Tag: foodie

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Green Bean Casseroles #TuesdayTip

This is in honor of Dorcas Reilly, the inventor of the classic Green Bean Casserole, who just recently passed away at the age of 92. Ms. Reilly was a kitchen supervisor at Campbell Soup (right here in Camden, NJ by the way). I don’t know about you, but a Green Bean Casserole is a staple at our Thanksgiving table. Today I’m sharing my variation for this classic dish as well as some links to other variations!

Caridad’s Green Bean Casserole

    Ingredients:

      1 medium onion chopped
      2 cloves garlic minced
      4 tablespoons butter
      4 cups cooked green beans (frozen or fresh work best)
      1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
      1/2 cup milk (or for an even creamier taste substitute half and half)
      1 to 2 cups French’s Cheddar Cheese Fried Onions
      1 cup parmesan cheese grated
      1 cup grated cheddar cheese

    Directions:

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • If using fresh green beans, wash and cut into 2 inch pieces.
    • Steam/Microwave green beans until just tender. Set aside to cool in a large mixing bowl.
    • Saute onion and garlic in the butter over low heat until they are caramelized.
    • Add 1/2 cup milk/half & half and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (this is much easier to do if you are using a non-stick pan.)
    • Add mushroom soup mix and stir until creamy.
    • Add onion/mushroom soup mixture to the green beans and toss. Then add 3/4 cups of both the parmesan and cheddar cheeses and toss. Also add about 1/2 cup of the French’s Fried Onions and toss.
    • Lightly grease 2 quart casserole dish. Place green bean mixture into casserole and top with the remaining French’s Fried Onions, parmesan and cheddar cheeses.
    • Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

For another variation, fry up some chopped red peppers and add to the mixture! Or try out these other recipes:

    https://www.campbells.com/kitchen/recipes/classic-green-bean-casserole/
    https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/green-bean-casserole/f466928f-a799-4cdc-89ba-1e0bbedf878b
    https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/green-bean-casserole-47102
    https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/best-ever-green-bean-casserole-recipe-1950575
    https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/thanksgiving-ideas/g803/green-beans/

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Eggplant Un-Parm #FoodieFriday #FitnessFriday

One of the things about changing up how I eat is to keep food fresh and flavorful, but healthier. After all, the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to create a lifestyle that you can live with every day.

I always watch a lot of cooking shows and one of the things the chefs mention is building layers of flavor. With that in mind, I tackled an update to one of my favorite meals: Eggplant parmigiana.

Eggplant is tough on several levels. It can be bitter although that doesn’t normally bother me. It sucks up oil like there’s no tomorrow. Plus there’s the frying in the parmagiana essential. So I decided to change it up by grilling and also, by not going heavy with sauce and instead also grilling the tomatoes. The grilling added a great smokiness to the dish that was offset by the tang of the goat cheese I used. I think you’ll love this!

Ingredients

2 medium eggplant sliced into rounds about 1/2 inch thick (I had about 20 rounds when I finished)
5 tomatoes sliced into rounds about 1/2 inch thick (I had about 10 rounds when I finished)
5-6 ounces of goat cheese
6 ounces of a mix of shredded provolone & mozzarella (Bought this pre-shredded and mixed)
4 garlic gloves
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup fresh parsley
1 cup fresh basil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Preheat your grill on high and brush/spray with oil.

Place 1/2 olive oil, garlic cloves, vinegar, parsley and basil into either a blender or food processor. Blend until you have a sauce (kind of like pesto).

Place eggplants in a tray and put about 3/4 of the pesto mixture over the rounds. Toss to coat each one. Place on hot grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes a side. Don’t worry about cooking all the way as you’ll finish this dish in the oven, but don’t undercook. Eggplant is squeaky and unappealing when not totally cooked!

Remove eggplant rounds and place on a tray. You can put two on top of each other for now if you’d like. I used a greased cookie sheet that I later used to bake everything. Why wash more than you have to?

Place tomatoes in the tray and put remaining pesto mixture on them along with remaining 1/4 cup oil. Tomatoes stick a lot more hence the extra oil. Coat well with the mixture and place on hot grill. Cook for maybe 1-2 minutes a side. Don’t worry if they break. Place tomatoes in another bowl and let cool until you can handle.

Put one eggplant round on the greased cookie sheet and top with one tomato round. Add a sprinkle of the shredded cheese mix. Top with another eggplant round. Place 1 teaspoon or so of goat cheese on this layer and top with a little more shredded cheese mix. Enough to cover the goat cheese.

Repeat until all rounds are done.

Cook in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Broil for 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Serve with a little grated parmesan cheese on top and a side salad! It sounds like a lot of work, but it really only took about 20 minutes of prep time and it was DELICOUS!

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Grilled Radicchio, Romaine & Chicken Salad #FoodieFriday

Yes, you are reading that correctly. It’s not just the chicken that’s grilled, but also the radicchio and romaine! You’ll think it’s crazy, but that slight little char on the green stuff creates an amazing flavor. It takes a little longer to make your salad, but it’s worth the effort. This recipe is for two, so double the greens and/or chicken as necessary.

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts – Halved lengthwise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
radicchio head – halved
romaine head – halved
Salt
Shaved parmesan curls (As much as you want)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Marinate the chicken breast in the mustard and juice from one lemon. If you can, do this for about an hour.

Oil your grill and pre-heat it.

Rub 1/4 cup olive oil on all sides of the radicchio and romaine heads. Salt, but not too much since the parmesan has a lot of salt. Put a skewer through the 3 garlic cloves.

Place both the radicchio, romaine and skewered garlic on your grill. You want to leave them on there until you get a little bit of char on the leaves and cloves. Maybe 5-10 minutes depending on your grill. Once the first side is grilled, flip on the other side until you get the first bit of char, then remove from heat.

Place the marinated chicken breasts on the grill. I halve them so they will cook faster, but they could dry out, so watch them while you prep the rest of the salad.

Chop the radicchio and romaine and place in bowl. Chop the garlic and add to greens. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts and parmesan curls over the greens. You can make parmesan curls by running your vegetable peeler across a nice chunk of parmesan. Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the juice of the remaining lemon over the greens.

Once cooked, slice the chicken breasts lengthwise and place over the salad. Voila! A very different salad for you. To change it up, try using blue cheese instead of parmesan and/or add craisins or other fruit. You’ll love it!

grilledsalad

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My Pinterest Recipe Board #FoodieFriday

Two years ago I had to have surgery on my knee and since I had to stay home, my daughter and I decided to do a week of recipes from our Pinterest boards. The really funny thing was that both of us had pinned many of the same recipes we wanted to try. We had a fun week of cooking and recuperating!

Today, I’m sharing my board with you. Check it out for recipes to make over the weekend or when you have a free moment.
Follow Caridad’s board Recipes on Pinterest.

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