Asparagus Casserole

Oct 7, 2012

Who knew that canned asparagus could be rendered edible? This is an enduring favorite from my mother-in-law’s collection, and it’s old-school, church-cookbook material: the original recipe specified Velveeta. Not my favorite, but I seem to be in the minority.

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Asparagus Casserole

Old-fashioned, custardy casserole. Guests love this.
Course Side Dish
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 can asparagus drained and cut in pieces
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 cups cracker crumbs
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese cut in 1/4 cubes
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions

  1. Beat eggs well.
  2. Add rest of ingredients to beaten eggs and stir.
  3. Pour into a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole.
  4. Melt butter and pour on top.
  5. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes, or until custard is set.

 

Hot Multi-Bean Salad

Sep 3, 2012

Adapted rom the cookbook that came with our first microwave 187 years ago. I’ve brought this to lots of potlucks and there’s never any left to bring home. Sweet and sour-ish. Not too good cold (unlike typical multi-bean salads) because the bacon grease congeals, and bacon grease is the key to the great taste

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Warm Multi-Bean Salad

Sweet and sour not-baked beans. Microwave makes them quick and delicious. As with any recipe that uses the microwave, adjust cooking times to your oven.
Course Side Dish
Keyword beans,sweet and sour,hot,side dish,picnic,vegetable,summer
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Beans

  • 1/4 lb bacon cut into small pieces
  • 1 can cut green beans drained
  • 1 can kidney beans drained
  • 1 can cut wax beans drained
  • 1 large onion coarsely chopped

Sauce

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cups vinegar whatever you like; cider vinegar works well

Instructions

Sauce

  1. Put bacon into a 2-quart casserole dish.

  2. Microwave on high for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes.

  3. Remove bacon and drain, leave bacon grease in dish.
  4. To bacon drippings in dish, add sugar and cornstarch, blending well.
  5. Stir in salt, pepper, and vinegar. Blend well.

  6. Microwave on high for 3  – 4 minutes, until thick.

Put it all together

  1. Add drained beans and onions to dish, stirring well.
  2. Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stirring at 3 minutes.
  3. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle with bacon pieces.

 

Sweet and Sour Baked Beans

Sep 3, 2012

Adapted from my mother-in-law’s recipe collection. Captain OCD’s sister makes these often and they are a big favorite wherever she brings them. You can use whatever kind of beans you like, but because they bake for a long time, they should be fairly sturdy (green beans wouldn’t work well).

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beans

Sweet and Sour Baked Beans

Not your typical sweet-and-sour baked beans. You will think two large onions are too much and so will be reluctant to use four. Two is not too many.
Course vegetable
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

Beans

  • 2 cans lima beans
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 2 cans white beans
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can pinto beans
  • 1 pound bacon
  • 2-4 Large onions cut into about 1-inch chunks

Sauce

  • 2 cups brown sugar firmly packed
  • 1 cup apple-cider vinegar
  • 3 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch mixed in about 1/4 of cold water
  • dash hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper, to taste

Optional, to make it a meal

  • Small sliced sausages or hot dogs or ground cooked sausage

Instructions

Beans

  1. In a large frying pan (an electric frying pan works best - that's a lot of onions), fry bacon until crisp.
  2. Remove bacon, drain, and crumble (leave bacon grease in pan). Set bacon aside.
  3. Add onions to the bacon grease and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.

Sauce

  1. Into frying pan with the bacon grease and onions, stir in vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, salt, and garlic powder.
  2. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until sauce has reduced a bit.
  3. Add the cornstarch/water and cook for another minute or two.

Put it all together

  1. Drain all the beans and dump into a casserole dish.
  2. Add onions, sauce, bacon, and sausage/hot dogs (if you're using those).
  3. Bake uncovered at 350 for about an hour and half, until hot and bubbly.

 

Pickled Dill Green Beans

Sep 3, 2012

For information about safe canning, go here.

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Pickled Dill Green Beans

Course Appetizer
Keyword green beans,beans,pickled vegetable,vegetable,appetizer
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. fresh green beans
  • 1-1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1-1/3 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • small handful fresh dill-weed sprigs
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste

Instructions

Beans

  1. Wash and trim beans.
  2. Peel and whack garlic cloves with side of knife.
  3. Steam or parboil the beans for about 3 minutes, until tender but still crisp.
  4. Run cold water over beans to stop cooking process (they'll continue to soften in the hot liquid you're about to pour over them).

Pickling liquid

  1. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Assembly

  1. Place beans, garlic, and dill in container with a lid.
  2. Pour hot liquid over beans.
  3. If canning, follow directions at link above.
  4. If not canning, let cool.

  5. If you didn't can them, cover and refrigerate.

Recipe Notes

Refrigerate for at least several days to allow flavors to blend before serving.

You can also can these.

 

Pickled Carrots

Sep 3, 2012

pickled-carrots

For information about safe canning, go here.

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pickled carrots

Pickled Carrots

Pickled carrots that are slightly crunchy, sweet, and sour.
Course Appetizer, pickled vegetable, Side Dish, Snack, vegetable
Cuisine American
Keyword pickled vegetable,carrot,pickled carrot,appetizer
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5 pounds carrots If not using baby carrots, peel and slice regular carrots 1/2-inch thick
  • 3-3/4 cup vinegar
  • 2-2/3 cup water
  • 2-1/2 cup sugar
  • 5 teaspoon whole pickling spice
  • 10 large basil leaves
  • 10 small springs oregano
  • 10 cloves garlic

Instructions

Carrots

  1. Boil carrots for about 5 minutes, until barely tender (you want them to be a little crunchy, like pickles, and they’ll cook more during the processing).
  2. When done, flush with cold water to stop cooking process.

  3. Drain carrots.

Pickling liquid

  1. Bring water, vinegar, and sugar to a boil.

  2. Simmer for 3 minutes after it reaches a boil.

Assembly

  1. Pack carrots (but not too tightly) in hot jars.
  2. To each jar, add 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice, 1 basil leaf, 1 sprig oregano, and 1 garlic clove.
  3. Cover carrots with hot vinegar/water/sugar liquid to about 1/2" from top of jar.

  4. Wipe off the top of filled jars with a clean, damp towel.

  5. Place hot lids on jars, then screw on hot rings.

  6. Process (boil) jars for 15 minutes.

  7. Take jars out of hot water and place on a counter to cool.

  8. Let finished jars sit undisturbed on a counter for a day.

  9. Inspect jars to be sure they are sealed. Store in a cool, dry place. Keep any unsealed jars in the refrgerator.

Recipe Notes

Let jars sit for a week or so for optimum flavor. Refrigerate after opening.

If you don’t want to can the carrots, reduce the recipe to a more manageable size and mix everything in a bowl. After the carrots have cooled, transfer to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Best if made at least a few days ahead.