ASIAN GRILLED GREEN BEANS

Boy! Where does the time go?! I need to start posting some new recipes on here that we've tried and enjoyed. In our quest to eat healthy, I'm scouring 'light' cooking books and magazines for new takes on veggies. Tonight we tried this yummy little dish called Asian grilled green beans. It was a real hit with hubby, who isn't a huge fan of veggies. It's spicy, so beware. If you tend to be whiner when it comes to spice, just use half the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. This one is a keeper, for sure.
* One thing I would like to try next time though, is stir frying this dish, rather than 'steaming' them in the foil packets. I like my beans a bit on the crisp side.
* You could also top this side dish with a sprinkle of heart healthy, toasted nuts to give it a nice crunch.

ASIAN GRILLED GREEN BEANS

1 Tblsp. Brown sugar (I omitted this because we are cutting down on sugar, and it still turned out fabulous)
1 Tblsp. Sesame oil
1 Tblsp. Soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (can reduce to 1/4 tsp if you don't like spicy dishes)
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 medium fresh mushrooms, quartered (I used baby bellas)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients.Add the beans, onion and mushrooms. Toss to coat.
Place the veggies on a double thickness of heavy duty aluminum foil about 24" square. Fold foil around vegetables and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 18 to 20 minutes or until beans are tender, turning packets over once. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

Serving size: 3/4 cup
55 calories
2 g fat
9 g carbohydrates (less if you omit the brown sugar)
3 g fiber

Diabetic exchange: 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

OVER THE TOP GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Are you tired of the same ol' green bean casserole that's been around for 100 years? If you still love it, then my apologies. But for me, it's gotten a bit blase'. I was SO thrilled when Monica (my daughter in law) walked in with this dish yesterday, for Thanksgiving dinner! I heard she was trying something different. And this was just over the top! You REALLY need to try this one! It's amazing. You'll have a hard time not picking at the croutons though, until dinner is ready!

OVER THE TOP GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

* 3 pounds green beans
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 loaf crusty Italian bread
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
* 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
* 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 pounds mixed mushrooms (such as button, cremini, shiitake), sliced
* 2 shallots, sliced
* 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a big pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes, the beans should still be crisp, they will be cooked more in the oven. Drain them and set aside. Butter a baking dish large enough to hold the green beans with 1 tablespoon butter and set aside.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Tear the bread into 2-inch pieces, put them into a bowl, and add 1 tablespoon chives, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Stir well to coat and spread onto a baking sheet. Bake just until the bread just starts to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 10 minutes. Pour in the heavy cream, add the remaining thyme and chives, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the green beans and stir well. Put the green bean mixture into the prepared baking dish, top with the croutons, and sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan. Bake until everything is hot and bubbling, about 20 to 25 minutes.

FEIJAO - Brazilian black beans and rice

This is Feijao (Fay-jown). My sister-in-law, Althea (Hubby's younger sister) and her family are missionaries to Brazil. They have been there for 12 years now. When they were home on their last furlough, they stayed with us. We have lots of extra room and enjoyed the fellowship with them during their time home in the states. Althea loves to cook too, and would often cook up a big ol' batch of Feijao for us all. We loved it so much that I learned how to make it. So every time we get the hankering for some Brazilian food and get to missing Althea, we cook this up and think of her!

In America, we eat meat and potatoes. In Brazil they eat Feijao. It's a staple on their dinner table. The slaves in the colonial Brazil created the "Feijao" (Fay-jown). They started cooking the pork meats that Farmland owners discarded such as ear, tails, feet in a big pot with black beans. This dish became traditional all over the country. Since then, the dish was incremented with pork sirloin and sausages that transformed the menu in a famous entrée that everybody who visits Brazil have to taste. This is an easy-to-do version of Feijao made only with bacon and sausages. This recipe is for busy people that don't want to handle the salted pork ears, tails and feet found in the complete Feijoada.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of varied pork sausages (prefer smoked sausages)
1 lb bacon, chopped in bite size pieces (I used scissors to cut it up)
2 cans of black beans (15.5Oz)
1 can refried black beans (15 oz)
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
2 or 3 bay leaves (bay leaves give a special taste to feijao)

PREPARE:

In a dutch oven, fry chopped bacon with salt, onion and garlic.
Add all the sausages and stir over medium-heat until heated through.
Feijao is made with black beans and pork meats. You can use a can of beans already cooked or google how to cook dried beans. Add black beans & refried black beans to the meat in the dutch oven, and add in the bay leaves.
Cook for about 15 minutes on med heat until hot and bubbly, stirring often to keep from sticking.
Simmer on low until ready to serve. If it gets to thick, just thin it a bit with hot water.

Hint: If you do not have a can of refried black beans, to make the feijao creamy, you can liquefy 1/2 cup of black beans in the blender and add to the feijao.

SERVING SIZE: 6 portions.

SAUTEED GREEN BEANS & ONIONS

This is one my favorite ways to fix green beans. Whether they are fresh or canned, this works for both. But the fresh are SO much better!

In a large skiller over med heat, add 1 Tblsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. When the butter has melted, add 1/2 chopped onion, a couple good handfuls of fresh green beans (ends snipped) a good sprinkling of salt and a few sprinkles of Mrs. Dash veggie seasoning. Let them cook down for about 10 minutes, until they start to turn slightly brown here and there. Remove from the heat, throw a lid on them or a piece of foil and keep warm until ready to serve. They will finish cooking with the steam created by the lid.

COWBOY BEANS

A dear widow lady named Nancy Phinney, gave me this recipe back in the late 80's. She has since passed on to Heaven, and I'm so glad I asked for this recipe from her. It is hand written by her and I dated it when she gave it to me. I like to do that on my recipe cards, so I can remember who it's from and how long ago they gave it to me. This lady always brought this to church fellowships. It was her "signature" dish. Now I bring it to our church fellowships and I get asked for the recipe all the time.
If you like beans, this could be a meal in itself, with a nice hot piece of cornbread or a fresh from the oven biscuit.

COWBOY BEANS

1/2 lb bacon, cut in small pieces (I use scissors)
1 lb hamburger
1 med onion, chopped
1/4 cup catsup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tblsp vinegar
1 Tblsp mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Large cans pork and beans (Bush's work the best)
1 can black beans - drained
1 can white northern beans - drained


Brown the bacon in a skillet until lightly crisp. Drain bacon fat and set cooked bacon aside. Wipe out skillet and brown onion and hamburger in  skillet and drain. In large casserole dish or small roaster add pork & beans, black beans, white beans, catsup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Then add the meat mixture and stir again. Lay 4 or 5 whole slices of
bacon over the top and bake at 350 for 1 hour.