Kari's awesome green beans

My sister in law, Kari, made these at Thanksgiving and I want to make them again. This way I won't lose the recipe!

For the green beans:
2 pounds fresh french green beans
3 T olive oil
2 t coarse salt
2 t fresh ground black pepper

For the gremolata:
2 T fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
zest of 1 small lemon
zest of 1/2 orange


Preheat oven to 375, put racks in upper and lower third of oven. Trim and wash the green beans. Dry them thoroughly. Toss beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on two rimmed sheet pans. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, remove the pans from the oven and shake to toss green beans. Replace in oven, switching racks, and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until beans are mildly browned but not burned on tips.

While the green beans are roasting, mince the parsley and garlic and add to the lemon and orange zest in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Immediately after removing beans from oven, shake again and then stprinkle with gremolata. Toss beans with gremolata using tongs. Serve immediately.

Breakfast Bread

This is from the Southern Living Christmas Book. They call it "orange bread" but I don't think it is very orangy, and sometimes I use lemon instead. I am killing two birds with one stone by posting here, because I am going to use this recipe while we're in Oklahoma.

3/4 c sugar
1/2 c chopped pecans
1 T grated orange rind
2 11oz. cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 3oz. package cream cheese cut into 20 tiny little squares
1/2 c butter, melted
1 c powdered sugar
2 T orange juice

Combine first 3 ingredients and set aside. Separate each biscuit into 2 halves. Place a cream cheese square between halves, press edges to seal. Dip each biscuit in melted butter and dredge in the reserved sugar mixture. Stand each biscuit on end in a lightly greased bundt pan, spacing evenly. Drizzle with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden. Invert onto a wire rack. Whisk together powdered sugar and juice, drizzle over the warm bread. YUM.

Bush's Best 3 bean chili

Got this from a Bush beans cookbook, it's yummy. Makes about 4-6 servings. I overflowed my crock-pot when I made the recipe as written, so this edited to be half of the original quantities.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 1/2 t chili powder (or more, lots more if you are me)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 small bell pepper, chopped and seeded
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1/2 small can tomato paste
dash salt
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t ground cumin
dash cinnamon

Brown ground beef, pour off fat. Add to crock pot, add all other ingredients. (Note: I usually only add about 75% of the bean liquid, or it is too runny.) Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours or high 2-3 hours. Garnish with sharp cheddar and eat with lots of Fritos!

Oatmeal Cake

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 3/4 cup oatmeal, let stand for 20 minutes.

Cream together:
1 stick butter
1 c brown sugar packed
1 c white sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 t vanilla

Sift together:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
dash ground cloves

Mix it all together and pour into lightly greased and floured pan (8x10 usually). Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, cool for 10 minutes in pan, remove if desired. Sprinkle on powdered sugar if you like. Yum! Makes the house smell really good.

Burrito Skillet

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings


1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
¼ cup finely chopped onion (I sprinkle dehydrated onion flakes onto the meat to save time)
1 package taco seasoning
1 (19 oz) can kidney beans (drain and rinse)
1 Taco Bell bottle salsa (I looked and we use the bottle called "Restaurant Sauce")
1 cup water
4 flour tortillas, torn into pieces
1 cup shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
optional: 1/3 cup sour cream, 1/3 cup chopped green onion



1. Brown ground beef and onion in large skillet.
2. Add seasoning mix, kidney beans, salsa, water and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 min.
3. Stir in tortillas, top with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and chives.

crab bisque

Paul got this recipe from the chef person at HEB one night. It's kind of expensive but super easy, fast, and tasty. He mopped up every last drop with french bread!

1 jar Cookwell and Company Zuppa di Nonna (fancy gourmet soup from HEB)
8 ounces crab meat
1 cup heavy cream

Combine it all in a large soup pot, bring to a boil. Serve it hot. That's it!

Makes 6-8 servings, you could easily halve this recipe and freeze the rest of the jarred soup for another time. It's a little spicy; the soup has italian sausage in it.

Gumbo

I took this to Brandy on Wednesday, though I am kind-of embarrased to admit it's not a recipe... not really.  

1 box Zatarain's Gumbo Mix with Rice

1 rotisserie chicken's worth of dark meat (we have the rotisserie chicken the night before we have the gumbo and I just pull the remaining meat off the bones and into little pieces for the gumbo)

1 package of smoked sausage (we used this kind) 

1 or 2 extra packs of Boil-in-a-bag instant rice

Prepare gumbo mix per box directions... add chicken and sausage (or one or the other or seafood), fix the extra rice, enjoy!

I didn't check the mix for MSG but I know the sausage has it.

My Favorite Potatos

Home Fries ala SmittenKitchen.com
Loosely adapted from Cook’s Country

to quote smittenkitchen --

There are two secrets to making great home fries, if you ask me. The first is cooking the onions separately. As potatoes need to cook quite a bit longer than onions, it saves them from become burnt specks by the time the potatoes are ready. The second is more of a shortcut (so you can make them more often because they’re easier!) which is that I reduce the pan-frying time by half cooking them in the microwave first. As the best French fries are twice-cooked, this follows that line of reasoning well, yielding home fries with a soft center and crisp edges.

As you may guess from my tirade above, I do have more success with these (and can greatly reduce the amount of butter needed) when I cook them in a nonstick pan, but I’ll leave it up to you whichever you prefer working with.

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 onions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Seasoning of your choice: Garlic powder or salt work great, as does smoky Spanish paprika or chopped chives

1. Arrange potatoes in large microwave-safe bowl, top with 1 tablespoon butter, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until edges of potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking.

2. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in large regular or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl.

3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and pack down with spatula. Cook, without moving, until underside of potatoes is brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn potatoes, pack down again, and continue to cook until well browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring potatoes every few minutes, until crusty and golden on all sides, 9 to 12 minutes. Stir in onion, seasonings of your choice and salt and pepper to taste.

Jen here -- my mom made these almost the same way the entire time I was growing up. . . We called them German Potatoes because she'd fix hundreds of pounds of them for Oktoberfest.

Slow-cooker minestrone

Got this from a Better Homes and Gardens a while back. Serves 8, I often half it.

1 lb. cubed beef stew meat
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, garlic
2 14 oz cans beef broth
1 15 oz can cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 c thinly sliced carrots
salt and pepper to taste
1 c dry bow-tie pasta
1 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

In crock pot combine everything EXCEPT pasta and squash. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours or high 4-4.5 hours. Add pasta and squash, raise heat to high if necessary, cover and cook additional 30-45 minutes until pasta is tender. Top with parmesan cheese if desired.