Green Bean Salad

Green bean salads are a regular dish in our home - perfect for when they are in abundance in mid to late summer.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds green beans – with ends trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• Pinch of salt
• 2 hard-boiled eggs – finely chopped

Directions

Bring about one inch of water to a boil in a pot into that your steamer basket fits into. Put trimmed and cleaned green beans in the steamer basket, set over the boiling water, cover, and steam until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes (depending on how crisp or tender you like your green beans).

Remove the pot from stove to the sink and immediately run under cold water, shocking the vegetables so they stop cooking. While your green beans cool, in a salad bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Drain any excess water from your cooled beans and toss them in the serving bowl with your egg dressing.



Sausage, Kale, White Bean Soup

I was looking for something warm and hearty to make last Sunday as the first truly cold days of winter started to bite. The way the yam broke down brought a wonderfully silky texture and an unexpected creaminess.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried great northern beans – soaked and prepared
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium leeks – halved, rinsed and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic – chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1.5 quarts of water
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary – chopped
• Fresh ground black pepper – to taste
• 2 medium yams – peeled, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 pound hot cased sausage – sliced into 1 inch pieces
• ½ pound kale – stems and center ribs removed, torn into bite sized pieces

Directions
Pour beans into a stove top pot, cover with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand uncovered for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans in a colander.

In a separate 8 quart stock pot, sweat leeks and garlic in olive oil on low for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened (being careful to keep low so the garlic does not burn).

Add rinsed beans, chicken broth, water, rosemary, pepper, and yams to the stock pot. Bring up to a boil, then lower and simmer for 50 minutes.

While your soup in simmering, sauté sausage slices in batches until browned and fully cooked. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

Once your yams and beans are tender, add the sausage and kale. Stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, let simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

White Bean Dip

This recipe is taken from what is becoming an increasing staple in my household: everyday italian. I like this as an alternative to hummus and works not only with pita bread but with your favorite snacking vegetables too.

Ingredients

• 4 pita breads cut into 8ths (although the original calls for baking them, I prefer them as-is)
• 1 (15 oz) can of cannellini beans – drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley – loosely packed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice – approximately ½ of a lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions

In your food processor (or blender) combine the beans, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixer on and off until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Then with the machine running, gradually pour in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy. Feel free to add more salt and pepper to taste.

Boston Baked Beans (Traditional)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds white beans (aka navy, yankee, boston, and fagioli)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 small onions – peeled
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
• ½ pound salt pork
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a large saucepan, let white beans soak overnight (or at least 8 hours) in 2 quarts of water. The following morning, or after the soak, add baking soda to pot and bring beans up to a simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow an additional one-hour soak in the same water. Drain beans, reserving the liquid.

Place half of the beans in either a beanpot or dutch oven.

In a separate bowl, mix mustard, molasses, brown sugar, salt, and 2 cups of the reserved water. Pour ½ of the mixture over beans in the pot.

Place the 2 peeled onions in the middle of the pot, on top of the beans.

Combine the remaining half of the sugar mixture with the remaining half of the beans in a separate bowl, toss to coat. Pour these beans into the pot as well, covering the onions.

Place the salt pork on top of the beans, rind up. Using the reserved water, pour enough water into the beanpot to just cover the beans.

Cover the beanpot. Bake for 6 to 8 hours at 250 degrees. Add water as needed to keep the beans moist. Uncover during the last 45 minutes of baking to brown the pork.

Three Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans - rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans - rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can cut green beans - drained

2 celery stalks – finely chopped

½ red onion – finely chopped

1 cup fresh parsley – finely chopped

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, mix vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Fold in beans, celery, onion, and parsley. Coat well with mixture.

Let salad cool in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours, allowing dressing to be absorbed by the beans.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) can black beans – rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can corn - drained
• 1 red pepper – chopped
• ½ red onion – chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 lime – juiced
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro – chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate and let stand for at least 30 minutes – giving time for the flavors to meld.

***This works great as both a side dish and as a dip with your favorite corn chips.

Chili with Veggies and Beer

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 package white mushrooms – sliced
• 2 peppers – red, green, or yellow – chopped
• 1 medium onion – chopped
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 (28 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes with diced green chilies
• 2 (16 ounce) cans red kidney beans – rinsed and drained
• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans – rinsed and drained
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle of your favorite beer
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano – chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil – chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

Directions

In a large 4 quart saucepan, cook the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until cooked – breaking up with a spoon , about 5 minutes, and drain fat.

In the same pan, add the remaining olive oil to the beef along with the mushrooms, peppers, onions, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the peppers are tender.

Then add the remaining ingredients, and bring the saucepan contents up to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves before serving.

***This recipe makes a lot of chili, and I freeze most of it for future meals. I find that the thawed leftovers have an extra heat kick which makes it even tastier the next time around.