At our house this is Feijoada. A long LONG time ago when we had very little money for groceries I wanted to make something different. I had black beans, ground beef, and rice. After much searching I found a recipe for Feijoada and even though I had few of the ingredients, I made it with what I had.

Now, argue with me if you want but that is the true spirit of Feijoada, isn’t it? Using what you have in such a way as to create gastronomic Olympus.  Rich and spicy, filled with the flavors of Central and South America this is my version of a Brazilian dish.  It is flavorful, frugal, foreign and filling and can you ask for much more than that out of a food? Really?

I serve this with brown rice, and a salad of some sort. I think that in keeping with the simplicity of this dish the best dessert is fruit. I will post the fruit recipe soon, but for now try this dish. It is just so easy and versatile that you are bound to make it often. Adjust amounts for your family, and adjust peppers to your own tastes.

Feijoada

• 1 can organic black beans
• 1 can organic cannellini beans
• 4 slices smoked bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp
• 3 carrots peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• Chopped hot peppers of choice, jalapeno, serrano, poblano etc. Adjust to your taste
• 1/4 tsp dried chipotle
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 limes
• 8 cups of cooked brown rice

1. Add a little olive oil to a skillet. Saute garlic, onion and peppers until tender.
2. Add meat and brown,
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cumin
4. Add chicken broth, carrots, and beans and simmer until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Just before serving squeeze the juice of one lime into the stew.
6. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve over the rice with slices of lime on the side.

Serves 8

image:marye audet

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O.k. Egg noodles and chocolate….and pizza…and..

O.k.maybe I couldn’t exist on them.  I lied.  But they are awfully good.  The secret to thin, delicate egg noodles is to let the dough relax before rolling it out.  It is best if you can let it sit in the refrigerator, well wrapped, for a few hours.  This way the gluten will loosen up and you will be able to roll very thin.   I don’t worry to much about how uniform they are in size.  After all, I want them to look homemade!  You can cut them with a fluted pastry cutter for pretty edges.  Personally, I just run a knife down them.

This is my entry for  Presto Presto Nights. This week it is hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Egg Noodles

5 cups organic flour

4 eggs, beaten

pinch of salt

1 cup milk or water, approximate measure  (milk makes them more tender)

Mix together the flour and salt.  Add the milk and the eggs.  Stir and knead to make a firm dough.  Knead for several minutes or until the dough becomes smooth.  About five minutes or so should be good.

Wrap the dough and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.  After that it may start to discolor.

Roll the dough out very thin on a floured surface.  Cut into noodles of desired width and allow to dry for about 30 minutes.  You can cook them without this step but they may stick together more.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

• 2 lbs of ground beef
• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle granules (optional)
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 1/3 cup beef broth
• 1 cup sour cream (not low fat)

Brown beef in a skillet with onion, pepper and garlic. Season with the salt and pepper.  Stir often.

Pour off grease.

Add mushrooms, chipotle, sherry, and beef broth.  Simmer until this has reduced by about 1/4.

Stir in the sour cream and heat through.

Meanwhile cook the noodles in boiling, salted water for about 3 minutes.  Drain and toss with some butter.

Serve over the fresh noodles.

about 8 servings.

Post from: Baking Delights

I have such a backlog of recipes and cookbooks that I could probably cook something different, three times a day, all year long, until I died and I would still never have to repeat anything.  I love vintage cookbooks for several reasons, but the main one is practicality.

Now, if you are reading this, and you have the perfect family of 4 people you can buy any cookbook and follow a recipe with out a glitch. But when you have 6 or 8 or 12 people ot cook for then you need a vintage cookbook.  They are family friendly.

Anyway.  Our garden is producing okra like gangbusters and  we are eating tons of it.I needed a recipe that would use alot of okra, a little meat, and everyone would eat so I browsed my 1948 Cooking for American Homemakers..I think it is 1948….anyway….Oops..nope it was the 1954 Federation of Women’s Clubs, America Cooks,cookbook.  There.  Whew.

Honesty is important don’t you think?

Anyway, this recipe is great.  Okra is in season now here in Texas and will continue to be until it gets cold.  Fresh okra, fresh tomatoes, a good amount of onions and some ground beef is a great, quick lunch or supper meal.  The recipe called for it to be served over rice but I preferred egg noodles.  This my submission in Presto Pasta Night.  This week it is hosted by Abby of Eat the Right Stuff.  Head over there and check out the other pasta meals..they are awesome every week.

Turkish Beef and Noodles

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3 medium onions chopped
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 pounds of okra, sliced (I used more)
• 1 quart home-canned tomatoes or 4 cups of fresh tomatoes chopped or 2 big cans of Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chipotle (o.k..ya got me, that was not in the original recipe but it was good)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3 cups beef broth or water
• 2 lbs of egg noodles cooked

1. Brown the onion and the beef in the oil in a large saucepan.
2.  Add all the remaining ingredients except the noodles.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes
4. Serve over the noodles

Serves 8  generously, with leftovers.

This is definitely one of those mid-century comfort foods. It freezes well so would be great for OAMC, or you could do it in a slow cooker…all in all it is the perfect dish for a busy night.

Images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

  I am telling you, blogging at the library is getting old and I dislike not being able to post pictures  because I like to look at pictures on blogs, myself. Plus, I am getting jealous of all Aisa’a yummy pictures sitting there on her posts tempting me to break my diet.    Ijust am trying to decide,I am leaning toward a laptop but I have 6 kids remaining at home that are homeschooled and use the computer routinely as well..What I need is for a couple of thousand to be dropped in my lap and get both.

   O.k..these are really good and not hard to make..you can use chicken or turkey instead of the ground beef if you like. The recipe makes 12 enchiladas. According to most theories this will feed 6 people. In our house that will take care of the 2 teenage boys…I usually double or triple the recipe.

  I used to do Once a Month Cooking…I really like the idea altho I do get tired of so many casserole type meals. This recipe is from when I was doing that and therefore freezes very, very well.  If you are freezing then freeze the grated cheese in a small ziploc and attach the ziploc to the casserole dish so you can add the cheese seperately when you cook it. Freeze for up to 3 months.

  These are child friendly..meaning they are no too spicy. If you like more spice add about 1/2 c of salsa verde to the sauce with the chilis.

 1 1/2 lb ground beef  (chicken breast, or turkey )

1 1/4 c chopped onion

1 Tbs chili powder

12 corn tortillas

3 c grated monterey jack cheese

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

            *OR if you are NOT freezing this make a white sauce with 2 c half and half, 1/4 c flour, 2 tsp chicken bullion paste and salt and pepper to taste. I dislike using commercila products because of everything they seem to like to add to it but it does freeze better when you use the commercial product.

  1 1/2 c sour cream

4 oz can diced chilis

  Brown beef.If you are using cooked chicken breast or turkey leftovers then just go ahead to the sauteeing. . Saute onion. Combine with chili powder, salt and pepper.

  Reserve 1 c cheese (this is what you would put in freezer bag if freezing). Mix remaining cheese in with meat mixture.

  Warm tortillas until flexible.

  lay a tortilla flat and spoon about 2 tbs meat mixture down center.  roll up and place, seam side down, in a 9×13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with olive oil. Repeat until all the tortillas have been used.

 Combine soup, sour cream and green chilis to make a sauce. Pour over enchiladas.

 Freeze at this point…

 OR

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle reserved 1 cup cheese over top and continue baking for 10 more minutes or until heated through.

Post from: Baking Delights