B.B.'s Pickled Black-Eyed Peas - The Crown of Southern Cooking

The other day I gave you a little tease of this recipe, B.B.'s Pickled Black Eyed Peas, from "The Crown of Southern Cooking".
It really is so delicious, and a bit addicting.

Not being in the south, field or crowder peas were a bit challenging to find, but Walmart did have field peas. The kind I found were well seasoned, so I gave them an extra good rinse. If you are a ways from the south, you may have to check your big stores for that ingredient. If you absolutely can't find them, I would just substitute another can of pinto, and another can of black-eyed peas.

Truckin' Man has loved this most as a side dish with his meals, while I love it most as an appetizer. But, I have enjoyed it both ways. Little bit sweet, little bit tangy, and every bit delicious.

Be sure to enter for your chance to win your very own copy of The Crown of Southern Cooking.  Your chance to win is here, or you can purchase your own copy here.

B.B.'s Pickled Black Eyed Peas 

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 large onion, diced (I used red for the color splash)
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2-15 oz cans blacked eyed peas
2-15 oz cans field peas (crowder peas)
2-15 oz can pinto beans

Mix marinade in a large bowl. Combine sugar, salt, black pepper, oil, vinegar, and mustard.  Stir well. Add onion and bell peppers.  Mix until all are combined.

Rinse black-eyed peas, field peas, and pinto beans. Drain well.  Add to marinade, stirring gently until beans are covered. Refrigerate. Make at least one day ahead.

***Note: Can be made up to a week ahead of time. Flavor only gets better with time!

Recipe Source: The Crown of Southern Cooking

Grace's Baked Beans

So much of my baking and cooking inspiration comes from other bloggers. While I spend plenty of time on Pinterest, Yummly (my new favorite), or flipping through cookbooks, if there is a something specific I am looking for, I often head to my favorite bloggers sites.

That was the scenario when I was looking to make a new bean dish a couple months ago for when we were having company over. I didn't want the traditional saucey baked beans. Maybe I should play it safe more often, but I don't!  I ended up finding something new and different (to me anyway) at A Southern Grace. We loved this recipe, and I can't tell you how many times we have made it since. We have tweaked it a bit to suit our taste.

The name of this dish? Well, I name a lot of my dishes after the blogger where I found the recipe. It helps me keep track of where that recipe came from. Like Mary's Peppercorn dressing and Mandy's Goulash. Now, we have Grace's Baked Beans.

I love all the different beans in this dish. Butter beans always make me happy, can't tell you why, but they do. But, it's the dried spices that really what set this dish apart from others, they take the beans to a different level. We especially love cumin in our dishes, and it works perfectly with these beans. They have such a "Southwest" flavor, that any chili/cumin rubbed meat would be a great main course for this side.

Grace's Baked Beans

1 - 28 oz can baked beans
1 - 16 oz can butter beans
1 - 16 oz can baby butter beans
1 - 15 oz can Great Northern beans
1 14.5 oz can Red Gold Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles, undrained
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp Red Gold Siracha Ketchup
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ancho chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Transfer to baking dish and bake for approximately 60 minutes or until desired consistency.


Adapted From: A Southern Grace


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Freaky Friday - Bacon & Egg Fried Rice

Welcome to the first edition of Freaky Friday! The absolutely lovely Michaela, from An Affair From The Heart, pulled together a great group of bloggers for this event. Everyone is secretly assigned to another blog, and we then pick a recipe from that blog that we want to make and share! Talk about a fun way to get to know another blog! Please take a minute to check out this great group and see what they made today!
A Dish Of Daily Life An Affair from the Heart Aunt Bee’s Recipes Big Rigs ‘n Lil Cookies Café Terra Blog Full Belly Sisters Honey & Birch Life Currents Pic Nic Simply Sated Stephie Cooks The Foodie Affair Who Needs A Cape?

I was assigned to Aunt Bee's Recipes. Brandi (Aunt Bee) has so many recipes that will have your family smiling at dinner or supper! I have been a long time follower of Aunt Bee's facebook page, and would shoot over to her blog when something caught my eye... but facebook just is not a great way to keep up with a blog. You miss so much! With all these great recipes, I had a hard time deciding what to make for Freaky Friday.  I finally decided on Bacon & Egg Fried Rice, but there are a so many more recipes that I will be making soon.  Steak Marsala is definitely up next.  We really don't make steaks unless we are out on the grill, and well... this is Wisconsin, sometimes we just can't grill! Aunt Bee's Steak Marsala is made in the oven! Roasted Asparagus with Lemon would be the perfect side dish to accompany so many dishes.  And Slow Cooker recipes? Oh yeah.... Check out her Crockin' section! You just can't go wrong spending some time browsing Aunt Bee's recipes!

