Beer Bread

Not much to it. This probably came from one of my parents' Irish dance club friends. It's very dense and buttery.

 

img via: gimme some oven

2 T sugar
3 c self-rising flour
12 oz beer
1/2 stick butter, melted

Mix sugar and flour. Add beer in 3 parts, stirring well between each. Pour batter into well-greased loaf pan. Drizzle butter over batter. Bake at 350F for 55 minutes.

To replace self-rising flour: 3 c all-purpose flour, 4 1/2 t baking powder, 1 1/2 t salt.

Spoon Bread

This recipe came from my aunt, Helen. Not too long to prep, but always seems to bake for-freaking-ever.

img via: thrifty fun

1 c sour cream
3 T butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 c chopped onion
15 oz can kernel corn, undrained
15 oz can creamed corn
8.5 oz package Jiffy corn muffin mix

Whisk together sour cream, butter, and egg. Add onion, corn, and muffin mix. Combine well. Bake in a greased pan at 350F for 1 hour.

Cauliflower & Cheese Bake

This is one of my grandma's recipes. Not the grandma who liked to bake, but the one who doesn't eat spicy foods. It's kinda interesting, I think you could experiment with different cheeses.

img via: veggie venture

1 medium cauliflower head
2 T dry breadcrumbs
1/2 - 3/4 c grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1/4 c butter, melted

Trim cauliflower, but keep whole. Cook in boiling and salted water until "tender, but firm." Drain, put cauliflower head in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese, breadcrumbs, and butter. Bake at 475F for 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Potato & Mushroom Casserole

I don't know where this came from, probably the back of a soup can. Apparently I didn't feel it necessary to note how long you bake it for, I don't know what's up with that, but it's at least a half hour.

img via: tales of thyme & place

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 c grated cheddar cheese
6-10 potatoes
black pepper
paprika

Wash potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Combine condensed soup, cheese, and pepper. Arrange potato slices in a sprayed casserole dish - we usually end up with three long rows of overlapping slices. Top potatoes with soup and cheese mix. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350F "until cheese melts & potatoes are softened."

Edit 5/15/12: I found my mom's recipe card. This recipe is from my aunt Helen, and it bakes covered for 45 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes.

Mexican Beans

My mom created this recipe. It's awesome with rice or Cornbread, and we use it as the base for tacos and taco salad. For some reason, the version that I have written down is for a massive batch, and calls for a gigantic can of beans, the one as big as your head. Scale away.

img via: off the (meat) hook

6lb 12oz canned kidney beans (3-pound coffee size)
1 t garlic powder
1 1/2 t oregano
3 t cumin

Combine over medium heat. Stir/mash occasionally to prevent sticking. It can stay over low heat for a while and will continue to thicken.

Louisiana Style Red Beans & Rice

From Skinny Vegetarian Entrees.

3 c canned red beans (save canning liquid)
3 c cooked rice
1/3 c minced red onion
3 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 c minced scallion (greens and whites)
1/4 c minced celery leaves
1/4 t dry sage
1/4 t dry thyme
1/4 t cayenne powder

Melt butter in saucepan. Saute garlic 1 minute on low heat.
Add red onion, celery leaves, and round 1/3 cup scallions. Saute 4 minutes on medium heat.
Add sage, thyme, and cayenne. Add beans and 3/4 canning liquid. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring often.
Serve beans over rice, garnish with remaining scallions.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

I think this one is from the Fiddlehead? Delicious, in any case.

img via: Rebecca Crump @ ezrapoundcake

1 T vegetable oil
1/2lb sliced mushrooms
1/2 c chopped onion
2 T flour
1 T curry powder
14.5 oz can vegetable broth
1 c water
16 oz canned pumpkin
1 T honey
1/8 t nutmeg
1/4 t pepper
1 c skim evaporated milk

Heat oil in heavy saucepan. Saute mushrooms until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add flour and curry powder, stir constantly for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat.
Stirring constantly, add vegetable broth and water. Add pumpkin, honey, nutmeg and pepper.
Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add evaporated milk and heat thoroughly. Do not allow to boil.
Serves 7.

Cream of Carrot Soup

This actually came from Samantha's Cookbook, which I got in second grade or so, and used to make an entire four-course Victorian meal for my family, complete with hand-decorated menus and place cards. A quick look at the American Girl website shows that cookbooks are no longer a part of the "empowering girls through history" plan, but there are now a whopping twelve historical dolls available, only $95 each with the first book and basic outfit. Good greif.





