Arkansas Green Beans

I made these yummy green beans the other day. Not sure why they’re called ARKANSAS Green Beans…maybe someone from Arkansas originally came up with the recipe. But wherever the recipe originated from, they sure are good!

My friend Jane told me about these green beans, which she found at AllRecipes.com. My version is slightly different…I added more bacon. And instead of laying slightly-cooked bacon strips over the green beans, I cooked my bacon strips a little longer and divided them into large pieces so there would be more bacon in every bite! Be careful not to cook the bacon until it’s real crispy because then it will be too dry after baking in the oven.

This is a side dish that is worthy of being called comfort food! The brown sugar-butter-soy sauce mixture that you pour over the beans is what gives this dish such a great flavor. Give these Arkansas Green Beans a try and see what you think!

ARKANSAS GREEN BEANS  (adapted from AllRecipes; makes 10 servings)

  • 5 (15-ounce) cans green beans, drained
  • 12 slices bacon
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 7 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the drained green beans in a 9×13″ baking pan.

Cook bacon in a frying pan on your stove top or in a microwave on a microwave-safe plate until bacon strips are cooked enough to chop into large pieces (they should be done, but not real crispy). Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top of the green beans.

Combine the brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pour this mixture over the green beans and bacon. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

I like these green beans so much, I could eat several small platefuls of them! :)

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Filed under Food and Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables

Tomato Veggie Garbanzo Soup

Tomato soup is one of my favorite soups, and when you combine tomatoes with veggies and garbanzo beans, you end up with a really great-tasting, healthy soup! I was inspired to make this when I found a recipe over at Grown From Scratch, and I modified it slightly. I used less chicken stock so the soup would be thicker because I love thick, chunky soup! And I also used more leeks and garlic, and a little less spinach. I really like the taste of this soup–hope you get a chance to try it!

TOMATO VEGGIE GARBANZO SOUP (makes 4-6 servings)

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 leeks, thinly sliced (an easy way to slice them is to halve lengthwise and then slice crosswise–if you don’t have leeks on hand, you can substitute 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced)
  • 2 medium zucchini, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 (14-oz.) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 to 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth (I used the low sodium broth)
  • 1 (14 oz.) can garbanzo beans  (also known as chickpeas)
  • 3 firmly-packed cups fresh baby spinach leaves (about 4 oz.), chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling on top

Saute thinly-sliced leeks and diced zucchini in olive oil until tender. Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, and garbanzo beans. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and stir into the soup. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 to 5 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired, and serve with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top–the Parmesan cheese gives it a great little zing!

The soup also goes great with a crusty loaf of bread or garlic bread!

Are you a tomato soup-lover too? Do you have a favorite tomato soup recipe?

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Filed under Food and Recipes, Healthy Eating, Soups, Stews, and Chili

Treasure

I rejoice in Your Word like one who discovers a great treasure.

PSALM 119:162 (NLT)

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

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Filed under Inspirational Thoughts

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Cake from 300 Best Potato Recipes

I’m a big fan of potatoes, whether they’re baked, scalloped, fried, roasted, mashed…you name it! That’s why I was interested in reviewing 300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook’s Guide (Softcover). Written by author and food journalist Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh, the book is filled with lots of delicious recipes for fixing potatoes in more ways than you could ever imagine!

At the beginning of the book, there’s a section called The Spud From All Angles where you’ll learn about the history, legend, and lore of potatoes, as well as helpful tips on buying and cooking potatoes, growing your own potatoes, and storing potatoes. Another chapter, A World of Potatoes, tells you about the many different types of potatoes and includes a handy Potato Glossary. I had no idea there were so many kinds of potatoes!

