Black Bean Soup

Black bean soup is a staple in our home.  It is thick and satisfying, rich in fiber, low fat, big in flavor and it really sticks to your ribs.  That is an important factor when you are feeding four teenagers.  One more little perk for me is that this is a super cheap meal.  The board of ingredients is mostly chopped veggies.     

I am using chopped red pepper, tomato, onion, jalapeno, carrot and celery.  A clove of garlic would be a great addition if you were so inclined. 

I soaked the beans overnight.  I just rinsed the beans and tossed them in a bowl.  {I love this bowl.}  I added enough boiling water to cover the beans, covered the bowl with a plate and let them rest on the counter until the next morning.  You could make this soup with a couple cans of black beans.  I do that on a regular basis, but soaking your own beans saves money as well as a ton of sodium.  Canned beans are salted.  These aren't.  So this is a healthy thing for your body as well as your wallet.   

Add a drizzle of olive oil to a stock pot over medium high heat.  Sorry for the blurry picture, but you get the idea right? 




Add the chopped vegetables to the pot. 

Add a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. 

Stir everything together and give the vegetables time to cook down.  You are essentially concentrating the flavors of the vegetables. 

Stir the vegetables every once in a while.  Cook them til the vegetables are tender and the onions are translucent. 

Add the cumin, another pinch of salt and the paprika. 

Add the black beans.  My flash made them look purple! 

Add enough chicken stock to cover the beans.

Stir everything in the pot...

Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil.  When the soup boils, reduce it to a simmer and cook until the beans are very tender, about thirty minutes.

The soup is now done.  You can dish it up and eat away.  Or...

You can blend the soup into a velvety smooth texture.

I am using an immersion blender, but you could use a blender or food processor and blend the soup in batches. 

Blend the soup until you reach a consistency you like.  We like our soup thick with a little bit of texture. 

Time to eat!

To garnish your bowl of soup you can add lots of fun, yummy things to turn the ordinary bowl of soup into an extraordinary bowl of soup.  My kids love it when I garnish their food.  You can add extra black beans, salsa, Greek yogurt or sour cream, sliced green onions or a fresh salsa with lots of fresh cilantro. 

I LOVE black beans so I always add a scoop of them to my soup.

Greek yogurt and green onions are my favorite way to eat this.  My husband adds a ton of salsa to his bowl. 

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 Medium Diced Onion
2 Roma Tomatoes, Diced
1 Red Pepper, Diced
2 Carrots, Diced
2 Ribs Celery, Diced
1 Jalapeno Pepper, Diced
1 Tablespoon Cumin
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 Pound Soaked Black Beans
6 Cups Chicken Stock

Directions:

1. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a stock pot over medium high heat.  Add diced vegetables, salt and pepper.  Cook vegetables, stirring occasionally, til tender and onions are translucent.

2.  Add cumin, paprika, a pinch of salt, and black beans to vegetables.  Cover with chicken stock and bring soup to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook till black beans are tender.

3.  Blend soup if desired.  Add chicken stock to thin soup if desired.  Enjoy.

For a a printer friendly version of this recipe click here.

Mushroom (Sandwiches) - Part 2

My darling husband and I are going to to on a special date.  We are going out to sit on the dock all by ourselves.  The kids are getting pizza and a movie while we get some alone time to watch the sun go down and peace and quiet.  I am so excited I gave my toe nails a fresh coat of polish!  It's going to be so fun.

So, for our special date, I am making mushroom and goat cheese sandwiches, grilled asparagus, iced tea and strawberries for dessert.  Hubby is on a mushroom kick which is fine by me.  Today, I am going to show you how to make our favorite mushroom sandwiches.  This sandwich is so good.  It is filling and so full of flavor.  Each bite is a flavor explosion in your mouth.  Love that!

So, the board of ingredients is pretty simple.  I am using these nifty little sandwich rolls that hubby picked up at Costco, but you can use any bread you like.

I dug through the entire cheese chest at the grocery store to find the prettiest label.  Then my son used the log of goat cheese as a drum stick and wrinkled it all up!  (Do you have a teenage son that you sometimes feel like choking?  I do.  He is so lucky that I love him so much!)  Anyway, here's the goat cheese. 

Here is a close up of the bread hubby picked.  

Okay, to get started, slice the roll in half and toast it or grill it.  If you are using regular bread, then just them slap onto the grill or in the toaster.  We love grilled bread, but I was not wasting a moment of our time together on running back and forth from the grill.   

Now to make our goat cheese a little more user friendly.  I am using about two ounces for two big sandwiches. 

I am going to add lots of yummy things to the goat cheese now.  Some finely chopped green onion is so good.  I cut the green onion in half length wise.  Then each half gets cut again length wise.  Then you slice is width wise to get a finely chopped pile of green onion goodness.   

Add the lovely little green onion bits to the goat cheese. 

