delicious

love these delicious Frijoles Charros!

January 7, 2025 by Becky Spoon

Frijoles Charros is my absolute favorite! It’s a complete meal with flour tortillas, cornbread, or chicharron. This traditional Mexican recipe is known for its authenticity.

Charro beans are named after the famous and traditional Mexican cowboy horsemen, called “charros”, it’s such a comforting bean soup.

Frijoles Charros. What’s in the recipe?

Pinto Beans
oil for cooking the beans
salt
onion
tomato
jalapeno
Hot dogs or frankfurters
chorizo
cilantro

I enjoy preparing my own chorizo, which is both simple and tasty. What I appreciate most about it is its reduced greasiness compared to the store-bought chorizo in Texas, which tends to be very greasy unlike the cured chorizo. To address this, I prefer making my own. Here is the recipe for my delicious homemade chorizo: Delicious Homemade Chorizo with Eggs, Hashbrowns, and Refried Beans

I also make guacamole to go with my fajitas and here is that recipe: https://the2spoons.com/1-delicious-guacamole/.

Here’s the link for my fajitas that I served the Charro beans and guacamole with: https://the2spoons.com/easy-grilled-skirt-steak-fajitas-and-shrimp/

Fajitas, guacamole, these yummy beans, homemade flour tortillas….delicious meal.

Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!

Frijoles Charros

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Servings: 8 servings

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican, Texmex

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

1 lb pinto beans, rinsed and soaked
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 small white onion, diced
1 jalapeno, removing the veins and seeds, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Frankfurter's of your choice
1/2 lb chorizo
Handful of chopped cilantro

Equipment

Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, or Slow Cooker

Method

In a large pot add about 6 cups of water and one pound of beans. Add 1 tablespoon salt and one tablespoon oil. Cook until the beans are tender.
While the beans are cooking, dice 1/2 of a small onion, one jalapeno and 2 roma tomatoes. Slice the bacon into small pieces and slice the 3 Frankfurters into small pieces.
Start with sauteing the bacon until it starts to brown. Add the frankfurters and cook until they have slightly browned. Drain the excess fat and add the chorizo, cooking until it has cooked through. Then add the onions and jalapenos. Mix and cook for about a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When your beans are tender, add your mixture and a handful of cilantro. Cook for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes

You can use vegetable broth instead of water. You don’t want to use too much water if using an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker because it does not cook down like cooking stovetop does. If you soaked your beans overnight they will take less water.

The Best! Simple Cheesy Meatloaf – Cracker Barrel’s Recipe

July 25, 2024 by Becky Spoon

The Cheesy Meatloaf I made is different from my usual recipe, although the ingredients are quite similar. However, this version includes cheese and uses buttery Ritz Crackers as a binder. It is absolutely delicious and I couldn’t resist eating more! The meatloaf is moist with a delightful cheesy filling and topped with ketchup. There is no dryness to be found in this Cracker Barrel Cheesy Meatloaf!

I retuned from a trip to Mexico and I was craving my Southern comfort food. Foods that I grew up with; foods on many Southern tables when I was young and to this day. This is all of the delicious things I made to go with my meatloaf. Mashed potatoes delicious buttery mashed potatoes!! Fried Okra love this crispy fried okra. Southern cornbread along with some fresh purple hull peas from my sisters garden and some slices of fresh tomatoes.

What are the ingredients or this delicious Cracker Barrel Cheesy Meatloaf!

eggs
milk
Ritz Crackers, crushed
onion, chopped
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
black pepper
ground beef
ketchup
brown sugar
mustard

I always buy the Ritz crackers in bulk! There are so many uses for them. https://amzn.to/2URPr4q

Check this link out for many recipes and uses for these buttery crackers: http://www.ritzcrackers.com/Recipes

The Best! Cheesy Meatloaf

I’ve always loved meatloaf! Sometimes I hear folks say that they hate meatloaf and never understood that. Growing up, Mom would make meatloaf at least once a week! She made great meatloaf. Here’s a little history of Meatloaf! Seems it’s been around for a long time and is here to stay:https://www.bonappetit.com/story/history-of-meatloaf.