After looking over this information, I browsed through the first recipe chapter called Top Twenty Classics, starting off with Classic Mash Deluxe, Garlic and Chive Mash, and Big Cheese Mash. As you browse through the other chapters, you’ll find many other tasty potato dishes including:

  • Soups (Potato Soup with Pesto Cream, St. Patrick’s Day Potato Chowder)
  • Salads (Baked Potato Salad with Blue Cheese Drizzle, Lemon Potato Salad with Shrimp)
  • Appetizers (Florentine Potato Cakes, Spiced Potato Ribbons)
  • Snacks, Small Plates & Light Meals (Four Cheese & Onion Jacket Potato, Rustic Country Potato Tart)
  • Sensational Spuds on the Side (Danish Sugar-Browned Potatoes, French Potato Galette)
  • Main Courses with Meat, Poultry, Fish & Seafood (Honest-to-Goodness Shepherd’s Pie, Potato Dumplings with Chicken & Tarragon Cream)
  • Vegetarian Mains (World’s Best Vegetable Burger, Sweet Potato & Sage Frittata)
  • Breads, Biscuits, Scones, Griddle Cakes & More (Cheddar & Onion Potato Bread, All-American Potato Pancakes)
  • Desserts & Confections (Carolina Sweet Potato Pie, Dark Chocolate & Orange Potato Cheesecake)

It was hard to decide what to try first, with so many recipes to choose from, but I settled on the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Cake with Pineapple & Coconut & Cream Cheese Icing. If you like carrot cake, you’ll enjoy this cake. My friend Susan tasted this and said she actually liked it better than carrot cake! It’s wonderfully moist and the cream cheese icing  is very yummy. The recipe says to frost the top and sides of the cake, but I just decided to frost the top so I could put extra frosting between the layers–I think it looks nice that way. Sprinkling coarsely chopped walnuts on top of the cake would be a nice finishing touch, too–I didn’t think of that until after I took my photos!

You can also make this cake in a 9 x 13″ pan. It’s so yummy it’s hard to stop eating it! Here’s the recipe…

SWEET POTATO CINNAMON CAKE (from 300 Best Potato Recipes)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups canola oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups shredded sweet potatoes
  • 1 cup canned crushed pineapple, well-drained
  • 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts* (see toasting tips below–I didn’t toast mine, but I’m sure they’re great toasted!)

CREAM CHEESE ICING

  • 10 ounces plain cream cheese (not light or whipped), softened
  • 5 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans or one 13 x 9-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper also sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (I used my 9-inch round non-stick cake pans and greased and floured them well, instead of using the spray and parchment paper; the cakes came out very easily).

CakeIn a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice until blended. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil until blended. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture until blended and no traces of flour are visible. Stir in sweet potatoes, pineapple, coconut, and walnuts.

Evenly divide batter between prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto rack. Let cool completely.

Icing: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar about 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until just firm enough to spread. Transfer one cake layer to a cake stand or platter. Spread some of the icing over  top, smoothing to the edges. Top with second cake layer, then ice top and sides of whole cake (as I mentioned earlier, I decided to just frost between the layers and on top–so choose whatever way you like best!).

Tips on toasting walnuts: Toasting the nuts in a dry skillet gives them a nice crispness; just take care not to burn them, as they take very little time to toast. Add the nuts to a skillet placed over medium heat, and cook, stirring for 6 to 8 minutes or until fragrant. You can also oven-toast nuts on a baking sheet in a 400-degree oven for just a few minutes, but watch them carefully so they don’t burn.

Enjoy making this cake…you’ll definitely enjoy eating it! :)

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Filed under Autumn/Thanksgiving, Cakes/Coffecakes, Cookbooks, Food and Recipes, Reviews, Seasonal, Winter/Christmas

Oreo Snowman Cookie Balls

Jane makes so many cute and fun treats! She made those Peas and Carrots Cupcakes I posted last spring, and she recently made these Oreo Snowman Truffles. Some Oreo Truffles I’ve seen are made with the golden Oreos, but these are made with the yummy chocolate originals…my favorite! Jane took the photo I’ve posted above, and she said these are really easy to make. If you’re making these for a special event, you can make them a few days in advance and store them in the refrigerator. You don’t have to decorate these truffles as snowmen–you can leave them plain or roll them in sugar, nuts, or sprinkles, but they sure are cute as snowmen! Here is Jane’s recipe and instructions on how she decorated them…

