rib of celery, finely chopped

1 radish, finely chopped

1 tsp. lemon juice

Olive oil

White wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Mix everything in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or as long as overnight.

For the shrimp (I cooked about 25, 5-per skewer), I made a sweet-spicy sauce. These measurements are all approximate, so definitely tweak it as you see fit.

Ingredients:

1 tsp dried cilantro

2 tsp sesame ginger salad dressing

1/2 tsp lemon or lime juice

Sriracha, to taste - I used about 1/2 tsp

1 tsp honey

25 shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

1. Combine all, and mix with shrimp. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

2. Skewer shrimp and grill until cooked through.

 I used my George Foreman Grill, which was a little awkward with the length of the skewers, but it all worked out fine. I did have to rearrange the skewers to make sure they were cooking evenly, but the whole grilling process only took about 6 minutes.

I served the bean salad and shrimp with some warm bulgur wheat. The shrimp came out nicely spicy-sweet, the bean salad was light and summery, and might even be better the day after. There were no leftovers tonight, so I can't say for sure!


Quote of the Day: Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~ Marcelene Cox

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I've seen recipes like this one floating around out there on the internets, so I figured I could kind of fake it. This approach worked much better than with last night's quinoa burgers.

That said, I'm not sure just how Thai these really are. For me, they are a fresh twist on one of my all-time favorite foods, the taco. Plus, as you might have noticed, cilantro, lime, and Sriracha are some of my favorite flavors, and I welcome any opportunity to use them.

This recipe happens to be very low-carb, which may be appealing to you, and if you pay attention to what soy sauce you are using, it is also gluten-free. Sriracha is apparently gluten free, and while many brands make gluten-free varieties of soy sauce, every one produced by La Choy brand is gluten free. Still, if this is a concern, read your labels to be sure.

I served this with hot brown rice, which you will cook according to package directions. You could also use quinoa or something similar.

Ingredients:

4 whole leaves of Romaine, Boston, or Butter lettuce, washed

1/3 - 1/2 lb ground turkey

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 peanuts, chopped

1 handful fresh cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped

2 green onion, thinly sliced, or about 1 tbsp. chopped chives

1/4 - 1/2 tsp sriracha, plus more for serving

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp lime juice

2 tsp soy sauce

Canola oil

Directions:

1. In a medium to large frying pan, saute pan or wok, drizzle a bit of canola oil. Over medium heat, brown your turkey, breaking apart with a spatula.

2. Meanwhile, you can arrange your topping ingredients - your cilantro, chives, peanuts, and red onion - in small bowls for serving, if you wish. This is also a good time to wash your lettuce leaves. (We used two Romaine leaves each.)

3. In a small bowl or glass (okay, I used a jar) combine your lime juice, garlic, and soy sauce.

4. When turkey is cooked turn off the heat and drain the meat of excess oil, except for about 2 teaspoons. Pour in your lime juice mixture, add the carrot and bell pepper, and mix to combine before transferring to a serving platter.

This would be a fun dish to serve at a party with friends, or with family, if your family is sort of fun and not afraid of mess and/or Asian food. I think you could also use fish sauce, or basically any other Asian sauce in your lime juice mixture. A little sesame oil would also be good. (Since I don't know exactly what "Thai" is, I can't act like I won't use potentially foreign ingredients in these wraps in the future.)

 Basically, you should make these. They're fresh, yummy, easy to make and fun to assemble. Also, you could very easily pack this as a take-along lunch: just keep your turkey mixture separate from your lettuce, and pack a little container or baggie of mixed toppings, and as long as you're not trying to eat it in the car or something crazy, you're good to go. You might skip the rice unless you are able to heat it up come lunchtime, but I think the turkey would be just as good cold. Tah-dah!

Quote of the Day: Lettuce is like conversation; it must be fresh and crisp, so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it. ~ Charles Dudley Warner 

Grilled Chicken & Polenta with Nectarine-Blackberry Salsa

"Grilled," in my case, means grilled in a grill pan on my stove, but if you're the outdoor-grilling kind, this would be equally tasty cooked al fresco.

I got this recipe from EatingWell.com, and except for cutting the whole thing in half, I really didn't change it. I just added a little green onion and upped the fruit ratio from two nectarines for four servings to two for two, and added about 6 or 8 raspberries, since they are one of my all-time favorite foods, and also a berry, so why not. I don't know what "coarsely chopped" means when it comes to berries, so I just sliced them in half vertically, and that worked out just dandy.

Yum.

I found the instructions from the original recipe to be written in kind of a confusing way, so here's my redo:

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 nectarines, halved and pitted

1/2 tube of plain prepared polenta

1/3 pint of blackberries, and a palm-full of raspberries

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. lime juice

about 1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 green onion, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

Hot sauce, to taste (I used 1/2 tsp Sriracha)

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, and a bit of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the mixture on polenta, and both sides of the chicken. Then cut the polenta into discs, about 1/2 inch thick, and rub a little olive oil on the cut side of the nectarines.

