A Do Ahead Side

A couple of years ago at a church potluck, I saw a bowl filled with green beans and onions.  Normally, I would have ignored the dish -- I don't like beans with onions -- but the beans smelled delicious so I put a small serving on my plate.  After one bite, two things were apparent.  One, the beans were flavored with something besides onion.  Two, I wanted the recipe!

As the potluck wound down, I watched as people collected their bowls and pans from the food table.  When I saw Aaron, owner of the now empty bowl, pick it up off the table, I walked over and asked how he made the beans.  He graciously shared the recipe and I made the beans for the first time a few weeks later for Thanksgiving.

The recipe starts with a can of cut green beans.  The liquid is drained into a saucepan with some water, chopped onion and -- the ingredient that makes the beans so good -- adobo all purpose seasoning.

I wasn't familiar with adobo so I looked it up on the Internet.  My search yielded a lot of recipes for making the seasoning using salt, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, oregano, cumin, garlic powder and chili powder, or some combination of these ingredients.  I didn't mess with perfection and bought a bottle of Goya adobo all-purpose seasoning with pepper which is what was called for in Aaron's recipe.

I assumed the seasoning would be with all the other spices, but I found it in the aisle with Hispanic food.  The Goya brand is available in many different varieties!

The liquid, onion and adobo are brought to a rolling boil for 30 minutes. During this long boiling time, the liquid is reduced, thereby intensifying the flavor of the remaining liquid.  

After boiling for 30 minutes.

The beans are added to the pot and simmered over low heat for 15 minutes.  You can add water, if necessary, but don't add too much or it will dilute the wonderful flavor of the beans.

The beans can be served the same day they're cooked, but I think they're better reheated the next day after the flavors have had time to blend.  You can reheat the beans on the stove, or in a crock-pot.  Using a crock-pot is a big help at the holidays, especially if there's not a spare burner available on the stove.  You also don't have to keep a constant eye on the beans since the crock-pot does all the work for you.

Green beans have always been on our Thanksgiving table, but now I fix them ahead of time.   When I'm cooking holiday meals, any dish that can be made ahead is something I'm thankful for!

Aaron's Green Beans

6 to 8 Servings

1 (28 oz.) can cut green beans

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp. adobo all-purpose seasoning

1 cup water

Drain liquid from beans into a saucepan; add onion, adobo and water. Bring ingredients to a boil and let boil for 30 minutes.  If the liquid is reducing too quickly, turn the heat down.  Add the green beans and, if necessary, a little additional water.  Turn heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.  Let the beans cool and then store them in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to blend.  The next day, reheat beans in a crock-pot on low for 2 hours, or until heated through.

© Margaret's Morsels

Double Duty Cooking

                                                        

When we bought our house, there were two items other than location and school district at the top of my wish list:  a front porch and double ovens.  I didn't get the front porch, but I got double ovens and I love them.  I don't know how I ever cooked without them!


Although I've had double ovens a number of years, I still find myself planning meals that can be cooked at the same temperature, even if not for the same length of time.  This double duty cooking comes in handy, especially during the holidays when there's a lot of cooking to be done all at once.  Since the holidays are upon us, I'm sharing two side dishes that can be cooked simultaneously.


My family expects turkey and all the trimmings at Thanksgiving so I always serve ham at Christmas.  For as long as I can remember, I've always paired ham with macaroni and cheese.  To me, those two foods go together like peanut butter and jelly, fish and chips, bacon and eggs.  In addition to macaroni and cheese, I also serve green bean bundles.  The macaroni and cheese cooks in half the time of the bean bundles so I put the bean bundles in to cook first.


Green bean bundles may sound complicated, but they're nothing more than whole green beans wrapped in bacon, covered with a sauce and baked in the oven.  You can use a whole slice of bacon on each bundle or you can slice the bacon in half.  The bundles are easier to wrap if you put the beans at the end of a piece of bacon and roll everything into a bundle.

                                                 

To save time, I wrap the bacon around the beans the night before and store them in a covered container in the refrigerator.  The remaining ingredients aren't added until the beans are ready to go in the oven.


The sauce uses a hodgepodge of ingredients, but when combined gives the beans a wonderful flavor.  You don't have to be precise; you can add more or less of an ingredient to suit your taste.  Once the sauce is on the beans, the pan goes in the oven for 45 minutes.  The bacon needs to be thoroughly cooked so you might have to cook the beans a little longer, especially if you use a whole piece of bacon to wrap the beans.  For a nicer presentation, transfer the cooked bean bundles and sauce to a serving dish after you take them out of the oven.


The other side dish, macaroni and cheese, isn't difficult and is tastier than anything you get from a box!  When you cook macaroni -- or any pasta -- you want to add enough salt to the water so it tastes like saltwater.  If the water isn't salty enough, the cooked pasta won't be either.


Most macaroni and cheese recipes use regular or canned milk.  This recipe uses nonfat dry milk instead.  The milk powder is mixed with flour, butter and water to form a sauce.

The sauce before the cheese is added.

Part of the cheese is added to the sauce making it a cheese sauce.  It's ok if all the cheese isn't completely melted.  It will melt when you cook it in the oven.  The macaroni is added to the sauce and the mixture is cooked for 25 minutes.  After the 25 minutes are up, the remaining cheese is sprinkled on top and cooked just long enough to melt, about one minute.  This sprinkling of cheese makes the dish look prettier when it's served.

The remaining cheese before it's melted.

If you want to get out of the kitchen faster, let your oven do double duty and cook two dishes at the same time.  However, before you buy the ingredients and prepare the food, make sure there's enough room in the oven for both pans!

Green Bean Bundles

8 Servings

4 (14.5 oz.) cans whole green beans, drained

bacon (uncooked)

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Gather green beans into bundles.  Wrap one slice bacon around each bundle; lay seam side down in baking dish.  Slice butter on top of bundles. Sprinkle remaining ingredients over bundles.  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until hot and the bacon is cooked.

Macaroni and Cheese

8 Servings

1 (8 oz.) pkg. elbow macaroni

2 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 1/4 cups boiling water

3 cups grated Cheddar cheese, divided

1/4 tsp. salt

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix dry milk, flour and butter.  Gradually add boiling water, beating constantly.  Add 1 1/2 cups cheese and continue beating until smooth and creamy.  Stir in macaroni, 1 cup of the remaining cheese and salt.  Transfer to a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.  Cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.  Remove foil.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Continue baking 1 minute or until cheese melts.

© Margaret's Morsels