Of course, along side there would be creamy mashed potatoes or new potatoes cooked in some fresh green beans. Of course there was a dessert too! The green beans would always be the slow simmered green beans usually with salt pork or bacon and sauteed onions and cooked with new potatoes ! ! Here’s my green bean recipe if you want to add those to your dinner when you make this delicious meatloaf! https://the2spoons.com/country-style-fresh-green-beans-and-new-potatoes/

If you decide on mashed potatoes I love my garlic mashed potatoes with this too. https://the2spoons.com/chunky-garlic-mashed-potatoes/.

My Mac n’ Cheese recipe is another great side dish! https://the2spoons.com/delicious-five-cheese-macaroni-and-cheese/

Here’s the meatloaf recipe! Enloy!

The Best! Cheesy Meatloaf

Cracker Barrel's Recipe

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Servings: 8 servings

Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 sleeves Ritz Crackers, crushed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp mustard

Method

Preheat oven to 325. Whisk the eggs in a bowl then add the milk and crackers. Stir in onion and cheese. Add ground beef, salt and pepper. Mix well. Shape into a loaf. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard to make topping. Spoon half of the topping over the meatloaf after the 30 mins of baking. Return loaf to oven for 15 more minutes of baking. Spoon the rest of the topping over meatloaf, return to oven and bake for 5-10 mins more.
Slice and serve!

You’ll love this Delicious Sweet Potato Casserole!

November 18, 2021 by Becky Spoon

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Who doesn’t love a sweet potato casserole for the holiday meal, especially Thanksgiving?

This is my sisters recipe and my Mom loved it. We always had a sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving, sometimes with marshmallows, sometimes candied but this one topped with a brown sugar mixture and pecans make it extra special. Thank you for the recipe sister Jackie!

Simply Delicious Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe has the following ingredients:

sweet potatoes
sugar
butter
eggs
vanilla
cup milk

For the topping:

butter
light brown sugar
flour
pecans

How can you go wrong with such delicious ingredients? I added some pomegranate to the top for color.

Serve this as a side dish to this beautiful Turkey!

Beautiful Dry Brined Spiced Roast Turkey

Simply Delicious Sweet Potato Casserole

Here’s the recipe for this delicious casserole! Follow “the 2 spoons” for so many more delicious recipes!

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 10

Servings: 10 servings

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

6 cups sweet potatoes boiled and mashed up about 5 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk

For the Topping

1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup pecans, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix cooked and mashed sweet potatoes with next five ingredients , the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Put mixture in a buttered 9×13 casserole dish.
Mix the melted butter, light brown sugar, flour and pecans and sprinkle on the top.
Bake for about 25 minutes. Casserole will be puffed and begin to brown on top! Delicious!

The Best FOCACCIA with FRESH MOZZARELLA, OLIVE, TOMATO and SALAMI

February 10, 2020 by Becky Spoon

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This Fresh Mozzarella, Olive, Tomato and Salami Focaccia really is more than awesome! This is delicious. I get the Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street magazine and this recipe was in it. It looked so delicious I had to try it. I am thrilled that I did.

Bocconcini, Olive, Tomato and Salami Focaccia

This is a recipe that you start in the morning early to have for dinner, so maybe if you work or weekdays are too hectic, this would be a great weekend recipe, but it is well worth it. This is not a difficult recipe, it is just a recipe that requires a long rise to achieve the best results! The rise is about 6 1/2 hours total, but again, it is well worth the time spent. I’ve added photos of how your dough should look in different steps. This is a really wet dough, so I thought it’d help to see the photos of how it should look. These photos are in the actual recipe too.

MIX THE DOUGH – THIS IS HOW THE DOUGH WILL LOOK WHEN IT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MIXED.

REST DOUGH (BELOW)

PREPARE OVEN

PREPARE PAN

ADD TOMATOES AND OLIVES

BAKE AND SERVE

OUT OF THE OVEN

The dough makes this recipe work and it is a very wet dough, almost a pourable dough as they describe it in Milk Street. Here’s an excerpt from their article.

“This recipe recreates the light, open-crumbed focaccia we ate in Bari, Italy. To achieve that texture, the dough must be wet—so wet, in fact, it verges on a thick, yet pourable batter. Resist the temptation to add more flour than is called for. Shaping such a sticky, high-hydration dough by hand is impossible.

