BBQ Black Beans

This recipes is a clone of El Pollo Locos' BBQ Black Beans.

1 lb black beans soaked 8 hours or overnight.
2 smallish onions chopped.
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups bottled bbq sauce (I used Famous Daves Sweet and Spicy Sauce)
2-3 drops liquid smoke per pint jar
1 small jalapeno minced and divided among 5 pint jars

Fill beans to the halfway point, add onions and jalapeno evenly.
I also added some pico de gallo although the original recipe did not call for it. I added about 1/3 cup BBQ sauce per jar and then filled with water.
The beans soak up the water and you are left with a thickened sauce, in a few week the sauce will be very thick as beans continue to absorb the water.

Process at 11 lbs for 75 minutes pints and 90 minutes quarts. 

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

6 cloves of garlic

3 T. olive oil

4 medium red, yellow and/or green halved and seeded

12 lbs peeled tomatoes

3 T. packed brown sugar

2 T. kosher salt

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 t. ground pepper

2 cups snipped basil leaves

1 cup assorted fresh oregano, thyme, or flat leave parsley

6 T. bottled lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees peel away the dry outer layer of the garlic bulbs. Cut top off and leave bulbs intact. Place cut side up on a casserole dish and drizzle with one tablespoon of oil. Cover casserole and arrange peppers cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.

Roast garlic and peppers for 40 -50 minutes or until the pepper skins are charred or the garlic cloves are soft. Cool garlic on a wire rack until cool enough to handle. Pull up foil to enclose the peppers. Let peppers stand for 15 to 20 minutes or cool enough to handle.  Peel off skin and discard. Set aside peppers.

Remove garlic by squeezing the bottom of the bulbs. Place garlic cloves in a food processor and add cut peeled tomatoes into chunks. Add some of the chunks to the garlic in the food processor. Cover and process till chopped. Transfer chopped garlic and tomatoes to a 7-8 quart stainless steel heavy pot.  Repeat chopping the remaining tomatoes in batches in the food processor. Add all the tomatoes to the pot.

Add brown sugar, salt, vinegar, and black pepper to the tomato mixture. Bring to boiling, boil steady for 50 minutes stirring often. Add chopped roasted peppers to tomato mixture. Boil for 10 to 20 minutes more or until mixture reduced to 11 cups and reaches desired consistency stirring occasionally. Remove from heat stir in basil and assorted herbs.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice into each of the hot sterilized pint jars. Ladle hot sauce into jars with lemon juice leaving a ½” headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids. Process jars for 35 minutes in a water bath at a full boil. Makes 6 pints.

Creamed Tuna

Here is another simple and easy recipe that my kids love.  I was introduced to this from a friend and now I am hooked on it.  Not only is it simple and easy to make but there are endless possibilities to this recipe...I want to make it again and try it with other veggies.   It goes great with biscuits or rice.


INGREDIENTS:
2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup of flour
4 cans of tuna
2 cans of peas
1 can of mushrooms
Milk
Salt and peper to taste
Biscuits or rice


DIRECTIONS:
1. In a pot, melt both sticks of butter.  Add flour gradually until it forms a paste like.
2. Once you have that then add your milk until you get a smooth consistency   
3. Keep whisking adding milk  slowly until it makes a cream base until you get the consistency you want.
4. Add tuna (flaked with fork), peas and mushrooms

Spaghetti

So I have finally had time to get back on and update the blog with some new recipes.  This recipe is a great one and my kids LOVE it.  


Sauce:
1 (14.5oz) can of diced tomatoes with garlic & Basil
1 (14.5oz) can of diced tomatoes Italian style
2 (6oz) cans of tomato paste
2 (14.5oz) cans of tomato sauce 
2 (8oz) cans of tomato sauce
2/3 cup of sugar
2 cups of sherry cooking wine
1/3 cup of minced garlic
1/3 cup of oregano
1/4 cup of italian seasoning


Sausage:
cook according to package then slice and add to sauce


Noodles:  cook according to package


DIRECTIONS:
1.  add all ingredients for sauce and let simmer for 1hour.  
2.  while sauce is simmering, cook sasuage according to package, then slice and add to sauce
3.  let simmer for another 45 min. on low
4.  cook your noodles until done, drain and serve.

Yield: 12 servings

More Tips

Tip #5
When buying potatoes, look for those that are firm, well shaped and free of blemishes.  Avoid potatoes that are wrinkled, cracked or sprouting.  If kept in a cool, dark, well ventilated place, most potatoes will keep for up to 2 weeks.


Tip #6
White wine vinegar is made from white wine and , although its flavor is pungent, it is milder than distilled white vinegar.  Distilled white vinegar is made from a grain alcohol mix.  It has a strong, sharp flavor and is most often used for pickling foods and as a cleaning agent.


Tip #7
I've found that a melon baller works great to scoop out the seeds and membranes from red and green peppers. 

Twice-Baked Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 6 servings


INGREDIENTS:
2-1/2 pounds medium potatoes, peeled
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbl butter, melted
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/2 Tsp salt
1/8 Tsp pepper


DIRECTIONS:
1.  Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender.  Drain.


2.  In a large bowl, mash potatoes.  Add sour cream, milk, butter and 1 cup of cheese.  Stir in onion, bacon, salt and pepper.  Spoon into a greased 2-qt baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.


3.  Bake uncovered at 350' for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.


I cooked extra strips of bacon so that I could top my potatoes with not only cheese, but bacon too!

BBQ Sauce

So for Memorial Day my family and I made BBQ ribs with our homemade BBQ sauce.  It was very yummy.  Here is the recipe for the sauce.


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 dashes hot pepper sauce

1 cup of honey

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, ketchup, honey, pepper, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Blend until smooth.