Classic Black Beans

Classic Black Beans
(adapted from a Goya recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 15.5oz can Goya black beans, undrained
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 packet of Sazon Goya without Annatto (comes in orange box in Goya aisle)
• 1 T cider vinegar, white wine or white cooking wine

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and peppers; cook until tender, about 8 - 10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1 - 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over hot rice of your choice.

Tips:

• I usually use the cider vinegar and it turns out great, but would use wine if I had it on hand.
• Freezes really well.
• I usually double so I have an extra dinner's worth to freeze. 
• When I double, I DO NOT double water & oregano. For the water, sometimes I do 1.5 times, but it just depends on how it all looks once mixed, I don't want it too runny.
• Can simmer up to 20 or 30 mins if you want to make ahead of time.
• Can be easily made day before and reheated.
• To increase veggie amounts, I usually do some or all of the following:
• Add and extra 1/4 cup green pepper
• Add 2 - 3 cups of spinach chopped into small pieces and will it in for the last 10 mins or so
• Top with chopped tomatoes and a doll-up of sour cream when served.

Oven Roasted Green Beans

Eat your greens! I have oven roasted green beans before, but none ever turned out quite this good. The kiddos gobbled them right up with their fingers. This one will be a weekly staple for us! Thanks Emeril!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds green beans
1 1/2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 fresh minced garlic cloves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Trim/snap the ends of the green beans and add to a large bowl. Toss with the extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Spread out evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Roast, stirring once halfway through, until lightly caramelized and crisp tender, 20 minutes.

Tips:
-Recipe easily halved (that is what I did)
-I cooked the full 20 mins to get them extra browned
-I think the beans get more blistered/browned in a good way with no parchment paper

Baked Kale Chips

Sheehan house motto: Eat Your Greens! :) This recipe makes it easy to eat Kale which is one of the most nutritious things you can eat.

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Tips:

-I bought the pre-chopped Kale as a short cut.
-They are very salty, so you can cut the salt down to your taste
-It is key to get the right cooking time - watch them carefully - undercooked = still chewy, overcooked = burned

They really do turn out like crispy chips - I promise you will like them. Even the kiddies gobbled them up. They save for a few days too, so you can make them ahead of time.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

I couldn't let February get by without at least one new recipe on the blog, so here it is - Cauliflower. You might say YUCK, but it was actually great and the whole family loved it. It will be in the weekly veggie rotation from now on. I have been trying all sorts of new veggie recipes lately to help us make it to '5 a day' each day and this is one of the only good ones so far. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated into small florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a large casserole dish or use non-stick baking/roasting pan. Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag or bowl. Add cauliflower and mix well. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Note:
I omitted the parsley because it is not my favorite and it still tasted great!

Corn Casserole

This one is for you Steph! Carol's corn casserole feeds a lot of peeps and is super easy and yummy.

Ingredients:
2 cans cream style corn
1 C cornbread mix (I use Jiffy)
3/4 C oil
4 eggs beaten
1 tsp garlic salt
1 - 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Mix all ingredients well. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes until lightly browned.

Tips:
*Use at least 1 cup of cheese, but you can use up to 2 - just depends on how cheesy you want it
*Sometimes I add 3 or 4 T of chopped japs in the jar - spices it up just right!

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

I make these all the time - they are so easy, low fat (except for the olive oil) and great for kids! It also helps that I have a rosemary bush growing in the backyard and I can just run out and grab my fresh herbs. (Sidenote: rosemary is a year round shrub and its SO easy to grow and take care of. I highly recommend buying one and putting it your yard next spring and you'll have fresh rosemary for all the years to come!)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds small red or white-skinned potatoes (or a mixture)
1/8 cup good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Dump the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning. Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.

Tips:
-Most of the time I only use 1T of rosemary and they still turn out great
-Regular russet potatoes get the crispiest on the outside, red potatoes get softer
-They are usually done in about 45 mins versus the 1 hr stated, although I guess another 15 mins would just make them crispier

Bouillon Green Beans

I just made these easy-peasy green beans. They are delicious and a staple in our week night dinners!

Ingredients:

1 can green beans

1 beef bouillon cube

1/2 tsp of minced garlic from the jar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes to make sure the bouillon cube dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste.