Red Beans and Rice

I'm getting better and better at making cheap meals. Maybe it's out of necessity, or maybe I just find it fun to figure out wonderful meals for very little money! It's become a game for me! One meal my family adores is Red Beans and Rice. Now, I know that sounds awfully cheap and bland, but the "bland" part is FAR from the truth. My recipe is full of flavor and easy on your wallet. I mean, come on, a 1 pound bag of dried beans is like $1.15!

Red Beans and Rice

6 slices of bacon (chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 green bell peppers (chopped)
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
4 or 5 cloves garlic (minced)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of fresh thyme (3/4 tsp. dried if you have it, but I MUCH prefer fresh.)
1/2 tsp. cayenne
A few dashes of hot sauce (Frank's is my favorite)
A few dashes of worcestershire sauce
6 1/2 cups water*
1 lb. dry red or kidney beans (soaked)

Bring some water (this is NOT the 6 1/2 cups of water mention above!) up to a boil. Take it off the heat, and add 1 pound of dried beans. Let them soak for a few hours. (This can all be done in the morning.) Then drain and rinse.

Brown chopped bacon in a large pot. Add onion, bell peppers, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook veggies until tender. Add bay leaves, thyme, cayenne, hot sauce, and worcestershire. Mix to deglaze the pan. Add water and beans. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hour (stirring every 30 minutes or so). After 1 1/2 hours, remove lid and simmer another 30 minutes or until beans have thickened. Smash half of the beans with a potato masher for more of a "gravy" consistency. Serve over your favorite rice.

*9 times out of 10, I have a partially used box of chicken or beef stock in my refrigerator. I'll use up the box by adding it to my water. If I only have 3 cups of stock, then I just add enough water to it to make 6 1/2 cups. I just figure it's a good way to use up stock and add more flavor to the beans!

Now let's have a little talk about rice:
For my family's Red Beans and Rice. I use Basmati or Texmati rice. Texmati is the practically the same as Basmati. The only difference is that Texmati is grown in the U.S. and Basmati is imported from India. Basmati/Texmati is an aged, long grain white rice. It's very fragrant and slightly floral. It's wonderful in this recipe and also in my husband's Gumbo. And just so you guys know where I stand, I have NEVER found directions on that back of a box/bag of rice that give good results. Rice is suppsed to be fluffy. So if you follow the directions on the back of your package of rice, you will very likely have extra liquid/mush on the bottom of your pot of rice. GROSS! So I always go 1/2 cup of water short when I prepare my rice. That pretty much goes for any rice I make. Going 1/2 cup short on the water ensures your rice is fluffy and that there is no cloudy goo on the bottom of the pot.

Try some Red Beans and Rice this week. You won't be disappointed... niether will your wallet!

Chocolate Chewies

My latest baking class yielded some of the best cookies I can remember tasting in a long time! I've had a few of my friends request this recipe because I've been talking about how these cookies MAY just be some of the healthiest I've ever heard of! Here's why:

• NO flour is used
• NO butter or oil is used
• ONLY egg whites are used (no yolks at all)
• They are loaded with unsweetened chocolate
• They are full of walnuts (or any other nut you choose to use)

So, I'll argue that they are some of the "healthiest" cookies you can make without sacrificing flavor or texture. Granted, they contain quite a bit of sugar! They taste JUST like brownies! So, get out your digital kitchen scale (Don't freak out! They're easy to use and cheap.), and get baking! You're gonna love these!

Chocolate Chewies

2 lb. 14 oz. Powdered sugar (sifted)
6 oz. Unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted with sugar)
.5 oz. Salt
.5 oz. Vanilla extract
12 Egg whites
1 lb. 12 oz. Walnuts (or any other nut you choose)

In a bowl of a large mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or I suppose you can use a hand mixer... it will just take a little longer!), combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and egg whites.

Mix for a FULL 3 minutes on medium speed, then add nuts. Mix to combine. Using a cookie scoop, portion batter or parchment-lined cookie sheets, giving the cookies room to spread.

Bake at 400 degrees until the centers of the cookies are just set: about 12-14 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your scoop. A shiny, crispy coating should form on the edges of the cookies. Just like brownies, the cookies should be chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges when they are cooled.

*Remember, in my classes, I am learning to bake large quantities of cookies. This will make a lot of batter. Bake what you plan to eat. The rest of the batter can be poured into a resealable container or zip top bag and frozen. When you want to bake some more, thaw the batter partially and scoop some out to bake!

A Successful Week

I had another successful week. No really funny stories to tell! In my Fundamentals class, we planned to make Morning Glory Muffins and Banana Bread. As a class, we finished with more than enough time to make another recipe, so Chef Eddy allowed us to make something else. He chose Sweet Potato Muffins.

In my other classes, we made Chocolate Raspberry Tarts, 9 Grain Bread, and Pretzels. I didn't really enjoy the tart. I've never been a big fan of mixing fruit with chocolate. I like my chocolate unadulterated, thank you! But I had a great time decorating it! I chose not to use the gloppy glaze on the top. We've all seen a fruit-topped dessert with an unnatural clear goo on top. I've always been put off by seeing that. Now I'm even more against it. It's like a bucket of snot! Mommies have dealt with enough bodily fluid. No need to add it to fresh fruit to make it look "pretty!"

My bread class is wonderful. I've really been enjoying learning to shape dough. I don't feel unnatural at all, I think I just need a little more practice. The 9 Grain Bread was AMAZING! I need to get a commercial mixer for my kitchen because I don't know how I'm going to make these breads at home with such a tiny stand mixer! Pretzels were nothing special... just another method to learn.

Morning Glory Muffins: carrots, apples, raisins, pecans, and cinnamon

Finished Morning Glory Muffins

Banana Nut Bread

Sweet Potato Muffins (GORGEOUS!)

Chocolate Raspberry Tart (hazelnut crust, flour-less chocolate cake, chocolate raspberry ganache, topped with fresh berries) 9 Grain Bread

Soft Pretzels (topped with salt and cinnamon sugar)

Lime Tart and Sandwich Bread

Not too much to share from my next set of classes. People are beginning to get on my nerves... but I suppose that's only to be expected when an OCD-ish person gets paired with some lazy people! I'll just keep pluggin' along and let my work speak for itself! I'm so proud of what I learned Thursday: we made lime tarts with Italian lime meringue in my "Pies, Tarts, Teacakes and Cookies" class. (By the way, I'm open for suggestions as to what to call this class. I refuse to say or type that every time I want to tell someone about it!) In my "Breads and Rolls" class, we made a simple sandwich bread. I enjoyed the challenge of both classes! Here are some pictures:

Chef Jeffery ("Cheffery") demonstrating our tart dough

Rolling and placing my dough

Filled with fresh lime curd

Piping Italian Lime Meringue

My pretty baby!

My groups' tarts

Chef Becky demonstrating bread making

Yes, we use a special formula to create dough that is an ideal temperature...

My groups' rising dough

Finished product: DELICIOUS!