2. Place the chicken, polenta slices and nectarines on the grill, or in your grill pan. [If you are using a real-life grill, you should oil the grill rack before doing this.] Grill the polenta until hot and slightly charred, 3-4 minutes, then transfer it to a plate and tent it with tin foil to keep polenta warm. Grill the nectarines, turning occasionally, until tender, 6-8 minutes total. Grill the chicken until cooked and no longer pink inside, 6-8 minutes per side. Transfer chicken and nectarines to a cutting board. Coarsely chop the nectarines. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then slice.

3. While the chicken rests, combine the lime juice, hot sauce, and a bit of salt in a large or medium bowl. Then add the chopped nectarines, blackberries, cilantro, and green onion. Gently combine.

4. Serve chicken and polenta on a platter with salsa over the top, or individually.

I have to be honest about a couple of things. For one, my nectarines were tiny jerks. They were definitely ripe. They were slightly soft to the squeeze, fragrant, colorful... ripe. But when it came to giving up those pits, they were totally unwilling. So I ended up quartering my nectarines, in favor of mushing them into a pulp trying to remove the pits. I can't imagine that this made much of a difference to the dish, but still. Full disclosure. Also, because I know my taste, I used more cilantro - maybe 1 3/4 tbs instead of 1. I served this dish with just a little bit of green salad, but with all the fruit, you almost don't really need it.

This fruit salsa was super, super delicious. The combination of sweet and just the tiniest bit spicy is a fantastic combination. I would make this again with a variety of other main dishes. Also, grilling nectarines is a brilliant idea! (It wasn't my idea, so I can say that). Sometime soon I will serve warm grilled nectarines with whipped cream. And someday I will try the salsa sans the Sriracha and onion over waffles for a weekend breakfast. (Wow, that's a really exciting idea...)

I know that a grill pan isn't the same as the real deal, but if you don't have access to a grill, you should really consider getting one of these pans. You can get those satisfying grill marks, create crispy skin on your chicken and blacken veggie kabobs with the best of them. For this dish, the pan made a huge difference. Happy grilling!

Quote of the Day: Grilling is like sunbathing. Everyone knows it is bad for you but no one ever stops doing it. ~ Laurie Colwin, 'Home Cooking' (1988)

Cheese Ravioli with Fresh Tomato & Artichoke Sauce

You won't hear this on your local news, but the planet is hurdling towards the sun, Philadelphia-first. Or at least it feels that way. It has topped 90 degrees already in the last two days, and we have a hot weekend ahead, which makes me grateful for tasty dinner recipes that require very little actual cooking time. Especially because we haven't installed our air conditioner yet. Gross.

 Ingredients:

about 1 lb Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

about 6 oz of quartered, marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, thoroughly smashed

9 oz-ish package of cheese ravioli (we used three-cheese agnolotti)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the ravioli according to package directions, and drain.

2. While the pasta cooks, combine tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onion, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and about a pan-turn's worth of olive oil in a medium to large skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until veggies are heated through.

3. In a large bowl, toss the ravioli or agnolotti with a bit more olive oil. Add half the tomato sauce, and stir CAREFULLY to combine pasta and sauce.

4. Serve pasta and top with remaining sauce. If serving family-style, do the same on a serving platter.

As I was getting ready to serve this, I wished I'd had some fresh basil on hand. Next time I will chop some and sprinkle it over the pasta just before serving. With a little Parmesan instead, it was still very tasty.

The only part of this recipe that takes any time is the peeling, chopping and seeding of tomatoes, and as long as you cook your pasta with the lid on, you won't mind making this light, fresh, yummy dish on a warm evening. This made just the right amount for the two of us.

Quote of the Day: "A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins." ~ Laurie Colwin

Odds-And-Ends Salad with Chickpeas & Other Good Things

Yesterday was another marathon day, but since today was my "day off" (full of laundry, reading, homework, and all of that other fun stuff) I took the opportunity to sleep in a bit. I always think that I will enjoy sleeping late  - if you can call 9:15 late - but the older I get the more I find that it totally disrupts my sense of what time it is, what day it is, even what I want to eat that day.

But by about 12 pm, I was starving. Honestly, I probably would have eaten anything.

Rummaging around in the vegetable drawer, I found about a cup of cooked (from dry!) chickpeas, half a zucchini, a big tomato, some fresh parsley and green onion. I almost added red grapes, but decided against it. With some feta that I had honestly forgotten was there (apparently it keeps until October?), oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and a few baby spinach greens, this was a pretty tasty lunch. Much better than the "anything" I would have settled for.

Quote of the Day: “Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.” ~ Doug Larson