Next in are some finely chopped herbs.  I am using chives, sage, basil and thyme.  You can use whatever you like or you can skip this step altogether. 

A tiny pinch of salt and a regular sized pinch of pepper go into the bowl as well.

Finally some skim milk goes in.  The milk is going to thin out the goat cheese.  Start with a little bit of milk (about two tablespoons) and mix it in.  Keep adding milk a little bit at a time until you get the consistency you like.  I thin my mixture down to the viscosity of mayo.  Is mayo viscus?  I think it is.

I forgot to take a picture of the mixture.  Opps.  I'll take a picture next time I make it (tomorrow) and add it in.  :-) 

Now, onto the mushrooms.  See that stem in the middle of the mushroom?  We don't really want to eat that.  It can be woody and tough, so we are just going to grab it and rip right out of the mushroom cap or cut it down so that it does not go past the gills.  

Then flip the cap over.  Give it a drizzle of olive oil and massage in some salt and pepper. 

The mushroom will soak up all the oil as well as the flavor from the salt and pepper. 

Flip the mushroom again and give the gills some olive oil, salt and pepper love. Now your ready to cook this baby up. Here is the link for some cooking instructions.

Now, we have some beautifully toasted rolls waiting for some attention. 

I like to spread a thin layer of goat cheese on each half of the roll.  You can go with a thicker layer on one side if you want. 

This is fresh spinach from our garden.  You can add whatever extra topping you would like.  Provolone, a big slice of tomato, a few rings of red onion, regular lettuce...basically anything you would put on a regular burger is good on this sandwich.   

Then we add our juicy, flavorful mushroom.  I added a few sprigs of thyme to the pan while the mushroom was cooking, but you don't have to do that.

Mushroom love on a plate...or cutting board.  I have to run, cause my fella is waiting for me.  Enjoy!

So, lets recap.  Take some goat cheese.  Add some stuff to it that you like.  I have been known to serve this to my children with only a little pepper and salt added in.  Don't worry about getting to fancy.  Thin it all down with milk.  Stir it up.  Spread it on something toasted.  Eat it.  Love it. 

I am linking to Foodie Friday.

Stacked Eggplant Parmigiana

I'll never forget the first time I made eggplant Parmesan.  I was so proud of the new meal I had made for the kids.  They asked several times what egg plant actually was.  They looked at it like it was going to bite them back.  They were very cautious when they picked up their fork and knife.  Then they tasted it like they were bravely swallowing a cyanide pill.  And then the look of relief that it was not horrible was replaced with joy and enthusiasm.  They LOVED it.  One of the kids wanted to know what I did to the egg plant to make it taste good.   It was a real sell for them to believe that it was just good!



Egg plant is something that we cannot get enough of now.  The kids keep a close eye on the garden so they can let me know the moment the egg plant is ready to be picked.  Simply peeling, dicing and sauteing it in olive oil is a yummy side dish that we all love.  Grilling it is even better.

But, we are here to talk about the Willow Cottage version of egg plant parmigiana.  I add a garlic loaded creamed spinach and the wow factor is amazing.  I hope you like this as much as we do. The board of ingredients is simple ingredients.  There is a measuring cup of Willow Cottage Tomato Sauce. You can use the link to find the recipe. You will not need the turkey meatballs for this recipe though. You can either not make them or freeze them for another day.  Also the creamed spinach recipe will be posted later this month, but I do have a confession to make.  It's not my recipe.  It's from Pioneer Woman. Here is her recipe. All I did was add a little extra garlic.

To start, wash your eggplants and then cut the top and bottom off.

Peel the eggplant.  They have rather tough skins.  If you were using tender baby eggplants, then you can get away with the skin still on.  But it is better to be safe than sorry.  I just remove them.

Next slice them into 1/2 inch slices and lay them out on your cutting board.

I am never in favor of substituting salt for flavor, but in this case you need to use a fair amount of salt.  Sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant slices.  You need the salt to draw out some of the liquid in the eggplant.  Trust me.

Put the slices in a colander and set them aside while you get the oil and breading stations ready to go.  Put a plate or a bowl under the colander.  You will be surprised how much liquid will seep out in just a few minutes.

Pour about one inch of canola oil into a pan.  If you have a low shallow pan, that would be prefect.  Keep in mind that the oil will bubble up when the eggplant is added.  Oil that overflows will catch on fire and you do not want that.  You want your oil to be heated to 350° for the best frying results.  I do not have a fancy fryer, but I have found that on my stove a medium low to medium heat keeps my oil at the perfect temperature. 


I am using cheap cake pans for my breading containers, but you can use anything that is low and shallow.  In one container you need the flour as well as a generous pinch of salt and a good amount of pepper.  You are seasoning the flour which needs lots of help to taste good.

The next pie plate gets a couple of eggs.  Just mix them up with a fork to break down the membranes a bit.  I might have used three eggs here.  I am not sure.  I guess I will have to make this again so I can let you know for sure.  If you start with two eggs and run out of egg, add another egg and mix it up. 

I did not have Italian seasoned breadcrumbs on hand.  In fact, I did not have any bread crumbs on hand.  So I threw four slices of bread into the food processor and whizzed them up.  I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them in a 350° oven until they are golden brown.  Take them out occasionally and stir them up.  Add about a tablespoon of Italian herbs to them.  Also, add a half cup of FRESHLY grated parmigiana reggiano cheese.  This is very important.  DO NOT use the pre-shredded kind you can buy in the store.  It is too heavy for this recipe. 

I use a micro plain to grate my cheese and works very well.  I recommend this kitchen gadget for so many tasks in the kitchen.  :-)

This is a close up of my bread crumb mixture. 

Here is the breading station.  I have a confession to make.  I forgot to photograph the breading process.  I guess I will have to make this again so I can photograph this very important step.  I will walk you though it for now.

• First take a slice of eggplant.  It will be wet.  That's okay.  Dip it in the flour and coat both sides and the edges of the eggplant.  Make sure every bit of the eggplant is covered.  Tap off the extra flour so the excess falls back into the pan.  
• Next dip the eggplant in the beaten egg.  Make sure you coat every bit of the eggplant in the egg.  Pick the eggplant up and let the excess drain off back into the pan.  
• Finally move the eggplant into the breadcrumb mixture.  Cover every bit of the eggplant with the crumb mixture.  Let the excess crumbs fall off back into the pan.  Set the coated eggplant aside and repeat until all the slices are coated. 

Now that your oil is heated properly and the eggplant is coated we are ready to start cooking.  Carefully slide a few pieces of eggplant into the oil.  Don't crowd your pan.  Let them cook for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.  Carefully flip them over so the other side can cook to a golden brown as well. 

When the eggplant is cooked, take them out and put them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Let them drain while you cook the next batch. 

After all the slices are cooked and they are a beautiful golden brown put them on a cookie sheet.

Drain a couple cups of mozzarella pearls on a paper towel.  You are not allowed to make the eggplant soggy with wet cheese! 

Put some cheese on each slice of eggplant. 

Throw it into a 350° oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. 

Now it is time to put it all together.  I grabbed a handful of basil leaves, I shaved some parmigiana reggiano, heated up the tomato sauce as well as the creamed spinach. 

Now put a little puddle of tomato sauce on one side of the plate.  Put the creamed spinach on the other side of the plate.  Add a slice of eggplant.

Add some basil leaves and a shard of the parmigiana.

Then add another slice of eggplant and repeat the basil and parmigiana.

I am ready to eat this right through the computer screen.  Enjoy!

Stacked Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients:

2 Pounds Eggplant
2 Eggs
1 Cup Flour
2 Cups Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Divided
2 Cups Fresh Mozzarella Pearls
Salt and Pepper
8-7 Medium Fresh Basil Leaves
3 Cups Willow Cottage Tomato Sauce
2 Cups Creamed Spinach
Canola Oil for Frying - The amount will depend on the pan you are using

Directions:

1. Wash and peel the eggplants. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let rest in a colander for 10 minutes.

2. Begin heating the canola oil. The amount of oil you use will depend on the pan you are using. You want about one inch of oil in the bottom of your pan heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Prepare a breading station while the eggplant is resting. You will need three low flat containers. In the first add the flour and season with salt and pepper. In the second, add beaten egg. In the third, add the seasoned bread crumbs and 1/2 cup parmigiana cheese.

4. Select a slice of eggplant and coat it with the seasoned flour. Shake off any access flour. Next dip the eggplant into the beaten egg. Make sure to cover every bit of the eggplant with the egg. Finally dip it into the seasoned bread crumbs. Set the coated eggplant aside and continue coating the rest of the eggplant.


5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

6. When your oil is up to temperature, begin cooking the eggplant a few at a time. Do not crowd the pan. Too much eggplant in the pan will bring the temperature of the oil down and that will make your eggplant soggy and greasy. After a the eggplant gets golden brown flip it over to cook the other side. Remove the cooked eggplant and put it on a sheet of paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

7. When the eggplant is cooked transfer the slices to a cookie sheet. Top the eggplant with the fresh mozzarella pearls. Bake the eggplant in the oven for about five minutes or until the cheese is melted.

8. To serve, put a scoop of tomato sauce on one side of a plate or wide shallow bowl. Add a scoop of creamed spinach on the other side of the plate. Add a slice of eggplant to the tomato sauce. Top the eggplant with a basil leaf and a sprinkle of parmigiana cheese. Add two more sliced of eggplant with basil and cheese topping each slice. Sprinkle a couple of mozzarella pearls in the sauce along the side of the eggplant. Serve immediately. Enjoy. Serves 6.


For a printer friendly version of this recipe click here.

I am linking up with Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.