I haven't made Fried Rice in YEARS! Since leaving "the cities" and living the country life, Chinese food is a rare treat. And for me "out of site" is "out of mind", so I just don't make it anymore! Time for a change on that. I miss Chinese food. Brandi's recipe for this dish had some twists that were different from the fried rice I made years ago, so I was excited to try it. And let me tell you.... I was NOT disappointed! It was easy. It was delicious. AND, it was husband approved! That is saying a lot too because my husband does not really care for any rice dish. He loves his potatoes, but when I asked him how good this fried rice was he ranked it between mashed potatoes and a baked potato! That is HUGE! I think this recipe has more flavor the others, including restaurants, which is why Truckin' Man is such a fan of it. Try it. Love it. You won't be disappointed!

Be sure to stop over at Aunt Bee's Recipes to see what she made for Freaky Friday!

Bacon & Egg Fried Rice (Source: Aunt Bee's Recipes)

8 slices bacon
4 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 cups cooked rice, cold (see note)
4 Tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 green onions, chopped

Cut bacon into small pieces, and place in large fry pan (or wok). Cook until just done, not quite crisp. With slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towels and drain. Remove all but 2 tablespoon bacon grease from pan. Add beaten eggs to pan with bacon grease.  Do NOT stir, let set over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until completely set. Flip egg over (like a pancake), to brown other side. After 1 minute remove egg and set on plate. Cut egg into narrow strips, then cut each strip crosswise to make little squares.

Add vegetable oil to pan, heating over medium high heat. Add carrots and onion to pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until onions are transparent. Add garlic, cooking for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.   Add rice, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and peas. Fry, stirring often, until all ingredients are evenly mixed and heated through; about 5 minutes.  Add in egg pieces, green onion, and half of bacon. Stir to combine. Top with remaining bacon.

Enjoy!
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Cider Baked Beans

So, I have been sick. Nasty cold. Then enter seasonal allergies. Then laryngitis. This has all left me with a LOT of time on my hands. Scrabble, Words with Friends, Candy Crush. Uh oh... Did I just admit I play Candy Crush. Ok, move on, lets just forget that. I did finally get our Netflix going again so I could watch tv in the bedroom with my new vaporizer going. Yup, that's been the great excitement going on around here!

You would think this would leave me with a lot of time in the kitchen, but my energy just hasn't been there. And, I really don't want to be germy around all the food. BUT, I did test out a couple new recipes that didn't need a lot of hands on from me. And, ooooh my. Are you going to love 'em.

Since it is apple season, and I am lucky enough to be surrounded by apple orchards, apple recipes are the focus of my attention. This was the first time I ever made baked beans out of dried beans. It was not labor intensive, but did take a fair amount of time. Worth it? Oh, yeah. The flavor in these was amazing, and I liked having a bit more texture to the beans than what you get with canned kind.

Cider Baked Beans  (Adapted from: Myrecipes.com)


16 oz dried pinto beans
3 cups apple cider
6 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
6 strips thick cut bacon ( or more if you like!)
1 yellow onion

Pick through the dried beans and remove any stones or broken beans. Rinse beans. In large pot or bowl, cover beans with 3 inches of water. Cover and let set overnight, or 10 hours.

Drain beans, and add them to dutch oven. Add apple cider, and slowly bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and gently boil for thirty minutes.  Stir occasionally. After thirty minutes, remove from heat, and drain.  Reserve your cooking liquid.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  In small saucepan, combine molasses, mustard, and salt.  Cook over medium heat until salt is dissolved.  Add black pepper to molasses mixture, set aside. In bottom of dutch oven, lay three slices of bacon. Cut ends off of onion, then cut in half. Lay both onion halves on top of bacon. Pour beans over top of bacon and onions. Pour molasses mixture over top of beans, and now lay remaining bacon slices on top of beans.  Pour reserved cooking liquid over top of beans, adding hot water as necessary to completely cover the beans.

Bake for 3 hours. Check beans to see if they are dry. Add water as needed. Return to oven and bake for another 2-3 hours. When beans are tender, remove from oven.

Enjoy :)


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Beans 'n Greens (with Swiss Chard)

For the next couple posts, I am going to be sharing recipes that are using 

fresh veggies and fruits that are in season. Hope you enjoy them!

Each year I try raising a new veggie in the garden. One that I have never eaten or cooked with before. Just my way of having a little adventure in the garden each year. Some years it works out well, other years.... not so much. This year is a hit! I planted Swiss Chard this spring. Not only is it one of the few seeds that didn't wash away in our floods, it didn't get choked out when the weeds took over. It is a survivor. I think it may be a bit heartier than our lettuce, but I also got really lucky!

It's grown. It's a beautiful crop. Then the dilemma. What do I do with it now??? A friend loaned me her cook book that was put together with some CSA farmers for exactly this purpose. To help give idea's with local and seasonal produce. Score! So, Bean's 'n Greens it was.

