Franks and Beans

Today is my birthday so I am posting something I love from when I was a kid. Franks and Beans!!!




It doesn't get much easier or more delicious than this! You need some baked beans.






Some brown sugar.




A delicious hot dog.




A knife to cut it with and an oven proof dish.




Get the beans in the dish.




Add the brown sugar and the hot dogs.




Mix it up and put it in the oven or toaster oven on 450 degrees for about 40 minutes.




What comes out is a delicious, sweet, tasty and oh so comforting meal.




YUM! Happy Birthday to ME!

Grilled Steak with Portabella Mushrooms and Steak Sauce from Rachael Ray

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for all of the wonderful comments on my last entry. I really appreciate the recipes and the questions. I was asked where I got the Soyrizo, I got it at a local store here called Sunflower Markets. Someone also noted I got my beans from the mark down bin, ABSOLUTELY! I love the scratched and dented stores and anything on clearance.

I recently got a new camera from the SO for my birthday, which is coming up this Friday. It is fabulous but I am still getting used to it, so some of the photos are not so great, but I am getting much better.




This recipe is from Rachael Ray's magazine. You could always use bottled steak sauce but the sauce made from this recipe is really delicious. The SO does not eat steak but he used some of the sauce on his burger and he approved! First things, get your grill preheating.



grab some shallot and garlic







give it a rough chop. You will be zapping this in a food processor so you don't need to be too precise.



Instead of allspice I used Garam Masala



I just started keeping raisins in my pantry and I find I use them a lot.



Add those first few ingredients to a pan with a little water and let it simmer.



while that simmers grab your portabella mushroom caps.



you want to remove all those gill like pieces



just take a spoon and give it a scrape, remove the stem as well.



so you end up with something like this.



I wanted to serve this with some salad so I got some baby spinach.



and some dressing.



give it a toss and then its time to finish the steak sauce



I love worcestershire sauce. It adds a great kick to so many sauces and meals. As a native of Western PA, I have to use good old Heinz ketchup.



puree the ingredients that were simmering on the stove.



I like mine a little chunky.



return it to the pan with the ketchup and the worcestershire sauce give it a stir and let it simmer.



season the mushroom caps with some salt and give them a light coating of olive oil. I prefer to use spray bottles for this so you don't use too much oil. I got that spray bottle from tupperware and was given another as a gift from a reader that I keep filled with walnut oil. I really recommend you get one, they are so useful.



season the steak in the same way.



get them on the grill. while they are grilling plate your spinach and your steak sauce. When the meat is done let it rest a few minutes while you slice up the mushroom.







I am glad I made more steak sauce because as I said, it was great on burgers and I really liked the fresh taste. I would definitely make this again.

Soyrizo and Beans

I love Chorizo but it is so fatty and greasy that I hate to cook with it. If you have never had it, it is a smoky and delicious sausage. I discovered a soy alternative and I am so excited because it is true to the flavor with so much less fat and mess!! I found this recipe for Ellie's Chorizo and Beans and gave it a try, it turned out GREAT!


Ingredients
* 8 ounces chorizo sausage
* 1 cup onion, diced
* 1 fresh jalapeno, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 (20 ounce) can Goya pinto beans, undrained

Directions

1. In a medium skillet, cook chorizo and drain if necessary. (there is no need to drain with the fake stuff!)
2. Add onions, garlic and Jalapeño, sautéing until soft.
3. Add beans and let simmer for 1 hour over low heat and serve with tortillas, sour cream and salsa.




This could not be simpler. You need the chorizo, beans, a jalapeno, some garlic and some shallot or onion.




apparently I can't read and you were not supposed to drain the beans. woops. It still turned out great. I used to be afraid to cook because I might mess something up. Well, I do, and most of the time it still turns out just fine.



I got some rice going in a pan with a few drops of olive oil.



I love this old Descoware cast iron pan I found at a thrift store, $5!



get your shallot all chopped up.



remove the seeds and the white part that holds the seads in from your jalapeno if you don't want it to be too hot.



cook the chorizo up



add the onion, garlic and japalenos, let it cook for a minute. Add your beans and let those simmer for an hour. This is a very important step, use this hour to do something for yourself. Take a nap, put your feet up and watch some tv, read a book or take a nice bath!



Then sit down with this spicy and tasty meal. It is simple but oh so good. I got the SO to at least taste the chorizo (had to make sure there were no visible bean parts) and he admitted it was 'good'. baby steps.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Waffle from Top Chef The Cookbook

I have been a fan of Top Chef since the first season, so when I saw they had a cookbook out I had to buy it.




The cover of the book is actually apron material and the whole cook book is great. There is behind the scenes show info and lots of interesting things about the chefs. I found this recipe and thought it looked great. I am a big fan of sweet with savory, so this caught my eye right away.




This is very easy to make. Lets grab the ingredients.




ham and cheese




refried beans




eggs




waffle




maple syrup, this part might throw some people off but it really adds something to the meal.




dish out some beans and add some oil and water




you want to make a spreadable paste.




now get some butter in a pan and get it hot




and throw your waffle in the toaster




drop the egg in and season with some salt and pepper




grab your waffle and spread the bean mixture on it




drizzle some of the maple syrup on the beans...trust me, its GOOD.




layer on the cheese




drop on the ham




and broil it until the cheese is melted and the ham crisps up a bit




put the egg on the top and sprinkle with some parsley.




This is so easy and SO delicious!




I ended up eating this three days in a row it was that good. Thank you Top Chef cookbook!