Baked Beans

4- 16 oz cans of pork and beans (I use VanCamp’s)

½ cup Heinz Hot Ketchup (if you can't find this just use regular Ketchup and add 10-12 drops of Tabasco Sauce)

1 lb. hot sausage (I use Jimmy Dean’s)

1 can apple pie filling (cut apple into smaller pieces)

1 medium onion chopped

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp. Mustard

 

Brown the sausage and onion, and then add the remaining ingredients. Simmer 1 hour.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Dried Cherries and Israeli Couscous

16-18 brussels sprouts, very thinly sliced

2 slices bacon, preferably black pepper-rubbed (available at Whole Foods and butcher shops)

1/2 cup Israeli couscous

1/3 cup dried Bing cherries

1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt to taste

Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil and add the couscous plus a pinch of sea salt. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until no more water remains. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and roughly chop. Add thinly sliced brussels sprouts to the hot bacon grease on the stove and saute for about five minutes, until the sprouts turn bright green. Add back in the bacon bits along with the dried cherries and cooked couscous. Toss well and season with salt to taste.

Orange Peel Shrimp

• 2 lbs raw shrimp, deveined with tails on or off
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 oranges, zested and juiced
• 6 tbsp orange marmalade
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 4 Thai chili peppers (optional but recommended)
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 4 tbsp canola oil, divided
• 1 cup brown or white rice, cooked and fluffed with a fork
• 
  
• Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the minced garlic, six thinly sliced scallions (save the other two for serving), orange zest and thai chili peppers. Saute briefly for about two minutes until garlic is fragrant and scallions wilt.
• 
  
• Add the soy sauce, orange juice, orange marmalade and red pepper flakes to the pan and stir well to combine. Mixture should be bubbling. Continue simmering until sauce thickens, about five minutes or so. It should become very, very thick. Once thick, turn off heat.
• 
  
• Sprinkle the cornstarch on a large plate. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels then toss in the cornstarch to coat.
• 
  
• Heat the remaining three tablespoons of oil in another skillet or wok (I like to use a cast iron skillet for this) over high heat. Once sizzling hot, drop the shrimp in the oil and fry for about a minute or two until shrimp are very pink and curled. The cornstarch should create a crunchy outer coating on the shrimp.
• 
  
• Remove the shrimp from the oil and toss in the orange sauce. Serve shrimp over brown rice with additional scallions on top. Don’t eat the chili peppers!

Soft Molasses Cookies

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
 
Cream wet ingredients, sift dry ingredients, and mix in well.  Roll into balls, coat with sugar.
Bake at 350 10 minutes.


Drizzle:

Mix powdered sugar with milk to get a consistency that you can drizzle over the top of the cookies.

Quick and Easy Black Beans

2 Cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed 
1/2 T olive oil 
2/3 C diced onion 
2-3 garlic cloves, minced 
2/3 C chicken broth (or water, I use broth for extra flavor) 
1/4 t cumin 
1/4 t coriander
1/4 t oregano 
1/2 t salt 
1/4 t pepper 
1 lime 

In a saucepan on the stove, heat the olive oil to med-high heat. Saute onions for about 3 minutes or until they just start to become translucent. Add garlic and saute abut 30 seconds more. Add beans, broth, and remaining seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

When they are done cooking, remove from heat and add in a few squeezes of fresh lime juice. Then use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to smoosh (yes, that's a technical culinary term) some of the beans. You don't want to pulverize them, but you want to take a bunch of good smooshes so that some of the beans are smashed, which will thicken the sauce. I like mine on the thicker side so I smoosh quite a bit. They will thicken more upon standing.

If you want a more soupy consistency, just add a little more broth.

Creamy Cheese Grits with Chilies

1 cup Grits (quick Or Regular)
4-½ cups Water
½ teaspoons Salt
8 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
4 ounces Cream Cheese, Cut Into Cubes
½ can Rotel (tomatoes And Chilies)
1 can (4 Ounces) Chopped Green Chilies
¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
¼ teaspoons Paprika
Black Pepper To Taste
1 whole Egg Beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil water and add salt. Add grits and stir, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Stir in Rotel, chilies, grated cheese, and cream cheese. Stir in spices and check for seasonings. Add salt if needed.

Beat egg. Drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of hot grits to temper, stirring constantly. Dump it all back into the pot and stir.

Pour into a buttered baking dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly and golden on top.

Important: Allow pan to sit for fifteen minutes before serving! Grits will firm up slightly as they sit. Stir a bit in the pan if needed.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound Jimmy Dean 'Hot' Sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages of mushrooms, either white or baby bella

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the cream cheese into the sausage while it's still warm. Clean the mushrooms. Remove the stems and reserve for another use. Stuff the sausage mixture into the mushroom caps. Bake on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes.