Vegetables

Lovely Garlicky Sautéed Spinach & Red Pepper Flakes

January 24, 2019 by Becky Spoon

This spinach is sautéed with garlic in a little extra virgin olive oil and it is the easiest and most delicious side dish. Add a few red pepper flakes for a little kick!

Not only is sautéed spinach an easy side dish but it is so nutritious. Click the link for the nutritional information. https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/spinach.html

Here is the easy recipe that I bet you’ll make very often! Enjoy!

Garlic Sauteed Spinach

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Servings: 2 Servings

Course: easy side dish, vegetable

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 8 -10 oz package fresh spinach
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes Optional

Method

Heat the olive oil to medium in a skillet and add the garlic. Immediately add the spinach and start tossing with tongs or a spoon or spatula to prevent the garlic from burning. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with almost anything or perfect for a snack or lunch!

Perfect Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon in Browned Butter

January 22, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Green beans are probably the most used vegetable than any other. Green bean casserole, country style with pork slow cooked until almost falling apart, wrapped in bacon, in a Niçoise salad, in a soup….so many uses.

Great Beans — Perfect Browned Butter and Garlic Green Beans

I love green beans. They are that vegetable that you have in the pantry even if you don’t have fresh and with a little seasoning, some bacon, onions, garlic, and salt and pepper, even the canned turn out to be a delicious side dish.

I par cooked these fresh green beans, then quickly sautéed them with chopped garlic in brown butter until heated through and tender, with still a little crunch, and finished them with lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice!

Below is Information I found on the internet. The link is at the bottom!

Fresh green beans are very low in calories (31 calories per 100 g of raw bean pods) and contain no saturated fat. Nevertheless, these lean pod vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrients.
The beans are a very rich source of dietary fiber (9% per 100g RDA) which acts as a bulk laxative. Fiber helps to protect colon mucosa by decreasing its exposure time to toxic substances as well as by binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the gut. An adequate amount of fiber in the diet has also been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels by decreasing reabsorption of cholesterol-binding bile acids in the colon.
Green beans contain excellent levels of vitamin-A, and health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and β -carotene in right amounts. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes.
Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid in the beans, selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective UV-light filtering functions. It is, therefore, green beans offer some protection in the prevention of age-related macular disease(ARMD) in the older adults.
Snap beans are an excellent source of folates. 100 g fresh beans provide 37 µg or 9% of folates. Folate along with vitamin B-12 is one of the essential components of DNA synthesis and cell division. A good folate diet, when given during preconception periods and pregnancy, may help prevent neural-tube defects in the newborn babies.
Green beans also carry good amounts of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), and vitamin-C. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
Moreover, green beans contain healthy amounts of minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium, which very essential for body metabolism. Manganese is a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase, which is a very potent free radical scavenger. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Sourcehttps://www.nutrition-and-you.com/green_beans.html

This recipe is easy and fast and you’re not cooking all the nutrients out; just the opposite, retaining them with the quick cook!

Enjoy!

Perfect Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon in Browned Butter

These green beans are the perfect side dish for all most any main course!

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings: 4 Servings

Course: dinner, easy side dish, vegetable

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 Lb Fresh green beans with stem removed
Water for blanching
Salt
2 Tsp Unsalted butter
1/2 Tsp Garlic
Zest of a lemon
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Fill a saucepan with water and generously add salt. Bring to a boil and add the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Remove the beans from the pan and immediately sub merge in ice water.
Heat the butter in a saucepa. When the butter starts to brown just a little add the garlic and immediately add the green beans.
Toss the beans a couple of times until heated through. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and the zest of one lemon. Add a pinch of a salt and fresh ground pepper.