OREO SNOWMAN COOKIE BALLS (makes 40)

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (18-ounce) package Oreo® Cookies, finely crushed
  • 1 package White Almond Bark  (for dipping the truffles)
  • a few discs of orange-colored Wilton Candy Melts

Crush cookies in food processor until finely ground. Add softened cream cheese to the cookie crumbs and process until well-blended.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Shape into 40 (1-inch) balls and place on cookie sheet. Freeze 10 to 20 minutes.

While cookies are in the freezer, lay out a sheet of wax paper. Melt the orange candy melts. Place melted discs in a small Ziploc bag. Cut a very small corner off one end of the Ziploc bag and squeeze out 40 small “noses” onto the wax paper, taking care to make a pointed tip; let cool.

While these are cooling, melt the White Almond Bark. Then dip the oreo balls in the melted bark and place in a single layer on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Let balls slightly set, then decorate by poking eyes and mouths with a toothpick.  Attach a nose to each ball with a dollop of melted chocolate.

You can store these in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Have fun making this sweet winter treat! :)

If you’ve never melted bark or chocolate, or dipped cookie balls before, I found these tips over at Kraft in the Kraft Kitchen Tips section:

HOW TO MELT CHOCOLATE: Place unwrapped chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2-1/2 minutes or until chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 30 seconds.

HOW TO EASILY DIP COOKIE BALLS: To easily coat cookie balls with the melted chocolate, add balls, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Use 2 forks to roll balls in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove balls with forks, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Place balls in prepared pan; let stand until chocolate coating is firm.

Note: If any melted chocolate remains after all balls are coated, store in tightly covered container at room temperature until ready to use for another use.

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Filed under Candy and Confections, Food and Recipes, Food Presentation, Guest Chef, Seasonal, Winter/Christmas

Egg Nog-Cranberry Muffins

Okay, I promise this will be the last Christmasy thing I post for awhile! :) I just thought this recipe would come in handy if any of you happened to have egg nog left over from the holidays. I always buy egg nog every year–it doesn’t seem like the holidays without it–but I always end up with extra. And it’s so rich, you can’t really drink a lot of it. So baking with it seems like the perfect way to finish using it up. I’m not sure exactly where I found this recipe because it’s one I just had a clipping of, but the clipping says that these muffins are served at a bed and breakfast called Amid Summer’s Innin Cedar City, Utah. It sounds like a great bed and breakfast. Have any of you stayed there?

The original recipe has chopped candied cherries in it, but I had dried cranberries on hand and thought I’d use those instead. I thought the muffins were really good with the dried cranberries, and I’m sure they’re good with the candied cherries too, so use whatever you like best. These are really yummy muffins…they actually have a cupcake-like texture. The egg nog flavor isn’t very strong, so I think it’s safe to say even non-egg nog fans would like these.

One thing you don’t want to do when making these is overfill your muffin cups! I filled mine a little too full and the tops rose a little too much and spread over the edges of the muffin cups, making them tricky to remove from the pan. Fortunately, I was using non-stick pans so I was able to remove them without breaking any muffin tops, but next time I’ll make sure just to fill each muffin cup 3/4 full of batter. That should give you a nice rounded–topped muffin that doesn’t run over the edge. This recipe makes 2 dozen muffins, plus 3-4 additional ones…so you’ll get about 27-28 muffins. I didn’t have 3 muffin pans, so I just filled a mini loaf pan with the extra batter and baked it right along with the muffins.

The creamy Egg Nog glaze makes a great topping for these muffins, and you can make them even prettier by sprinkling on some dried cranberries and chopped nuts. If you have extra egg nog, give these a try…or keep them in mind for next year!

