Tag Archives: Kidney Beans

Slow Cooker Tuscan Chili

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Slow cooker tuscan chiliI think winter is actually over. Heat is where it’s at now. I like to use my slow cooker a lot when the temperatures soar, it doesn’t heat up the house as much as having the oven on, plus it is oh so nice to not be cooking over the hot stove top come dinner time. I still like eating hot dinners though, so that leaves slow cooker or BBQ. Another thing that has come back with the heat is swimming lessons, which I booked exactly at supper time. This means that we have to have a really early supper or a really late one. I don’t want to send starving children into the pool so early it is, makes slow cooker even a bit more enticing. And so I made this delicious chili recipe, that actually contains not one speck of chili powder in the whole thing, oh well, it was yummy anyways.

Recipe from What’s Cooking Magazine Festive 2011

  • 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 green and yellow pepper, chopped
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, ( 19 ounce)
  • 1 can tomato paste (5.5 ounce)
  • 1 can white kidney beans ( 19 ounce)
  • 1/2 tsp each dried basil and oregano
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In large skillet crumble sausage, add onion and cook until meat is cooked through and onion is tender. Place in slow cooker.

2. Add next 4 ingredients and stir. cook on low for 4 hours. Add spices. cook on high for additional 10 minutes.

3. Serve into bowls and top with cheese.

4. Eat and enjoy!

Sausage, Red Beans and Rice

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Red Beans and RiceThis was our lunch on Saturday. I had some sausages waiting to be used in the freezer and low and behold found a great new recipe to use them up on. Here is Canada it’s the long weekend, so we have been having a lot of fun! Our standard movie night on Friday, Saturday was basketball and beach with a friend ( I opted to stay in and read by myself for most of this, rare to actually have quiet during my reading times), Sunday we drove up to Drumheller to spend time with my parents and have the ever popular hot dog roast with s’mores. Good times have been had. We left the kids up there with the folks and today my husband and I have a double date. Not a double date with other people, we have decided to go to back to back movies. Well not quite back to back as we will be having a dinner date in between, but it has been ages since we went to the movie theater and there are just too many movies we want to see…I am excited!

The Sausage, Red Beans and Rice recipe is from  Allrecipes

  •                     1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  •                     1/4 cup onion, chopped
  •                     2 garlic clove, minced
  •                     1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  •                     1/2 pound fully cooked smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  •                     2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
  •                     2  cups canned ranch-style or chili beans
  •                     1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  •                     1/4 teaspoon pepper
  •                     Hot cooked rice

1. Fry green pepper, onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add sausage and continue to fry until brown.

2. Add tomatoes, beans, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for twenty minutes.

3. Serve over hot cooked rice. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

4. Eat and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Burritos

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Burritos before the roll upIt is raining here. I love the rain. It means a nice quiet afternoon sitting by the fireplace reading. I find I love cold days even more now that I have a fireplace because nothing beats sitting in your very own library, with a nice beverage, a great book, and a lovely warm and cozy fire. So yay rain! All you sunshine lovers are probably hating me right now, but I love the rain!!

Anyways on to the super yummy recipe, this was our vegetarian Thursday recipe and it was delish! We served it with sour cream and salsa but you could totally eat it plain too! Or with guacamole! I got the recipe on Allrecipes.

  •                     1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  •                     1 onion, chopped
  •                     4 cloves garlic, minced
  •                     6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
  •                     2 cups water
  •                     3 tablespoons chili powder
  •                     2 teaspoons ground cumin
  •                     4 teaspoons prepared mustard
  •                     1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
  •                     3 tablespoons soy sauce
  •                     4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
  •                     12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
  •                     8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender. Add kidney beans and water. ( the recipe says to add 2 cups water, I didn’t want it to be to liquidy so I only added 1/2 cup and it was the perfect texture, but decide how liquidy you want yours and go from there).

2. Stir in all the spices, soy sauce and mustard.

3. Lay out tortillas and evenly spread with sweet potatoes, top with bean mixture, top with cheese. Roll up and place in a large greased pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

5. Eat and enjoy!

Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie

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DinnerI noticed when I make the grocery list sometimes I go over board with what I am feeling like on that day. Last week it was pasta, by the end of the week I was looking at the pasta not wanting to eat another single bite. Now you have to understand that I always make our dinners large so that we can eat leftovers all week for lunches. As my kids home school I have found that leftovers for lunch is the quickest, most satisfying stay at home lunch. As I was writing next week’s meal plan on the menu board last night I noticed a lot of salad. Probably because my tummy was feeling heavy from all that pasta that I ate last week. Oh well, you can all plan to see a lot of lettuce in my pictures but I will give you the main course recipes instead. Last night for Vegetarian Thursdays we made Shepard’s Pie, and boy was it good.

Original Recipe found at Allrecipesveggies

  •                     8 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
  •                     2 carrots, sliced
  •                     1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
  •                     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  •                     1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  •                     1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  •                     3 tablespoons butter
  •                     1/4 teaspoon salt
  •                     1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  •                     6 tablespoons milk
  •                     1 onion, chopped
  •                     1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  •                     1 (19 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
  •                     1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
  •                     1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  •                     1 teaspoon soy sauce
  •                     1/2 teaspoon white sugar
  •                     1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  •                     1/2 teaspoon paprika

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Boil potatoes in large pot of boiling water until tender and ready to mash. Drain. Mash potatoes with milk, butter, garlic powder, basil and parsley, set aside until ready to use.

3. While potatoes are boiling in a medium saucepan boil carrots and mixed vegetables until tender, drain, set aside.

4. In same medium saucepan, cook onion in vegetable oil, until tender and cooked through. Add kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, soy sauce and sugar to pot. Bring to a gentle boil. Stir in carrots and veg mixture. Pour into casserole dish (mine was 11×7, but a 13×9 would work too).

5.Top with mashed potatoes, spread around as best you can, cheese and paprika.

6. Bake for 30 minutes.casserole