Instead, the dough is gently poured and scraped into the oiled baking pan; gravity settles it into an even layer. To cut the baked focaccia for serving, use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut through the crust and crumb without compressing it. If you like, serve with extra-virgin olive oil for dipping. If you have trouble finding Castelvetrano olives, substitute any plain pitted green olive.”

AWESOME, FRESH MOZZARELLA, OLIVE, TOMATO AND SALAMI FOCACCIA

Just a couple of notes before I post the recipe. The Milk Street recipe didn’t include mozzarella or salami, but my “always have to have meat” husband would most likely want the salami and cheese. After all, that focaccia now becomes an amazing pizza.

I used fresh mozzarella that was marinated with oils, herbs and spices, that were the very small boconcinni. https://goto.walmart.com/c/2049504/568835/9383?veh=aff&sourceid=imp_000011112222333344&prodsku=50346375&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fip%2FFormaggio-Fresh-Mozzarella-Cheese-12-oz%2F50346375.

The recipe also calls for Castelvetrano olives that aren’t always easy to find. Here’s a link from Whole Foods for these delicious olives: https://amzn.to/31CK78f.

I love to make bread! Here’s another recipe on the blog you may like, my homemade dinner rollshttps://the2spoons.com/my-best-dinner-rolls-yet/.

AWESOME, FRESH MOZZARELLA, OLIVE, TOMATO AND SALAMI FOCACCIA

Here’s the recipe for this almost like pizza bread! Enjoy!

AWESOME, FRESH MOZZARELLA, OLIVE, TOMATO AND SALAMI FOCACCIA

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer, dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups bread flour (spoon into the cup and level)
5 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp white sugar
2 cups water, cool room temperature
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
3 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
11 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted If you can't find Castelvetrano olives, use another pitted green olive
fresh mozzarella like boconcinni in oil and herbs (small fresh mozzarella balls)
Salami (I used dry salami)
1 tsp dried oregano
ground black pepper

Method

MIX DOUGH
In a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix the flour, yeast and sugar on medium until combined, about 30 seconds.
With the mixer on low, drizzle in the water, then increase to medium and mix until the ingredients form a very wet, smooth dough, about 5 minutes.
Turn off the mixer, cover the bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat the bottom and sides of a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil; set aside.
REST DOUGH
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over the dough, then knead on medium until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes; the dough will be wet enough to cling to the sides of the bowl.
Using a silicone spatula, scrape the dough into the oiled bowl. Dip your fingers into the oil pooled at the sides of the bowl and dab the surface of the dough until completely coated with oil.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 5½ to 6 hours; during this time, the dough will double in volume, deflate, then rise again (but will not double in volume again).
PREPARE OVEN
After the dough has risen for about 4½ hours, heat the oven to 500°F with a baking steel or stone on the middle rack.
Mist a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray, then pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the center of the pan; set aside.
PREPARE PAN
When the dough is ready, gently pour it into the prepared pan, scraping the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula to loosen; try to retain as much air in the dough as possible.
The dough will eventually settle into an even layer in the pan; do not spread the dough with a spatula, as this will cause it to deflate. Set aside while you prepare the tomatoes.
ADD MOZZARELLA, SALAMI, TOMATOES AND OLIVES
Scatter the mozzarella on the dough. In a medium bowl, use a potato masher to lightly crush the tomatoes. Scatter the olives evenly over the dough, then do the same with the tomatoes, leaving the juice and seeds in the bowl. Scatter the desired amount of salami slices.
If the dough has not fully filled the corners of the pan, use your hands to lightly press the tomatoes to push the dough into the corners. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 20 minutes.
BAKE AND SERVE
Drizzle the dough with ¼ cup oil, making sure to oil each tomato. Sprinkle evenly with oregano, the remaining 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper.
Place the pan on the baking steel or stone and bake until golden brown and the sides have pulled away from the pan, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Using a wide metal spatula, lift the focaccia from the pan and slide it onto the rack. Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Giblet Gravy

November 19, 2018 by Becky Spoon

Giblet Gravy is another of those recipes that is a family tradition. Most of us in Texas not only put giblets in the gravy buy we add sliced boiled eggs. Of course you can leave these two things out and have a delicious gravy, just omit the part about cooking the giblets and the final adding the hard boiled eggs!! You will love it and you have to have gravy for the dressing, mashed potatoes, turkey?

This recipe is based on 6-8 servings but it is easily doubled. The prep time is after you have your giblets cooked, so I'll add the instructions on cooking your giblets and boiled eggs first.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Total Time 15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

For the Giblets

1 package giblets (hearts and gizzards) plus the neck and heart and gizzard from your turkey
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion, quartered
1 carrot
6-8 cups water
1-2 cubes bullion (I like Knorr)
1 bay leaf

Hard boiled gs

4 eggs
water to cover

For the Gravy

Giblets that have been sliced, with the cartlidged removed
4-6 cups chicken stock left from the giblets or store bought is fine
1/4 cup pan drippings or vegetable oil
4 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp dressing
4 eggs cooled and sliced

Method

For the Giblets

Add the giblets to a stock pan and add 6-8 cups water. Add a stalk of celery, the onions, carrot, the bullion cubes and bay leaf. An alternative to the bullion cubes would be to cook the giblets in stock, but if you are like me I always seems to run out of stock for my gravy and dressing, so I like to make this additional stock that you can strain and use in your gravy.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer to medium heat and cook until the giblets are tender. An Alternative is to do this in your Instant Pot and set it for 30 minutes.
Once your giblets are tender, strain the broth and pick out your cooked giblets from the vegetables, discarding your vegetables. Slice the gizzards removing the cartridge part...just keep the meat part, shred the meat off the neck, slice the heart and set aside. Save the broth to be used in making your gravy.

Boiled eggs

I know we can all boil eggs, but I'll go ahead and give you the instructions of how I do them. Place the eggs in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat just a little. Once they start to boil, start timing 10 minutes. Remove from the heat at this time and submerge in ice water to stop the cooking and to insure you have a lovely yellow yolk. Tap the ends on the counter and roll your egg for easy pealing. An alternative given to me by a friend is to put your eggs in an Instant Pot with one cup water and set the timer for 4 minutes. When the timer goes off...release the steam and remove to the ice water....follow above instructons from here.

For the Gravy

Add the 1/4 cup pan drippinngs from your turkey or vegetable oil to a pan and heat to medium heat. Add the flour, using a whisk stir and cook for about a minute. Still whisking, add your stock, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook until thickened. Be careful as the gravy will easily boil over, so reduce the heat as soon as it starts to boil. (At this point your gravy is ready to serve if you do not want to add the giblets and eggs)
Go ahead and add your giblets and keep the gravy warm until ready to serve. When ready to serve add your dressing and lightly stir to combine, then add your boiled eggs, just stir to combine.

Green Bean Casserole

November 18, 2018 by Becky Spoon

In my family, as long as I can remember, there was always Green Bean Casserole on the Thanksgiving table!! I think it is on most southern Thanksgiving tables and elsewhere.

This recipe uses fresh mushrooms and makes the sauce rather than the customary canned soup from the original recipe from years ago. And the topping is shallots that you flour and fry instead of the canned onion rings!! This is a great recipe.

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

For the Green Bean Casserole

3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot chopped
1 8 oz package button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps chopped fresh thyme
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
2 cups white cheddar cheese, saving some for the top
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
Panko bread crumps for the top

The Crispy shallots for the top

2 cups vegetable oil
4 shallots thinly sliced
1/2 to 1 cup flour

Method

For the fried shallots that you will top your finished casserole

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat to about 325. Dredge the shallots ion flour, separating them as you go coating them thoroughly. Add the shallots to the skillet and cook stirring until golden brown and crispy. Drain and set aside.

For the casserole

Preheat oven to 350
Heat a pan of salted water to a boil. Add the trimmed and halved green beans and blanck for 4 or 5 minutes. Remove to ice water so they will retain their color. Set Aside.
Melt butter in a skillet and add the shallots and mushrooms. Cook until tender and slightly browned. Stir in garlic. Cook for about a minute and add the flour and cook about one minute more. Add the chicken stock, scraping bottom and sides, bring to boil, then lower heat and cook for about 4 minutes.
Add the green beans and cook until crisp-tender....one or two minutes should all since they were blanched...longer if needed. You want them tender, but still a bite to them as they will cook more in the oven.
Turn off the heat and add the white cheese and the heavy cream. Stir to just combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add this mixture to a buttered casserole and top with the panko and remaining cheese.
Place into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when bubbling and slightly browned. Sprinkle the shallots on top and serve. Delicious!!