EGG NOG–CRANBERRY MUFFINS (adapted from Amid Summer’s Inn Bed and Breakfast)

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 1/4 cups egg nog
  • 1 cup dried cranberries (or 1 cup chopped candied cherries)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Beat in eggs. In medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder and add alternately with eggnog to butter-sugar mixture. Fold in dried cranberries (or chopped candied cherries). Pour or spoon batter into well-greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 26 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, then add egg nog glaze…

CREAMY EGG NOG GLAZE

  • 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 5 to 6 Tablespoons egg nog
  • dried cranberries and finely chopped nuts for toppings (or dried candied cherry halves)

Mix powdered sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in small bowl. Add desired amount of egg nog to get the consistency you want (I used 6 Tablespoons for my glaze). Spread or drizzle over each muffin. Top with dried cranberries and chopped nuts (or a candied cherry half in the center).

These would be great for a holiday breakfast, brunch, or tea. A nice way to enjoy your egg nog!

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Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Food and Recipes, Muffins, Biscuits, Scones, Winter/Christmas

Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Cranberry Sauce Glaze

Last week I posted a recipe for Cranberry-Pecan Cream Cheese Spread…well, here’s another really good recipe that you can use your extra cranberry sauce in. These Cranberry Sauce Muffins are sweetened with some brown sugar and whole berry cranberry sauce–the berries in the sauce are a nice addition to the muffins! Plus, the muffins have some oats in them, too, so they’re both healthy and tasty! I found this recipe at SeriousEats.comI changed it very slightly and added my own Cranberry Sauce Glaze. The muffins are great with or without the glaze, so if you’re watching your calories, just leave the glaze off. They taste great right out of the oven, spread with a little butter or Cranberry–Pecan Cream Cheese Spread. The original recipe didn’t say how many muffins it was supposed to make, but I ended up with 16. I filled my muffin cups a little fuller than I should have, so if you fill the cups 3/4 full like the directions say, you’ll probably end up with 17 or 18.

CRANBERRY SAUCE MUFFINS (adapted from Serious Eats)

Makes 16-18 muffins

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
  • 1 cup oats (I used quick-cooking oats, but you can use the old-fashioned oats, too)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce (I used the Ocean Spray® brand)
  • 1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper baking cups.

In large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. In medium bowl, combine milk, oil, cranberry sauce and egg; blend well. Fold this mixture into dry ingredients at all once and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You can eat these warm right out of the oven…spread with a little butter or Cranberry-Pecan Cream Cheese Spread. Or, let the muffins cool completely and top them with this glaze…

CRANBERRY SAUCE GLAZE

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk or half and half
  • 1 Tablespoon Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
  • chopped pecans for sprinkling over glaze

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk (or half and half) together, blending well. Stir in the cranberry sauce and blend well. Drizzle over cooled muffins, then sprinkle with pecans if desired. Let glaze set and then serve.

Linked to Foodie Friday.

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Filed under Autumn/Thanksgiving, Food and Recipes, Muffins, Biscuits, Scones, Seasonal, Winter/Christmas

Lidia’s Cookie Press Sugar Cookies

I received some really special homemade goodies just before Christmas from my friend Lidia and her family. Her husband Rick is a co-worker of mine. Lidia is a very talented baker and cook, (and a super Pampered Chef consultant) and she had made some homemade Hot Pepper Jelly, Sweet Hot Strawberry Sauce, and Pickled Eggplant…what a treat! And in addition to that, she had put together a plate of beautifully decorated cookies…too pretty to eat! But I didn’t let that stop me. :)  Those cookies tasted as great as they looked!

I thought the cookie press cookies looked so cute, and I’m happy to say that Lidia is sharing her recipe with us! Cookie press cookies are not only great around the Christmas and New Year holidays, they’re perfect for other special days like Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day. They’re also a wonderful treat for tea time get-togethers and wedding or baby showers because they’re so pretty and dainty.

So, next time you want to make a really special cookie, keep Lidia’s recipe in mind!