Still skeptical. I prepared the dish. I even made prepared dried beans, which I have rarely done. I LOVED it. It was tasty, and healthy. You really could taste the healthiness of the dish. Bigger bonus yet? Truckin' Man loved it too! He did read my mind though, and comment about what a good addition bacon would be. But, we are going to leave this as a meatless dish, and just enjoy it as is!

Beans 'n Greens
1 lb. Dried Black-Eyed Peas
Water
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
3 bay leaves
1 large bunch Swiss Chard, chopped ( I used about 3 cups)
salt and pepper

Sort peas to remove any stones. Rinse. Fill large pot with 6 cups water. Add peas. Bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to stand for one hour. Drain.

Add 4 cups water back to pan. Add 4 cups of the black-eyed peas. (Reserve remaining pea's for another dish).  Bring to simmer.  While peas are simmering, heat butter and oil in a skillet. Add onions and garlic; saute with thyme and bay leaves until onions are tender. Remove from heat.

After the peas have been simmering for thirty minutes, add the onion mixture and the chopped Swiss Chard. Cook for another thirty minutes.  Test peas for doneness, simmer longer if necessary. When peas are tender, remove bay leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Don't skimp on the salt!!!

Enjoy!


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Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans

Several of my friends lost a friend, very dear to them, this past December. I do not know how it is possible that I never had the privilege of meeting their friend, Mary, but our paths never crossed.

In June of 2011, Mary found out that she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She fought this Leukemia, and was in remission until late 2012 when she began having health concerns and found that it had returned. She passed away in December.

During a fund raiser that was being held for Mary, the family put together a cookbook of many family recipes. One of Mary's daughters is a baker, so the recipes for the cakes and other baked goods are said to be outstanding. My friend, Stacey, made sure that I got a copy of the cookbook! Stacey takes good care of her foodie friend!

I suppose you are wondering why I am sharing all of this. Well, in memory of Mary, Stacey is participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. She is riding with Team Minnesota in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe. This bike ride is 72 miles long! She has several different climbs in the ride, the most notable, are an 800 foot, and a 1,000 foot climb. These are all done at elevations not normal in Minnesota. Stacey is taking on quite a challenge in memory of her friend Mary, and I admire her so much for this! No matter how tough the training has been in preparation for this, she hasn't backed down. To help Stacey out with her fundraising, we are going to have an AMAZING EVENT going on here at the end of April, so make sure you are signed up for email and facebook to keep up to date! We will be having a bake sale and raffling off several prizes to raise money, to help my dear friend out with her cause.

In the mean time, I will be doing a series of posts this month out of Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook! There are so many recipes in here that I am excited to try!

Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans (Source: Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook)


5 Slices Bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 36 oz can baked beans, preferably Bush's ( I used 2 - 21 oz cans)
1 c. root beer (no diet allowed here!)
2 Tbsp dark molasses
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
2-3 whole celery ribs

Cook the bacon with onions in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the bacon is brown and crisp, and the onions have become transparent and are just starting to brown.  Add remaining ingredients.

Over medium high heat, bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about twenty minutes.  Remove celery and serve.


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White Rice with Toasted Angel Hair Pasta

I LOVE watching my foodie shows. Learning new cooking techniques, new recipes, and sometimes the shock factor of what other people eat! I enjoy the Food Network, but sometimes get tired of it. The Cooking Channel is not offered here (sob), so one day I found myself over at PBS. Does anyone else watch the cooking shows over there? I was in shock at how many are aired. I set my DVR to record Pati's Mexican Table, and am so glad I did! I came to find out it was her first season, and her second season is starting soon. I am going to be checking into more of the shows over at PBS now!

Pati's Mexican Table is a great show. Pati teaches you Mexican cooking, something I would truly love to learn. So, the other night when I was looking for a side dish, I remembered a simple dish she made on her show. Why not start simple? I loved it!  If you haven't seen Pati's show, please check it out... and try this recipe! The only change I made to it, was to add some cilantro... Just because I love cilantro!

White Rice with Toasted Angel Hair Pasta (Source: Pati's Mexican Table)

2 cups white rice
1/4 c. vegetable oil  
1 c. angel hair pasta, broken into pieces  
1/4 c. white onion, diced  
1 garlic clove, minced 
4 c. water or chicken broth 
1 T. fresh lime juice 
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 c. chopped cilantro 
 
Soak white rice in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. In a cooking pot, heat the oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the angel hair and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. It should be browned but not burnt. (On the show she describes the color as "tanned")

Add the drained rice, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Rice should reach a milky white color and it feels and sounds heavier when you move it.

Add onion and garlic, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Add water or broth to the rice, add the salt and lime juice.  Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with the lid, and cook for about 20 minutes.

The rice is ready when the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender and cooked. Turn off the heat and keep it covered for at least 5 minutes. Add cilantro.  Fluff with a fork and serve. 

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