Anyway, the soup. It's very good and just a little spicy. Or a lot spicy, if you're like me, and switch the salt and cayenne pepper measurements every dang time you make it.

 img via: i'm hungry on a budget

1 lb carrots
2 c vegetable broth
2 T butter
2 T flour
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 c half & half

Peel carrots and cut into 1/2 inch slices. In a saucepan, bring carrots and broth to a boil. Then cook 20 minutes on medium-low heat, until the carrots are soft. Drain and SAVE the broth. Mash carrots.
In a large pot, melt butter, add flour and cook 1 minute on low heat. Add carrots, salt, and cayenne pepper. Slowly add broth and cook 10 minutes on medium-high heat.
Stirring constantly, add half & half. Bring soup back to hot, but do not allow to boil.
Serve with crackers.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I'm not sure where this came from, Mom may have created it. My notes are, "excellent! - will probably work with most any vegetable so long as it's steamed before you add it to the soup."

4 T butter
5 T flour
3 c liquid dairy, heated (I guess this means, milk or cream or half&half, whatever you have)
1 c vegetable broth, heated
1/4 c vegetable broth, cold
1 onion, minced well
1 bay leaf
2-3 c chopped broccoli, steamed
1 heaping T cornstarch

Heat butter, fry onions until clear.
Add flour and stir.
Add hot milk and broth slowly, stirring after each addition.
Add bay leaf, stirring constantly.
To thicken, mix cold broth and cornstarch, then add to soup.
Add broccoli.
Simmer on very low heat "for a while".

Chana Pindi and Garam Masala

My dad decided to learn to cook Indian food a while back. It works because there are a lot of vegetarian recipes from some regions, and this is one of our favorites. It comes from the Bombay Palace Cookbook.

1 packet chana masala spice or 2 rounded T garam masala
1 t garam masala
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t tumeric
1/4 t cayenne
2c drained chickpeas
1 piece fresh ginger, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can tomatoes, drained
1/2 c water
1/4 c butter, melted
2 T chopped cilantro

Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, spices, and water in a skillet or wok. Save for later: butter, cilantro, half of the chana masala, and the tablespoon of garam masala.
Cover skillet and simmer 5-7 minutes to allow most of the water to evaporate.
Transfer chickpeas to serving dish. Pour melted butter over.
Sprinkle with cilantro, garam masala, and remaining chana masala.

McCormick sells a garam masala, but it's much sweeter than this blend. Bulk spices are shockingly cheap at my local Indian supermarkets, so check 'em out.
To make your own garam masala, grind together: 8 oz tumeric, 8 oz coriander, 8 oz cumin, 6 oz powdered sugar, 4 oz black peppercorns, 1 oz cardamom, 2 oz fennel seed, 2 oz mace, 1 oz whole cloves, 1 oz mustard seed, 1 oz poppy seed, 1 oz garlic powder, 1 oz fenugreek seed, and 1/2 oz cinnamon.
Store in an airtight container.

Black Bean and Rice Burritos

From Vegetarian Times.

1c brown rice (dry)
12 6-inch flour tortillas
16 oz. can black beans
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 c chopped onion
1-2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
chopped scallions
salsa

Cook the rice as directed, usually: 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat 35 minutes.
Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in oven at 200F, or microwave as directed.
Combine the black beans (with canning liquid), garlic, tomato, onion, chili powder, and cumin in a saucepan. Simmer until tomatoes are soft, usually 5-15 minutes.*
Spoon rice and beans into each tortilla. Garnish with scallions and salsa.

Per burrito: 185 calories, 0 cholesterol, 3g fat, 35g carbs, 6g protein.

*The even simpler cheater version of this is to just combine a can of drained black beans with a can of half-drained tomatoes and chilis (I usually get either Rotel or Hunt's), add some cumin and chili powder, and cook on medium heat until it's hot throughout and starts to simmer.

Hasselback Potatoes

This is from a book called Essential Vegetarian. I usually end up just throwing cheese on until it looks good, because I really don't know what three ounces looks like.

4-6 potatoes
2 T butter, melted
1 c breadcrumbs (about 2 slices)
3 oz shredded cheddar cheese
paprika
sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Peel the potatoes and cut into halves or quarters. Make downward slices into each half, 1/4 inch or less apart, and stopping about 1/4 inch from cutting all the way through.
Lay the potato halves in a greased 2.5 quart pan. Brush potatoes with melted butter.
Bake 30 minutes.
Take pan from oven, sprinkle potatoes with cheese and breadcrumbs.
Bake 15 minutes more.
Sprinkle with paprika, serve hot with sour cream.