LIDIA’S COOKIE PRESS SUGAR COOKIES

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream shortening, butter, and sugar, blending well. Add egg and almond extract to mixture and cream some more until well blended. In another bowl, mix flour and salt together, then add to the butter mixture. Fill your cookie press with the dough and press out cookie shapes onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes. Makes about 60 cookies.

After the cookies cool, you can have fun decorating them with your favorite decorating frostings and sprinkles. This little Christmas tree was one of my favorites. Have fun making these!

And thanks for sharing your recipe, Lidia!

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Filed under Cookies/Bars/Brownies, Food and Recipes, Guest Chef, Seasonal, Winter/Christmas

Cranberry-Pecan Cream Cheese Spread and Turkey-Cranberry Sandwich

If you’re like me, you have some extra cranberry sauce from Christmas that you’re wondering what to do with. Well, here’s an easy recipe for a cranberry cream cheese spread that goes great on bagels. It makes a nice breakfast during and after the holidays! And I’ll also tell you how to make a bagel sandwich with this spread– a sandwich that also uses leftover turkey…just the thing for a quick, easy lunch! My inspiration for this cream cheese spread came from a recipe over at  My Kitchen Addiction. I used a little more cranberry sauce and added a few more ingredients–fresh chopped cranberries and finely chopped pecans– to give the spread a little more color and texture. It’s really good on bagels, especially toasted bagels! I used whole wheat bagels, but use whatever bagels you like best. The recipe makes a little more than 1 cup of spread.

CRANBERRY–PECAN CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

  • 1 (8-ounce) block of cream cheese, softened
  • 2 Tablespoons cranberry sauce (I used Ocean Spray®  Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce)
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh cranberries (or if you want a sweeter taste, chop up dried cranberries)
  • 2 Tablespoons finely chopped pecans

In a small bowl, combine softened cream cheese, cranberry sauce and honey, blending well. Add in cinnamon and ginger and blend well, then stir in the chopped cranberries and pecans. Serve immediately on toasted bagels or bread…or muffins, too. If not using right away, store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to a week.

I also made a yummy-tasting sandwich with this spread and here’s the recipe for that, too…

TURKEY–CRANBERRY SANDWICH

  • Cranberry-Pecan Cream Cheese Spread (see recipe above)
  • A bagel of your choice, toasted or untoasted
  • 1 Tablespoon cranberry sauce
  • Lettuce leaves or fresh baby spinach leaves (I used lettuce leaves from an organic packaged mix)

Slice bagel in half (unless it’s pre-sliced) and spread both sides of bagel with desired amount of cream cheese (toast bagel first if desired). Put as little or as much cream cheese on as you want. On one bagel slice, place 4-5 thin slices of turkey on top of cream cheese (you can use less slices if turkey is sliced thicker). Spread  the Tablespoon of cranberry sauce on top of the turkey slices. On the other bagel slice, place desired amount of lettuce over the cream cheese. Place this bagel slice over the turkey bagel slice and voila…you have just created a yummy holiday sandwich!

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Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Food and Recipes, Sandwiches, Spreads and Dips

Christmas Joy

When I hear or see the word “joy” at Christmas, I’m reminded of the beautiful traditional German carol, HOW GREAT OUR JOY.

While by the sheep we watched at night, 
Glad tidings brought an angel bright.
 
(refrain) 
How great our joy! Great our joy! 
Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high! 
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
 
There shall be born, so He did say,
In Bethlehem a Child today.
(refrain)
 
There shall the Child lie in a stall,
This Child who shall redeem us all.
(refrain)
 
This gift of God we’ll cherish well,
That ever joy our hearts shall fill.
(refrain)
 

These simple words echo the prophecy from Micah 5:2: Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me One who will be Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.*

This Christmas, as we celebrate the One who came, may your heart be filled with joy!

How Great Our Joy, translated to English by Theodore Baker, arranged by Hugo Jungst.
*Scripture from New International Version [NIV] Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.

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Filed under Inspirational Thoughts, Music, Original Photography, Seasonal, Winter/Christmas