Try Sunday Pot Roast! These green beans will be the perfect side dish https://the2spoons.com/sunday-pot-roast/

Easy Refried Beans from Homemade Pinto Beans

November 30, 2018 by Becky Spoon

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I start my refried beans with pinto beans that I cook with just a little lard, an onion, and salt, that’s it. I have friends in Mexico and they make amazing refried beans that are so, so simple, yet delicious so that’s how I make mine now. Oh, I do make them in the Instant Pot too. I try to soak them overnight, then set the timer for beans which I think is about 35 minutes. The Instant Pot makes the most delicious, creamy pinto beans, or any beans for that matter.

After the beans cook, I remove the onion if its’ in big chunks, I add a little oil to a saucepan, then add the beans, reserving the bean juice to ladle in as I mash the beans.

One thing I found that is essential for refried bean making is the bean masher. I got mine from Amazon and I love it. The texture is key in refried beans and you don’t want to put them in a food processor. I like a little texture, or don’t wan them mushy at all. https://amzn.to/30wzoeK.

This is a great tool, inexpensive, but a must have!

Easy Refried Beans from Homemade Pinto Beans

I always have refried beans in my freezer because we eat so much Mexican food. I make them, them put them in small freezer bags to use when I need them. Since I store them in small bags, I can take out just what I need for that meal.

Here are some uses for them:

as a side to any Mexican dish
nachos
tostados
burritos
tacos
Mexican pizza
layered dip

These are just to name a few. I love to make them homemade. They are so simple and so much more delicious than the canned version. The canned version seems like they just process them. I like to make mine that they are mostly mashed with the bean masher, but there may still be a little texture. So good. Wish I had some now. Here’s my Mexican Pizza that I use them in:https://the2spoons.com/simple-mexican-pizza-easy-snack/.

and, another favorite:

https://the2spoons.com/homemade-chorizo-with-eggs-hashbrowns/

Homemade Chorizo with Eggs, Hashbrowns, and Refried Beans

This is one of Allen’s favorite breakfast!

Here’s the simple recipe!

Refried Beans from Homemade Pinto Beans

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Prep Time 10

Course: easy side dish, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 lb dried pinto beans
1/4 cup lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 white onion, halved
water to cover the beans by 2 inches and more as needed
1 jalapeno, seeded optional

Method

Wash your beans and put in a bowl or pan to soak overnight with a pinch of salt and the onion.
If you are cooking on the stove top, add the lard and bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 2-3 hours until tender. Check for salt.
If you are cooking in the Instant Pot, cover with water by 1 inch. Add the lard to your pot. Use the bean mode and set for 35-45 minutes. Since we are using these for refried beans, we want them to be pretty soft.
When the beans are done, add a little oil to a skillet or a sturdy saucepan. Add the amount of beans you want to use, mashing with your bean masher, adding liquid as needed. Serve with your favorite Mexican food, Texmex dishes as a side dish or stuffed in a burrito with cheese. We like to add cheese to the top when we are using them as a side dish! Great for nachos too!

Crispy on the Outside Potatoes

November 26, 2018 by Becky Spoon

I had never made these potatoes but I kept seeing others post them and they just looked so delicious I had to try them. I wasn't able to find a recipe...so I think I figured it out. They are super easy, but they do have to cook a while to get them soft in the middle then your going to let the crisp at the end. Perfect side dish! This is a small skillet, you can make it in a large skillet for many just as easy

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

6-7 Unpealed Yukon Gold Potatoes You can use russets
4 tbsp Unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
lemon juice, optional
fresh parsley

Method

Preheat oven to 400. Melt two tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Slice the unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes or potatoes of your choice as thin as possible with a mandoline. Stack the potatoes and start lining the skillet, placing them in the skillet. Salt and pepper the potatoes trying to get a little salt into the potatoes. Add the 1/4 cup water and cover with foil.
Bake the potatoes for about 30 minutes or until they are tender when a knife or fork is inserted. When they are tender, pour the last two tablespoons butter with the garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt over the potatoes. Return to the oven and continue to bake until they are brown and crispy on top. This is a beautiful side dish! Enjoy!

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!!