Black Bean Soup

I really love black bean soup. And, I truly enjoy cooking things that take a long time to cook. The preparation, and anticipation of the savory meal waiting for you at the end of the cook time... it's fantastic. Hope you enjoy these wonderful black beans. We sure did!

Ingredients:

Package of Black Beans
8 slices of bacon
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth + 1/3 cup for deglazing pan
3 cups water

Directions:

Either soak the beans overnight, or follow quick soak instructions on package. Drain and rinse beans.

Cut the bacon slices in half lengthwise, and then into small pieces. Cook bacon in soup pot until done. Soak about half the bacon grease out of the pan with a paper towel. Add onions, jalapeno and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent.

Add 1/3 cup of chicken broth to pan to deglaze. Add beans back into the pot. Add chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and partially cover pan with lid. Cook for 3 to 4 hours, or until desired doneness is achieved.

Barbequed Pork Tenderloins with Soy Orange Glaze

We really enjoy Pork Tenderloins. I try to find new and interesting ways to prepare them - so that we don't get bored with them. I think I created a tasty marinade in this recipe which is then used as a glaze for the finished pork. Hope you like it too!

For Marinade:

¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup orange juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 Tbls lemon juice
3 Tbls soy sauce

1 pkg Pork Tenderloins (usually yields two pieces of pork)

Directions:

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl or blender. Mix well. Put Pork Tenderloins in a zip lock bag. Pour marinade over the tenderloins. Place in refrigerator; marinade 3 hours – overnight.

Preheat BBQ/grill. Remove tenderloins from marinade; shake excess marinade into bag. Pour marinade into saucepan. Cook tenderloins on BBQ 6 minutes – turn to other side and cook for additional 6 minutes. Test meat for doneness. (Note: You may be able to tell from the picture that my tenderloins were a little pink. We only cooked them 5 minutes on each side. So, for the instructions I increased the cooking time to 6 minutes. I ended up having to place some of the slices in the microwave to cook them further.)

While tenderloins are grilling, bring marinade to a boil in saucepan. Reduce by half.

Slice tenderloins; drizzle glaze over top.

Curried Chicken Salad

A friend brought some chicken salad to work recently. It was curried chicken salad. Sounded delicious - tasted delicious. So, that week I added a can of chicken to my grocery list. This is what I came up with. You can eat it as a sandwich, with crackers, or on a salad. I hope you enjoy!

Large can of chicken (12.5 oz)
2 celery ribs, finely diced
2 Tbls. white onion, finely diced
4 heaping teaspoons mayonnaise (silverware spoons, not measuring spoons)
2 tsp. curry powder
Salt & Pepper to taste

You could also add dried cranberries or raisins if you’d like.

Break the chicken apart with a fork; add the celery, onions and mayonnaise. Mix well.

Add the curry powder, salt and pepper; mix again.

Fresh Strawberry & Whipped Cream Cake

One of my favorite cakes is fresh strawberry cake. The Konditerei in Salem makes a fabulous cake - but they are on the pricey side. I wanted to come up with a recipe of my own. Surprisingly, it's fairly easy. It's "strawberry season" right now. This is the PERFECT time to make this cake!! Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 prepared White Cake mix, in 2 8" or 9" round cake pans, according to package instructions

1 quart of heavy whipping cream

Vanilla

Sugar

Fresh Strawberries

Directions:

Bake the cake according to package instructions, cool

Whip the whipping cream, add some vanilla and sugar (2 or 3 tsp vanilla; 2 or 3 Tbls sugar - to your liking)

Wash and trim the strawberries; cut some in quarters for in between the cake layers, some in half to go around and on top of the cake

Place one of the cake rounds on a serving plate; cover with prepared whipped cream

Layer quartered strawberries on top

Spread some more whipped cream on top of strawberries

Place other cake round on top

Cover top and sides with whipped cream

Decorate with strawberries halves.

Click here for printable recipe.

Grilled Asparagus & Grilled Onions

This is unbelievably simple - and outstandingly delicious!

Trim and wash the asparagus; place in a shallow dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over the asparagus. Toss to coat with oil and seasoning. Place on BBQ grill and cook for about 4 - 5 minutes, depending upon how "done" you like your asparagus.

Clean a sweet onion and cut into 1/2" rounds. Place onion rounds on cookie sheet. Drizzle one side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place oiled side down on grill; brush a little oil on top side, and brush with balsamic vinegar. Turn once, after about 4 -5 minutes; brush other side with balsamic vinegar. If you turn the onions too many times, they begin to fall apart.

Note: The Proud Italian Cook (click here to visit her fabulous blog) suggests running wooden skewers through the onions to keep them together. I didn't have any wooden skewers the day we did this, tried metal skewers - but they kept breaking through the onion.

These are a succulent addition to any meal. We've had asparagus prepared this way four times in the past week! Delish!